Robert LeMeur was an icebreaking platform supply vessel used to support oil exploration in the Beaufort Sea. Built in 1982 by Burrard Yarrows Corporation in Vancouver, British Columbia, she was part of the fleet of Canadian icebreakers, drillships and support vessels operated by Canadian Marine Drilling (Canmar), the drilling subsidiary of Dome Petroleum and later Amoco Canada Petroleum Company.
In 1997, the vessel was sold to China Oilfield Services and renamed Bin Hai 293. She was used to support offshore oil production in the Bohai Sea until 2016 when the 34-year-old icebreaker was sold for scrapping.
History
Development and construction
In the mid-1970s, Canadian Marine Drilling (Canmar), the drilling subsidiary of Dome Petroleum, began drilling for oil in the Canadian part of the Beaufort Sea using ice-strengthened drillships and an extensive support fleet of icebreaking vessels. Aiming for year-round operations, the company also began developing its own experimental icebreaker concepts to support exploration drilling and, eventually, production-related operations. The first vessel of this research and development program was the 1979-built Canmar Kigoriak which represented a radical departure from conventional icebreaker designs with, among other features, a single-shaft mechanical propulsion system instead of a more commonly-used diesel-electric powertrain.
Following the successful demonstration of Kigoriaks icebreaking capability in the Beaufort Sea, it was agreed to continue the program with the construction of a second vessel. In addition to testing new design features such as an improved hull form and twin-shaft propulsion system, the new icebreaker would be a 4:1 scale model of a proposed Arctic tanker intended for transporting oil year-round from the Canadian Arctic to the market.
The construction of new icebreaking supply vessel was awarded to Burrard Yarrows Co. in Vancouver, British Columbia, in June 1979. The keel was laid on 8 October 1981, only about one month after the construction had begun, and the hull was launched on 26 May 1982. The icebreaker was delivered to Canmar on 24 September 1982.
Canmar's new icebreaker was named after Robert LeMeur (1920–1985), a French-born priest-missionary who arrived to Tuktoyaktuk in 1946. He was awarded the Membership of the Order of Canada in 1982 for his efforts to preserve and promote the Inuit culture.
Robert LeMeur (1982–1997)
Robert LeMeur was designed to support seasonal exploratory drilling operations in the Beaufort Sea. Her typical annual operational profile would begin in May with a warm-up that would gradually bring the vessel systems online after five months of cold lay-up. After commencing break-out, the Canmar icebreakers would first carry out one or more resupply missions to the drilling islands where exploratory activities have continued through the winter. In June, the icebreakers would return to the winter base to escort the drillships to predetermined drilling locations. Once the spread-mooring system had been deployed and drilling commenced, the icebreakers would remain on site to carry out ice management by breaking up large floes that could threaten the drilling operation. Once all ice had melted, Robert LeMeur would continue with supply missions to different Beaufort Sea drilling operations.
In the autumn, the Canmar icebreakers would return to continue ice management around the drillships until ice would become too thick for the mooring systems. By the end of November, the drillships would be escorted back for winter lay-up and Robert LeMeur would carry out final supply runs to the drilling islands. Although the vessel would typically be laid up for winter in mid-December, she was capable of continuing supply operations through the winter. In some years, Robert LeMeur was involved in research and development projects during the winter months or drydocked on Canmar's floating dock for inspection and repairs.
In 1982–1989, the Canmar drillships drilled only 10 wells for Dome Petroleum and other oil companies in the Canadian part of the Beaufort Sea. In addition, four more wells were drilled by the drillships in the Alaskan waters in 1985–1991. Other wells were drilled from artificial drilling islands as well as novel drilling systems such as Kulluk and the single steel drilling caisson. While a number of oil and gas discoveries were made, none of the findings were sufficient to warrant commercial production. Following the falling oil prices in the 1980s and the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, hydrocarbon exploration in the Beaufort Sea and the MacKenzie Delta gradually ended. Robert LeMeur was reportedly laid up in 1996.