- [Narrator] The hull of one of
the world's largest oil platforms
is setting sail on one of the world's
largest marine transportation vessels,
on a voyage to the other
side of the planet.
This is the story of the journey
of the Amazing Appomattox Oil Platform.
Engineers hope that in a few days' time,
the Appomattox hull will
be ready to set sail
on an epic voyage, a 14,500 mile journey
from Geoje in South Korea
to the Gulf of Mexico.
- [Sid] I just want to
give everybody a head's up.
- [Narrator] But there's
a problem brewing,
a massive storm out in the Pacific Ocean.
And it's heading their way.
In a bid to sail before the storm hits,
work ramps up to a
round-the-clock schedule.
- [Sid] We got a lot of people who
are going to be tired today.
They'll be tired tonight.
So we need to watch out for each other.
- [Narrator] The size
of the crew is tripled,
to try to get the hull
ready before danger arrives.
- So, this is the latest
weather data we've got.
- [Narrator] It's the
news the team didn't want,
the storm in the Pacific has turned
into a Super Typhoon called Nauru.
- [Sid] We know now that
Nauru has changed course
over last night into this morning.
So, now it looks like
it's going to be coming
through the straits between
Japan and South Korea.
- [Narrator] If Nauru
continues on its present course
it means a direct hit on the shipyard
with potentially devastating
consequences for Appomattox.
- Super typhoons are those
extraordinary events, right?
The one in 20 years events
that you really need to be cognizant of.
- [Narrator] The Appomattox
hull is surrounded
by heavy metal and machinery.
The team is faced with a dilemma.
To keep it on land and be lashed
by waves and construction debris
or put it in the water and
try and outrun the storm.
To go, or not to go?
That's now the
multi-million-dollar question!
- Do we move forward?
Do we accept these waves?
Is this something that we
need to stop altogether?
- What they have told us is that they
need 36 hours to run from the storm.
We are planning right now on how
do we get the hull outta here?
- [Narrator] The decision is made,
rather than wait out the storm,
they are going to try and get ahead of it.
Using gigantic hydraulics,
the 41,000 ton hull is
moved inch by dramatic inch
across 500 feet of ground
and onto a floating dry dock.
Tug boats then haul it clear
of the shipyard, into the bay.
It will wait out the night here,
before being towed into deeper water
to meet its ocean-going transport vessel,
Cosco's gargantuan Xin Guang Hua.
It's a 279 yard-long,
semi-submersible heavy lift
vessel that's capable
of carrying 98,000 tons.
With the super typhoon fast approaching,
the dry dock has been removed and
the Appomattox hull floats
freely for the first time.
Tugs pull the hull a further six and
a quarter miles to the rendezvous site.
The next maneuver is critical.
The hull will be pulled over the top
of the sunken transport vessel.
Once it's in place,
the hull and the vessel are de-ballasted,
lifting them up out of the water.
For a successful maneuver,
winds have to be less than
16 knots, and the seas calm.
The tugs are struggling to control
the hull as the winds pick up.
- The seas were a concern.
The winds were a great concern.
When you're having a Super
Typhoon bearing down in the area,
the winds are high and variable.
A couple of times we tried to bring it on
and the winds got to a
point where we said stop.
- [Narrator] With the typhoon
now less than 48 hours away,
things are not looking good.
- The third attempt was
probably the closest
we could have gotten, but
then we ran out of time.
- Do we stop for the
evening because of light?
Do we go back to the dock?
Is this something that we
need to stop altogether?
- [Narrator] By chance,
the latest weather forecast
predicts a two hour window
of calm the next morning.
It will be their last
opportunity to get Appomattox
onto its transport vessel
before the super typhoon hits.
At sunrise, conditions are perfect.
The Appomattox hull is slowly
floated above the vessel
and the transporter lifts it up
and free from the water
in a textbook maneuver.
The hull now gets out in
front of Nauru to miss
the potential damage the
Super Typhoon could inflict.
They've managed to avoid the storm.
- All that planning and all
that work and it all paid off.
It was really a wonderful sight to see.
But that didn't mean
the job stopped there.
It had a long journey.
- [Narrator] The Appomattox still has
to complete most of its 14,500 mile voyage
from South Korea to the Gulf of Mexico.
