The seized umbilical bolt on a 300 foot dive in the Gulf, and how I got it loose after 2 hours
Last month off Port Fourchon our dive boat's starboard hatch bolt seized at 280 feet during a rig inspection, and I wasted 2 hours breathing down a 1/4 inch impact with nothing to show. The answer was a $19 can of PB Blaster and a 6 point socket, not the 12 point I had been rounding off for 90 minutes. My tender yelled down that the shackle was already cracked, so we aborted anyway and cost the client $8,000 in downtime. Has anyone else had a bolt seize on the pot at depth, and do you bring a breaker bar or just swap the whole fitting?