JR
JOIDES Resolution

Scientific Application

The JOIDES Resolution (JR) is a uniquely outfitted drill ship that can dynamically position over specific seafloor locations while drilling up to 27,500 ft (8385 m) total depth in water depths (WD) ranging from 75 to >6000 m, depending on the desired penetration below the seafloor. The ship is equipped with laboratories for shipboard processing and analysis of cores and borehole data. The derrick houses a top drive system that permits drilling down or reaming up 19.2 m (63 ft) without making a connection. Active and Passive Heave Compensator (AHC/PHC) systems permit drilling/coring with ship heave of up to 16 ft (4.9 m).

Design Features

1) Dynamic Positioning

A computerized dynamic positioning system controls 10 (750 hp) vertically mounted retractable thruster pods, 2 (750 hp) keel mounted fixed thrusters, and 2 (4500 hp) propulsion shafts. The seafloor location is marked with a retrievable acoustic beacon. The vessel can maintain position within 3% of water depth in up to 7.5 m (25 ft) waves, 60 knot (kt) winds, and 3.0 kt currents. The minimum water depth for drilling is 75 m (246 ft).

Benefit: Maintains position over a location marked by an acoustic beacon for rapid relocation at a site, for coring close spaced multiple holes, and for quick reentry of holes.

2) Top Drive

A rail mounted top drive system.

Benefit: Permits drilling down or reaming up 19.2 m (63 ft) without making a connection.

3) Passive and Active Heave Compensator

The PHC reduces drill string motion to ~2–4 ft, relative to the ship motion, keeping the drill bit in better contact with the formation despite wave motion. The AHC was added in 1999 to further reduce drill string motion to ~4 in. The PHC is not normally used with the Advanced Piston Corer (APC). The AHC cannot be used with APC coring.

Benefit: Both compensators permit rotary coring with ship heave of 4.9 m (16 ft), reducing weather down time and improving core recovery.

4) Wireline Coring

Split crown and traveling blocks permit a high-speed coring wireline to be run through the drill string. The PHC, hook, top drive, and swivel have 5 in. openings on the centerline to accommodate core barrel operations. The drill floor is equipped with a double-drum high-speed drawworks for core barrel retrieval by coring line.

Benefit: Core barrels and tools can be run and retrieved by wireline at rates of ~200 m/min, which permits rapid continuous coring.

5) Guide Horn

The guide horn consists of two parts (lower and upper sections), which provide a 350 ft internal radius that imposes a gradual bend in the unconstrained drill string as it exits the bottom of the ship. The upper guide horn section extends from the moonpool doors to the bottom of the rotary opening on the drill floor. The lower guide horn is connected to the upper guide horn by a hub clamp at the main deck level. The two halves of the lower guide horn are attached to the moonpool doors and extend from the doors to the bottom of the moonpool (i.e., bottom of the ship’s hull).

Benefit: The 350 ft internal radius limits bending stress on the drill pipe caused by the ship roll, pitch, currents, or ship excursions off location. The two halves of the lower guide horn open with the moonpool doors to allow the crew to run large equipment such as reentry cones, free-fall funnels, and the TV-sonar system.

6) Endurance Onsite

The JR can maintain operations with a crew of 112 persons for up to 90 days.

Benefit: Long-term operations in remote areas can be completed without spending time on midleg port calls or added expense for resupply vessels.

