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www.marinelink.com MN 25 rigs.” The company has planned and budgeted for slower-than-usual repairs, refurbishing, and vessel opera- tion activities in 2011, however, as its

Gulf customers wait for drilling per- mits.

Bollinger Shipyards is a leading U.S. builder of vessels and provides other services to the offshore energy, com- mercial and government marine mar- kets. As the largest vessel repair and conversion firm in the Gulf, Bollinger

Shipyards operates 32 dry docks from

Louisiana to Texas.

Meanwhile in Des Allemands, La.,

Paul Candies, president and chief operating officer at Otto Candies, said “we're building three, large platform- supply vessels for the offshore oil industry and two diving support ves- sels for Brazil at our shipyards in

Houma. We're also constructing an inspection, maintenance and repair or

IMR vessel at the Dakota Creek

Shipyard in Washington State.”

Candies continued “all our vessels in current use are less than five years old so we haven't been doing any refur- bishing.” Candies Shipbuilding in

Houma, La. has built nine, new off- shore-service vessels in the last five years.

Candies said “even though the Gulf drilling moratorium was lifted, few permits have been issued, and we have three big marine vessels that have been tied to the dock for some time.” The company is paying staff to man those vessels, along with insurance and amortization. “We don't want to lay people off,” he said. “At the same time, however, we're unable to train staff while boats sit there without a go-forward schedule.”

He added that “the situation of off- shore drillers waiting for permits in the Gulf will become critical in the region if it lasts much longer.” Otto

Candies maintains a fleet of more