CUMBERLAND, Maryland (3 Sep 2005) -- As a commercial diver for the past 15 years, Mark Atkinson said he has worked numerous times in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Atlantic Ocean. But his recent work about 100 miles out in the gulf off Caillou oil field along the Louisiana coast might well become his most memorable project since he helped to secure a 24-inch pipeline that pumps 175,000 barrels of oil daily. Contracted by Hilcorp Energy Service for Shell Oil Co. pipelines and facilities, Atkinson and three other divers from DiveCon LLC, of Harvey, La., began a pipeline installation project Aug. 21 as Hurricane Katrina developed as a threat. After flying from BWI Airport to New Orleans, the 37-year-old Atkinson led his four-man crew through six days of the project before Katrina developed from a tropical storm to a hurricane. "We were installing a 10-inch saltline under the 24-inch oil distribution line and had to expose 40 feet of the line to do the installation. "When the hurricane announcement came, the line had to be secured so it wouldn't break the oil line, which the company said would be a major catastrophe. That's what they told me. "The seas were too rough to do the work but I made the call myself to make the dive after talking with company officials," said the 1985 Allegany High School graduate. Atkinson then secured the pipeline with sandbags and a 300 pounds-per-square-inch handjet to fill the hole and bury the saltline safely beneath the oil line as a team of company personnel, including a stand-by diver and radio man, stood by on a work barge. With the seas raging with 10- to 12-foot waves, Atkinson worked alone in 40-foot deep water, completing the job in about an hour and 40 minutes. "Katrina was 75 miles south and coming straight for us," said Atkinson. After securing the pipelines, the DiveCon employees arrived on shore Saturday evening as Katrina drew closer, although at that point it was still classified as a category 3 hurricane. | | Mark Atkinson "I was in the motel Sunday morning and they knocked on the door and said we had to get out. Katrina had become a cat 5. I was just going to get my things and go to the Superdome and wait it out there since I had no transportation. "But another diver, Jeremy York from Indiana, that I worked with remembered I was there at the motel and he came back and got me. We drove out to Meridian, Mississippi, and he took me all the way to Virginia and then I got another ride to make it home." Since arriving home Tuesday, Atkinson has been told by company officials that the pipeline is intact. "The project is not finished but it's in place to complete," he said without knowing when the project will resume. "This was supposed to be a simple installation project but then it turned into hurricane protocol and we were not equipped to deal with it. "But I made the decision to dive. I was the more experienced diver and I did what I had to do. I'm thankful that I could assist securing the line. "What people are going through there is much more serious but if the pipeline had broken it would have been even worse," said Atkinson, who is a member of Divers and Pile Drivers Union Local 2311 in Washington, D.C. SOURCE - Cumberland Times-News |
