Yesterday was great! I got to tour the new WesternGeco seismic exploration vessel, fresh and new, while it is here in Bergen spooling on all those streamers we've been working our tails off to build. The Tasman has a funny-looking prow which is supposed to make her easier to steer, a really state-of-the-art high tech bridge which can hold her position within 5 meters automatically, and the ability to drag 12 streamers to map the sea floor and its underlying structure. Oil companies hire WesternGeco to help them find oil and gas.
It's not often that one of the vessels comes to Bergen. One was here in September 2008, while I was sick, so I couldn't go see it. One of the other employees that got to tour yesterday has worked here 10 years and this was his first chance to see a vessel. They said we could take pictures, and they didn't say we couldn't show them, so here goes...
The best part of working in manufacturing is when you get to see the final product in action. This is SO what we're all here for. I watched the first flight of the 787 on the computer, and that was very satisfying. The B-2 and 777 flyover of Boeing Field a few years ago was surprisingly thrilling. What a lucky person I am to get to have all this fun.
It's not often that one of the vessels comes to Bergen. One was here in September 2008, while I was sick, so I couldn't go see it. One of the other employees that got to tour yesterday has worked here 10 years and this was his first chance to see a vessel. They said we could take pictures, and they didn't say we couldn't show them, so here goes...
See the prow? It reminds me of a whale's nose.
This is half of the bank of computer screens they use for processing signals from the hydrophones in the streamers. The other half looks similar and is run by the navigator to make sure the streamers are taking exactly the right paths, based on the GPS units' data.
Does this pilot's console look like fun? There are stations to the left and right, and displays above as well. They have the ability to pass control to other consoles if they want to steer from the left, right, or back sides of the control tower (or whatever the right term is).
The business end of the ship. The streamers come down from the streamer deck, which is just below the top fenced deck, where two streamers are coming up out of the water and over the white lip.
A few of the empty reels after the streamers were spooled onto the Tasman. The cars give you a sense of scale. The ship and crew are here from Friday around lunchtime till Tuesday, working 24 hours a day, loading up.
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