Members of the U.S. Coast Guard monitor the recovery and transit of a grounded drill ship in the Corpus Christi ship channel Sept. 4. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Cory J. Mendenhall
A drillship blocking the Corpus Christi ship channel was removed Sept. 4, allowing Port Corpus Christi to fully reopen after Hurricane Harvey shut down area commerce. Seven refineries have also restarted after port traffic resumed.
The U.S. Coast Guard monitored the recovery and removal of the Paragon DPDS 1 after it was run aground during Hurricane Harvey. The Category 4 storm broke the docked ship from its moorings on Aug. 26, effectively blocking entrance to the Corpus Christi ship channel near Aransas Pass for days.
One of two tug boats that tried to keep the drillship under control during the storm sank. The other was damaged.
A drillship used for exploratory offshore drilling of new oil and gas wells, the Paragon was towed to Gulf Marine Fabricators in Ingleside. The company is an offshore manufacturer that assembles platforms and other equipment used in offshore drilling.
"This salvage was an incredibly complex effort,” said Coast Guard Captain of the Port Tony Hahn. "I am especially thankful for the great oversight and technical counsel I received from Lieutenant Dan Burke of the Coast Guard Salvage Engineering Response Team. His sage counsel was instrumental in the safe salvage and transit of the drill ship."
Other entities involved in the removal were the Port Authority, pilots, industry stakeholders and the salvage company, Hahn said, calling the effort a “tremendous collaboration.”
The Paragon DPDS 1 was built in 1979. It is owned by Paragon Offshore in Houston and has been cold-stacked and anchored at Gulf Copper Harbor Island, a private dock next to the Port Aransas ferry crossing, since December 2014.
While operating off the coast of Brazil in South America, the Gusto MSC Pelican Class deepwater drillship was swapped out with a semi-sub and stacked indefinitely in the Coastal Bend in December 2014. The larger rig operated at a day rate of $200,000, while the semi-sub’s rate is $125,000.
The Paragon has been on the market ever since, being shopped to customers in Mexico, West Africa and Southeast Asia. It costs more than $5,000 a day to stack.
