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GSF Explorer, formerly USNS Hughes Glomar Explorer (T-AG-193), was a deep-sea drillship platform built for Project Azorian, the secret 1974 effort by the United States Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division to recover the Soviet Union submarine K-129.Burleson 1997, p. 52. "Mysteries of the Deep: Raising Sunken Ships: The Glomar Explorer." Scientific American Frontiers (PBS), p. 2. Retrieved: 25 December 2010.
The ship's construction required a purpose-built crane ship, Sun 800, to lift its 630-ton gimbal into place.
Hughes told the media that the ship's purpose was to extract from the Seabed. This marine geology cover story became surprisingly influential, causing many others to examine the idea.
In 1974, the ship recovered a portion of K-129, but as the section was being lifted to the surface, a mechanical failure in the grapple caused two-thirds of the recovered section to break off.Sontag et al. 1998, p. 196. This lost section is said to have held many of the most-sought items, including the codebook and
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The operation became public in February 1975 when the Los Angeles Times published a story about "Project Jennifer". Other news organizations, including the New York Times, added details. The CIA declined to either confirm or deny the reports, a tactic that became known as the Glomar response and subsequently used to confront all manner of journalistic and public inquiry, including Freedom of Information Act requests. The actual name, Project Azorian, became public only in 2010.
The publication Red Star Rogue (2005) by Kenneth Sewell claims "Project Jennifer" recovered virtually all of K-129 from the ocean floor.Sewell 2005, pp. 128, 148.Podvig 2001, p. 243. Sewell states, "Despite an elaborate cover-up and the eventual claim that Project Jennifer had been a failure, most of K-129 and the remains of the crew were, in fact, raised from the bottom of the Pacific and brought into the Glomar Explorer".
A subsequent movie and book by Michael White and Norman Polmar ( Project Azorian: The CIA and the Raising of the K-129) revealed testimony from on-site crewmen as well as black and white video of the actual recovery operation. These sources indicate that only the forward of the submarine were recovered.
Although the scientific community rallied to the defense of Hughes Glomar Explorer, urging the president to maintain the ship as a national asset, no agency or department of the government wanted to assume the maintenance and operating cost.Toppan, Andrew. "The Hughes Glomar Explorer's Mission." the-kgb.com. Retrieved: 25 December 2010. Subsequently, during September 1976, the GSA transferred Hughes Glomar Explorer to the Navy for reserve fleet, and during January 1977, after it was prepared for dry docking at a cost of more than two million dollars, the ship became part of the Navy's Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet.Pike, John. "Project Jennifer: Hughes Glomar Explorer." Intelligence Resource Program via fas.org, 16 February 2010. Retrieved: 25 December 2010.
In late 1996, the ship was towed from the mothball fleet in Suisun Bay to San Francisco Bay, where much of the existing rig structure around the moon pool, including the massive gimbal was removed. Following this, she was towed north to Portland, Oregon, for drydocking, closing up much of the submarine-sized moon pool, and engine repairs, among other things.
In June 1997, the ship departed Portland under its own power and sailed around South America and up to Atlantic Marine's shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, for conversion to a dynamically positioned deep sea drilling ship, capable of drilling in waters of and, with some modification, up to , which was deeper than any other existing rig at the time. The conversion cost more than $180 million ($ million in ) and was completed during the first quarter of 1998.
The conversion of the vessel from 1996 to 1998 was the start of a 30-year lease from the United States Navy to Global Marine Drilling at a cost of US$1 million per year ($ million per year in ). Global Marine merged with Santa Fe International Corporation during 2001 to become GlobalSantaFe Corporation, which merged with Transocean in November 2007 and operated the vessel as GSF Explorer.
In 2010, Transocean bought the vessel for a ($ million in ) in cash. "Transocean 10Q SEC Filing on 4 August 2010." brand.edgar-online.com. Retrieved: 25 December 2010.
The vessel was reflagged from Houston to Port Vila, in the third quarter of 2013. rigzone.com Retrieved: 17 December 2013.
During her 18-year drilling career, she worked in the Gulf Of Mexico, Nigeria, the Black Sea, Angola, Indonesia and India, with various shipyards and port visits along the way, with numerous oil company clients. Crew members fondly referred to her as "The Mothership".
Transocean announced in April 2015 that the ship would be scrapped. "Transocean’s new fleet status, scraps GSF Explorer" Offshore Engineer Retrieved: 17 April 2015. The ship arrived at the Ship breaking at Zhoushan, China, on 5 June 2015.Secret ship sold for scrap Ships Monthly January 2016 page 6
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