Industrial Resources, Inc. has completed work on the M.V. Alucia, a 183-foot luxury yacht/submersible support ship/scientific exploration vessel. DeepOcean Expeditions LLC has redesigned and replaced nearly 100 percent of the piping, wiring, machinery, joinery and equipment as well as added many new systems to the vessel. In addition, reworking the hull made possible a new submersible hangar, a sundeck and a helicopter pad.
Industrial Resources worked on hull repair, piping, joinery and major renovation of the engine room. “In fact there isn’t anywhere that IRI didn’t have an active hand,” said Rob McCallum, expedition manager for Deep Ocean Expeditions. “Their experience with high end marine support and fishing vessels was invaluable. From the new submersible hangars, helicopter pad and sundeck to the pilot house and cabins, IRI played a significant role.”
The ship was heavily damaged in Hurricane Katrina and IRI did repair work to the hull including opening the ship in various areas for hull access for sandblasting and painting. IRI assisted with the HVAC throughout the boat and installed the exhaust systems off the three generators and two main engines, installed miscellaneous hull penetrations for transducers and two fair waters for hydrophones.
For the dive locker, IRI opened up the main deck and rigged in three compressors, mounted them to the deck, plumbed in sink and ran air to the area. They also installed additional supports and framework for storage under the deck and ran tie ins off saltwater cooling for the compressor. On the helicopter deck, IRI installed a winch that covers a six foot by six foot area and is capable of running data cable from a depth of 10,000 feet for scientific research. They also installed all deck pockets, sea containers and the cradle for the 33-foot Northwind skiff that sits atop the helicopter deck. In the deep sea aquarium, IRI ran all of the hot and cold penetration into the space and installed deck drains. They installed the hydraulic power units for steering the boat as well as quadrant arms for the rudder posts.
“The fin stabilizer installation was a highlight for us,” said Marvin McAllister, IRI’s project manager. It’s an independent roll stabilizing system that counteracts the ships rolling at sea and it interacts with many other systems on the boat.” IRI installed all the piping for the air, salt and fresh water, plumbing, fuel systems and aft fueling station including JP5 fuel for a helicopter.
Alucia was originally built in France in 1974 as a support ship for Jacques Cousteau’s government-sponsored research organization. The three-year renovation put more than $30 million into the local economy and employed approximately 1,000 people. “We would not have initially thought of Seattle as the place to restore this ship,” said McCallum, “But after Hurricane Katrina we could not work in Gulf Port, Mississippi. It was a pleasant surprise to find that we could get a highly talented and skilled workforce here.”
In addition to Industrial Resources, Inc. other local contractors included: Armorclad Floors; Elmore Electrical; Eltech Electric; Maximum Performance Hydraulics; West Coast Insulation; Joseph Artese Design; Jeff Brandewiede; and Pacific Northwest Metal Fabricators.