Glomar Explorer
Hughes Glomar Explorer
The Hughes Glomar Explorer (HGE) was a key component of Project Azorian. It was a specially designed ship built for the sole purpose of recovering the sunken Soviet submarine K-129 from the ocean floor. The construction of the ship was carried out by the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. in Chester, Pennsylvania, and was completed in 1973.
Design and Construction
HGE was designed to be a deep-sea mining ship as a cover for its actual purpose. It was equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including a dynamic positioning system, which allowed the ship to stay in a fixed position above the recovery site. The ship was also equipped with a moon pool, an opening in the bottom of the ship, through which the capture vehicle 'Clementine' could be lowered into the ocean. The HGE was 618 feet long and 116 feet wide, and it weighed 50,000 tons. It had a crew capacity of 178 people.
Role in Project Azorian
HGE played a crucial role in Project Azorian as it was used to recover a portion of the K-129 from the ocean floor. She was equipped with a capture vehicle 'Clementine', which was designed to grab the submarine from the ocean floor:
HGE sailed to the recovery site in the summer of 1974 and successfully recovered a portion of the K-129. However, the section carrying the missile control room and nuclear ballistic missiles broke off during the recovery and fell back to the ocean floor.
Post Project Azorian
After the completion of Project Azorian, HGE was used for deep-sea mining research and exploration. In 1976, the ship was leased to the Lockheed Missiles and Space Company for deep-sea mining research. Subsequently, in 1997, she was sold to Global Marine Drilling, who converted her into a oil and gas deepwater drillship. She was eventually scrapped in 2015, after an exciting and eventful 40-year career.
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Phillip Gales is a serial entrepreneur who has built tech companies in various heavy industries including Oil & Gas, Construction, Real Estate and Supply Chain Logistics.
Phillip holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an MEng in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cambridge, specialising in Machine Intelligence.