With a goal to enhance telecommunications and elevate the quality of life for personnel who reside on the derrick barge E.P. PAUP during the busy offshore season, IT Network Engineer Aquiles Castillo spearheaded the reconfiguration of the vessel’s network.
Manson’s largest derrick barge, the E.P. PAUP performs offshore contracts for platform installation and decommissioning in the Gulf of Mexico from April to November, docking at the Houma yard during the offseason to prepare for the next season. The vessel also serves as temporary lodging for more than 70 crew members at a time, who rely on the vessel’s network for daily operations and recreational time. Inspired by Manson’s commitment to prioritize people, Aquiles visited Manson’s corporate office in Seattle, WA, in December 2023 to meet with IT Director Kerly Olivares-Taipe, IT Help Desk Manager Bob St. Joseph, IT Lead Enterprise Engineer Danny Warner, and IT/OT Cybersecurity Manager Lynn Johnson. Aquiles presented a solution to modernize the vessel’s network to ease some of the crew’s pain points and enhance network security.
The network overhaul would include upgrading the vessel’s antenna, updating hardware and software, remapping cables and auxiliary devices, and, most importantly, providing a full-coverage network for the entire vessel.
“The E.P. PAUP’s network at the time was only covering about 80 percent of the vessel,” Aquiles explains. “It was a real problem for crews because there were multiple dead spots throughout the different floors of the vessel.”
Given the greenlight to move forward, Aquiles sought the help of Network Engineer Edgard Bobarykin, who works out of Manson’s Jacksonville office, to execute the restructure.
“I was finishing a project on the derrick barge WOTAN in the Houma yard when Aquiles asked me to come back to help him on the E.P. PAUP,” Edgard remembers. “During that time, he planned the logistics and scheduling with the electricians and engineers so we could step onto the vessel without any interruptions.”
Upgrading the Network on the E.P. PAUP
In March 2024, Aquiles and Edgard, equipped with floor plans of the E.P. PAUP, conducted a walkthrough to identify areas that would serve as permanent homes for new cradle point routers— devices that provide secure internet access.
With help from the E.P. PAUP crew, the duo also visited the ship’s four server rooms to learn about the different installation layouts.
“The first week consisted of walking through the E.P. PAUP and going to each server room and tracing each wire and cord to make sure it went to where it was supposed to go,” Aquiles explains. “We used documentation to map out the wires and also met with the chief engineers and electricians to communicate the work and how it would affect operations because there were times when the network had to be shut off.”
The following week, Aquiles and Edgard mobilized to the E.P. PAUP to disconnect and install new hardware in the server rooms.
“It took quite a while to disconnect every room because some wires did not match the existing layout,” Edgard says. “Also, there were times that we had to reconnect the network because crews needed to join a meeting, or a barge administrator needed to send in a report.”
After successfully rewiring and installing new hardware into each server room, Edgard returned to Jacksonville. Aquiles completed testing and updated the network’s security features—just in time before the barge set out for the work season in April 2024.
“The Manson IT department is not just upgrading hardware; we’re future-proofing our operations with uninterrupted connectivity, secure data transfer, and real-time decision-making,” Kerly says. “It’s not just about bytes; it’s about keeping the vessel afloat, keeping the crew informed, and making the journey for our E.P. PAUP successful.”
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