Specifications (see Note for abbreviations)
Official Vessel Number:		6151
Port of Registry:		Monrovia, Liberia
ABS Classification:		A1 E Drilling Unit AMS ACCU
Ice Class:		1B
Place of Construction:		Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Year Built:		1978
Vessel Call Sign:		D5BC
Size:		Length 470.5 ft by breadth 70.0 ft (143.3 m by 21.3 m)
Tonnage:		Gross: 9719 Short Tons (ST), Net: 2915 ST
Displacement:		Light Ship: 9479 ST, Maximum Load Line: 18,720 ST
Depth
Reentry Camera and Sonar Operating Depth:		<6000 m
Drill String Configuration:		High strength knobbies/5 in. DP/5 in. DP/8 in. drill collars (DC) 5 in. DP: 2000–4000 m in pipe racker 5½ in. DP: 1500–2900 m in pipe racker
Max. Drilling/Coring Depth:		8375 m (at 6° roll and 100,000 lb overpull)
Max. Casing Depth:		8600 m (at 7° roll and 100,000 lb overpull)
Max. Reentry System Depth:		7960 m (at 7° roll and 55,000 lb dynamic load)
Typical Operating Drill String:		Knobbie: 330 m (12 ea) (DC rack) 8¼ DC: 40 pc (DC Rack) Seal bore/nonmagnetic/tapered DC: 10 ea (DC rack)
Typical Riser Hold Storage:		5 in. DP: 3500 m 5½ in. DP: 1500 m 16 in. csg: 60 m (5 jt) 10 in. csg: 350 m (30 jt)
Available Riser Hold Storage (max.):		20 in. csg: 50 m (4 jt) 16 in. csg: 350 m (30 jt) 10 in. csg: 960 m (72 jt) or any equivalent combination of csg
Power
Engines/Generators:		7 (16 cyl) Diesel 5 at 2100 kw (2815 hp) 2 at 1500 kw (2010 hp)
Propulsion
Thrusters:		9000 hp (10 retractable + 2 fixed at 750 hp each)
Main Screws:		9000 hp (2 shafts), each powered by (6) 750 hp motors
Liquid Capacities
Diesel Fuel:		25,395 bbl (1,066,590 gals.)
Drill Water:		8,438 bbl (354,386 gals.)
Ballast:		5,124 bbl (215,208 gals.)
Potable Water:		176 ST
Mud Pump
Model:		(2) Oilwell A1700PT triplex
Power:		(2) motors at 750 hp (ea pump)
Liners:		6in. at 3,381 psi
Mud Pits and Bulk Storage
Pit Volume:		3424 bbl (6 pits + slug)
Bulk Capacity:		13,628 ft3 (8 pods)
Cementing Unit
Model:		Halliburton HT-400
Pumps:		2 charged triplex pumps
Pump Stroke:		4.5 in. x 8 in. = 1.654 gal/stroke at 100%
Max. Pump Rating:		11,200 psi
Unit Output:		210 gpm (5.0 bpm) in low gear
Derrick Hose:		2 in. diameter rated to 5K psi
Bulk Class "G" Cement:		fed at 25 to 30 psi
Recirculating Mixer:		holds 20 bbl
Derrick
Model:		Dreco, 147 ft
Height:		202 ft (62 m) above waterline
Static Rating:		1,200,000 lb
Dynamic Rating:		1,100,000 (at 3° roll) 1,005,000 (at 6° roll)
Vee Door:		70 ft
Moonpool
Diameter:		22 ft on the centerline near mid-ship
Deck-Level Doors:		retractable and attached to a split lower guide horn
Crown Block
Model:		Dreco-split sheave
Rating:		1,400,000 lb
Traveling Block
Model:		Dreco split block with 8 in. opening for coring tools
Rating:		1,200,000 lb
Passive Heave Compensator
Model:		Western Gear 800-17-20
Lift Capacity:		800,000 lb active/1,200,00 lb locked
Max. Operating Conditions:		vessel heave 16.4 ft (5 m), 6 sec. period
Total Stroke:		20 ft (6.1 m)
Active Heave Compensator
Model:		Maritime Hydraulics, 500 hp, 170 hp in reserve
Efficiency:		>90%, 20 milsec response
Stroke:		25 ft
Residual Motion:		±3 in.
Operating Limit on AHC:		Ship velocity 4.3 ft/sec PHC stroke: <16 ft
Rig Instrument System
Model:		Data Wise Solutions Inc., Tru Vu PRO
Touch Screen Rig Floor Display:		monitors and records 100 data variables
Data Sample Rate:		2 Hz ( sec)
Max. Data Record Rate:		1 Hz (1 sec)
Variables Monitored:		rig floor drilling parameters, ship motion, real-time measurement-while-drilling/logging-while-drilling (MWD/LWD) data
Hook
Model:		National J-600
Rating:		1,200,000 lb
Swivel
Model:		National P650
Rating:		1,300,000 static, 904,000 rotating
Gooseneck equipped with valve, wireline, BOP, and oil saver for coring tools
Top Drive
Model:		Varco, TDS3
Rating:		1,000,000 lb
Motor:		EMD M89 electric, 1000 hp (Intermittent 1250 hp) Continuous torque, 31,000 ft-lb Intermittent torque, 41,300 ft-lb
Max Speed:		250 rpm
Drawworks
Model:		Oilwell, E3000
Motors:		(2) EMD D-89-MB electric, 1,000 hp each
Line:		1 in. wire rope
Brake:		(2) Baylor Eddy-Current, Model 7838, 117,000 ft-lb
Max. Torque:		96,000 ft-lb at 50 rpm
Dual Elevator Handler
Model:		Varco DEHS/471
Horizontal Reach:		60 in.
Vertical Reach:		36 in.
Elevator Size:		350 or 500 ton, special modified side-door
Iron Roughneck
Model:		Varco, IR2100
Wrench Range:		3 in. to 8 in. diameter
Makeup Torque:		63,000 ft-lb
Breakout Torque:		75,000 ft-lb
Vertical Travel:		33 in.
Rotary Table
Model:		Oilwell, A-49
Motor:		EMD D79-MB electric
Max. Speed Output:		325 rpm
Core Winch
National, independent drive double drum
Motor:		D79 electric, 750 hp
Capacity:		31,000 ft (9,448 m) per drum
Line:		in., (3) 18 EIP swaged wire rope
Cranes 1–3
Crane #1:		Bucyrus Erie Model MK60 with 80 ft boom, 6 ton whipline, 25.5 ST at 53°
Crane #2:		Bucyrus Erie Model MK60 with 80 ft boom, 6 ton whipline, 42 ST at 67°
Crane #3:		Bucyrus Erie Model MK35 with 80 ft boom, 5 ton whipline, 25.5 ST at 53°
Pipe Rackers
Racker #1:		Western Gear
Racker #2:		Victoria Machine Works
Western Gear Port:		130 stds, 5 in. DP (3750 m) (12,300 ft)
Western Gear starboard inner racker:		130 stds, 5 in. DP (3750 m) (12,300 ft)
Victoria M/W starboard outer racker:		104 stds, 5 in. DP (3000 m) (9830 ft)
Miscellaneous
Deck Load:		9534 ST
Moonpool Diameter:		22 ft (7 m)
Crew Compliment (max. 112)
Drill and Ship’s Crew:		47
Catering:		14
ODP Staff:		25
Scientists:		25
Lifeboats
Model:		Watercraft, enclosed
Capacity:		65 each (56 in survival suits)
Number:		4; 2 port and 2 starboard
Liferafts
Number:		5 enclosed
Capacity:		25 each

(September 2002)