Had a real mess with a stuck anchor line in the Mississippi current last month

We were working a salvage job near Baton Rouge, about 30 feet down, and my umbilical got tangled in a massive, rusted anchor chain. The current was ripping, maybe 4 knots, and it pinned me right against the wreck. My comms went fuzzy with the strain on the cable, and I could hear topside starting to panic. I had to signal 'stop' with my knife handle on the umbilical, then spent what felt like an hour (but was probably 10 minutes) carefully cutting away the frayed nylon line that had wrapped around everything. My biggest fear was nicking my own hose. Has anyone else had a close call with a snag in heavy current, and what's your go-to signal when comms cut out?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_paul16d agoMost Upvoted

That stop signal with the knife handle is smart, I've used that one before. Ten minutes feeling like an hour is the real deal, that current pressure does a number on your head. My old team used a set of three sharp tugs on the umbilical for "stop everything" when the comms died, but it only works if your tender is paying close attention. Did you have a backup plan ready if cutting that nylon line didn't work, or were you just fully committed to that one move?

abby_wilson517d ago

That three-tug signal only works if your tender is expecting it. We drilled a whole system of pulls for "stop", "take up slack", and "emergency lift" after a guy got fouled. You have to practice it on deck until it's muscle memory for both of you.

amy_murphy8516d ago

Yeah, that three-tug signal is solid if your tender's on it. I got pinned in the Cooper River current once and had to cut a whole section of my own umbilical free after it got sawed on a wreck edge. You just have to move slow and pray you don't hit the good hose.