Projects in China.

[seadogg]

one more thing, Bluewhale.

you are taking the piss surely to suggest there are worse vessels in the north sea than in china.

so in the north sea, we live in containers on the back deck, walk through the rain across decks awash to the shower and toilet. Eat instant noodles all swing. do our own laundry if we get a chance to use the only machine onboard….. i think not.

well i think its your client reps that deserve a good beating, not the other way around if these stories filtering back from your projects are correct.

[Lloyd Todd]

Seadogg, sounds as if you have had a bad experience with Bluewhale.

Unfortunatley I cannot comment on any of your stories as we no longer do work for them and have not done so since about april/may.

I hear they are utilising sonsub crews and veolia crews for now.

Cheers

Mad Dog

[rovrave]

veolia??? who are they mad dog?

i was up there earlier this year with canyon. Seems Oceaneering are helping out on bluewhale projects as well as sonsub. Didn’t hear very good reports for all the bluewhale rov projects. seems to be a lot of delays and hold ups and heard the stories of the boats also, not good.

that story about the punchy client rep is starting to grow into an offshore legend with all the usual embelishments. heard a different version in every bar.

chen, why don’t you get back on this forum and set the record straight. is he still working for you or not?…or for that matter is there any truth in it to start with?

[chen]

It is true. There has been an altercation between a Bluewhale employee and a Sonsub employee. Provoked or not this is not a good sign. However Bluewhales’ employees are based in China (or at least this one is) and no-one gets run off for what they do when ‘at home’.

End result. Hasty demob of Sonsub ROV and re-patriation of ROV personnel. Fugro China and then COOEC / Bluewhale ROV replaces Sonsub ROV on job.

It is true. Bluewhale is indeed using VeoliaES ROV personnel and also has a VeoliaES SAT system and crew in china. VeoliaES Marine Services is part of the huge Veolia Environmental Services group (listed as the 27th largest industrial corporation in the US).

It is not true: Oceaneering is not helping out Bluewhale on projects (other than working as a subcontractor). The Oceaneering Swift 2 (former MTQ) ROV and crew came as part of the package used on the recent and 100% successful Huizhou pipeline repair project. This package included Rubicon International, Shanghai Salvage, COSL & COOEC, all working for CACT under Bluewhales’ leadership.

It is not true: All the vessels used by Bluewhale are not dogs. Whilst it may be the case that one of the vessels is old (Huafa) and you have to do your own laundry and it has serious accomodation shortages (originally an AHT) if you treat this like a 1960s’ camping holiday it’s not so bad. The second vessel (HYSY 709) is Chinese but was built as recently as 2004, off course the crew is Chinese and so is the food but specially prepared western food is available. The other two vessels used this season are a different story all together, the Rubicon Maverick (formerly Maersk Reliance) and the Maersk Recorder are big, western and comfortable with stewards and western food.

It is true: Bluewhale is probably the highest payer of ROV personnel in the far east, approximately 200% of Oceaneering tax free. Look at it like this, everyone has a price for almost everything (or no-one would go to West Africa). Bluewhale is willing to pay twice as much and all you have to do is your own laundry, THINK ABOUT IT!

[Andy Shiers]

Whilst it may be the case that one of the vessels is old (Huafa) and you have to do your own laundry and it has serious accomodation shortages (originally an AHT) if you treat this like a 1960s’ camping holiday it’s not so bad.

Maybe I’m getting too old in the tooth 😕
Let me get this straight 😕 We are now living in the year of our lord 2008 with all the growing sophisticated technology of modern science !
An Industry which effectively has more profits in it that rivals Countries defence budgets or more and makes the world go round as everybody depends on it.
Our days consist of not eight and a half hours but twelve hour basic , unles you are running the job and it then extends to anything up to sixteen and a half hour shifts with NO weekends off but seven / seven for a month or more ………………………… maybe two 😯
After a shift , you then "come in from the cold" only to be confronted by one or maybe two washing machines that everybody has to take turns to use when they should be relaxing and have to share a poxy little cabin meaning no privacy whilst you are on board so Thugs and rapists in a prison get more excercise walking around a fenced in yard !
And you say people should look forward to this type of condition………………….. 😕 …………………………………………….
And think of it as a 1960’s camping holiday 😯
What planet do you come from ……………. Uranus ?