To get there, it will pass Southeast Asia,
steer through the Sunda Strait,
traverse the Indian Ocean and pass around
the Cape of Good Hope before
crossing the Atlantic.
But it now faces another
potential problem.
The Cape of Good Hope on
the southern tip of Africa
is notorious for its wild
weather especially in
the dead of winter when the
Appomattox will be passing.
- At that time of year, you could have up
to eight meter seas coming through there.
A 30-foot sea, that's an enormous sea.
- [Narrator] Just weeks after
outrunning a Super Typhoon,
the Appomattox must now travel through
one of the world's most treacherous seas.
- What does it look like?
Are we able to continue?
Do we need to stop?
- [Narrator] The decision is
made to dock in Port Elizabeth
on the South African coast
and wait for a storm to pass.
- We were in Port
Elizabeth for about a day.
Because the winter storm season
is pretty critical down in South Africa.
- [Narrator] It's a good call.
While Appomattox is safely
docked the bad weather subsides.
- It moves through rapidly
and you're able to find
that gap between the big
events to move through safely.
They did a fabulous job coming
around the Cape of Good Hope.
- [Narrator] With another
critical weather event avoided,
the hull makes its way across
the South Atlantic Ocean,
through the warm waters
of the Caribbean Sea,
and into the homestretch,
the Gulf of Mexico.
But the Appomattox's battle with
the weather is not over yet.
- After all of that you think
this is the easy part, right?
We're coming home into the Gulf of Mexico,
and then Hurricane Harvey.
- This is a Category 4 hurricane,
this is going to go up the coast
and do a massive amount of damage,
a catastrophic event for anyone
in the path of this storm.
- The wind is pretty strong.
The rains are coming in,
the high tides now have come
in here at Fulton Beach.
- [Paul] Hurricane Harvey is hitting
not only the Gulf Coast,
but South Texas, right
where you're headed.
- [Narrator] And right where hundreds
of Shell employees and
contractors live and work.
- The damage was just unbelievable.
Nobody could have expected it.
- [Narrator] Appomattox team member
Kevin McDonald was hit especially hard.
- I'm sitting right now
where my workshop used to be.
We were in a position
where we could not leave,
so we were here during the storm.
We took a direct hit.
The eye came right over us.
The entire house was shaking,
the roof was peeling.
Walls was vibrating.
All we could do was be
thankful we were still alive.
- [Narrator] Hurricane Harvey wiped out
entire communities and
destroyed 135,000 homes.
- The coworkers I had that came here
and helped me clean
up, and checked on you.
It's been amazing to me.
It's a family away from home.
- The resilience of the people here,
the resilience of their families
has been truly remarkable.
- [Narrator] Once again, the
Appomattox avoids the storm
but arrives in the wake
of the devastation.
It's presence now gives the
team something new to focus on.
- Somebody came through the
trailer and said it's here.
And so, we all ran out to the
back porch and stood there,
and you could see it coming in.
It was good, just kind of
a, whew, we got it done.
- [Narrator] In Ingleside, Texas,
work on the Appomattox continues
at pace as the infrastructure
to process 175,000 barrels of oil a day
is installed along with living quarters
and utilities for its 180 personnel.
Six months later, work
is finally finished.
The Mighty Appomattox is now ready
to complete the final leg
of its journey and travel
to 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
- This evening is the evening that
the Amazing Appomattox
will be leaving the shores
and go to its permanent
site in the Gulf of Mexico.
- It's time for it to go,
but it's always a strange
feeling to see it leave.
Sorta like, you know, a child leaving home
and going off to college.
- [Narrator] Crews work
overnight to ensure
the final leg of Appomattox's
journey goes according to plan.
By sunrise, a fleet of tugs are in place,
and Appomattox is smoothly
towed into the Gulf of Mexico,
where it will remain
for the next 40 years.
- That sense of accomplishment.
When you know you've
crossed the finish line.
It's like you've won the Super Bowl.
- [Narrator] In the next episode,
watch as the Amazing Appomattox reaches
its Gulf of Mexico home.
With laser-like precision,
the crew has to try to connect it
to the sub-sea oil field below.
It's a nail-biting operation
and involves lowering an object
the weight of a space shuttle
thousands of feet to the seabed,
and land it on a half an inch target
before the oil can finally flow.
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to see more on the Amazing
Appomattox Oil Platform
and other technology and
engineering films from Shell.