[chen]

Well I can see you have thought about it. Like I said everyone has a price for everything and ater all it is not unknown for guys to walk off just because there is no internet access. Clearly your price for a small level of inconvenience is higher than many, I will not be expecting your CV next time we have work to offer. I rather suspect I already have it anyway. But just to confirm that maybe you could provide your real name and not hide behind the Psuedonym. As most people will already know I am Chris Barclay, Chief Engineer of Bluewhale and I am not afraid to say so!

[fullycoded]

if you treat this like a 1960s’ camping holiday it’s not so bad.

chen that is an unbeleivable comment. Not the way to get employees on your side.

[Micbeth]

I am Chris Barclay, Chief Engineer of Bluewhale and I am not afraid to say so!

I’m sure the whole ROV industry is now genuflecting and chanting in unison "We’re not worthy".

[LukeD]

😆 😆 😆
He wewy fwuny maaaaaaaaaan 😆
I thought the crusader stayed in comic books 😆

[chen]

if you treat this like a 1960s’ camping holiday it’s not so bad.

chen that is an unbeleivable comment. Not the way to get employees on your side.

You miss the point and we are not talking about employees, we are talking about very highly paid short term contractors. Contractors who are highly paid not due necessarily to capability and commitment level but solely due to limited supply. Like I said there is a price for everything.

[chen]

I am Chris Barclay, Chief Engineer of Bluewhale and I am not afraid to say so!

I’m sure the whole ROV industry is now genuflecting and chanting in unison "We’re not worthy".

You miss the point too. It’s not about titles or level of responsibility. It’s about having the courage to use real names and not hiding behind psuedonyms. Anyone with a defamatory comment about others (individuals or companies) should at least put thier identity where thier mouth is! Whether you are worthy or not is for you to judge.

[LukeD]

Getting back to the point though 8)
There is absolutely no excuse for crap conditions offshore and the people who charter crap boats are usually the people that live and work in the office 😕
I dare you to tell me I’m wrong !

[chen]

Getting back to the point though 8)
There is absolutely no excuse for crap conditions offshore and the people who charter crap boats are usually the people that live and work in the office 😕
I dare you to tell me I’m wrong !

If you mean do I work in the office then the answer would be about 70% of the time and 30% offshore. The offshore time is on exactly the same boats that everyone else is dealing with (there is no luxury yatch in tow).
Excuse is probably the wrong word. The reason for boats being of a lower standard in China (the Chinese boats anyway) is exactly the same as the reason there is a risk of being kidnapped / killed in Nigeria "Thats just the way it is".
Bluewhale is not (and therefore nor am I) directly responsible for the selection of vessels and as expected the Chinese contractors will always choose a Chinese boat 1st before they bring in a boat from anywhere else.

[SpearROV]

I confess , I was on a vessel early on this year that had no laundry staff which was a proverbial pain in the arse to everyone on board , well 😆
Except for the Captain who had the AB’s doing it for him and me ……………… as I was the client 😆
We both had our own cabins as well 😀

[ROVRatt]

Chen, or, Chris Barclay, surely you jest. Please answer the following:

Are you Chinese or have they brainwashed a Westerner with water torture?

Do you seriously think anyone brought up outside Chairman Mao’s paradise wants to work as a slave and has been indoctrinated to accept minimal conditions?

No wonder the Chinese have such a reputation of shoddiness in the Western world what with tainted milk, lead painted toys, poison dog food, SARS, poison toothpaste, screw drivers that twist and break, internet censorship, you get the picture. You think money cures all but are slowly finding out that westerners also have ideals that count more than money.

Now you want people to work in crap conditions with no internet (What about phones?) and doing their own laundry. More money does not make it right. There are right and wrong ways to treat people and paying them to work under such conditions is wrong. Fix the conditions and pay the standard wage and you will have people that return to work for you. It may even be cheaper to fix the conditions than carry on paying the high wage over time.

I’ll avoid this lot for sure.

[Author]

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