Page 58: of Marine News Magazine (November 2011)

58MNNovember 2011More than a decade ago, deepwater oil production in the Gulf of Mexico surpassed shallow water output for the first time ever. These days, rigs are found as much as miles offshore. Companies need to get equipment, employees, fuel and mud to those sites economically and usually on atight schedule. Gulf marine companies are trying to meet those requirements by increasing the speed, size and ener- gy efficiency of their vessels--though not necessarily all at once. TRADEOFFSBETWEEN SIZEANDSPEED INSUPPLY BOATS Shane Guidry, Chief Executive Officer of Harvey Gulf International Marine, LLC in New Orleans, pointed to constraints in making supply boats any speedier. ?Work boats can't become faster and lighter because they're made of steel,? he said. ?As they get larger, wider and deeper, they don't get faster.? Crew boats are getting longer and faster, Guidry said. ?However, a 220-foot-long crew boat uses 13,000 gallons of diesel fuel per day at $3.40 a gallon. At a fuel-operating cost of $45,000 a day, that doesn't make financial sense.? He said instead of employing one long crew boat, a company can use two supply boats--one out at the oil rigand one at the dock--to be more cost effective. He added ?that's why we haven't looked at building any long crew boats."Guidry continued, saying ?Supply boats can become more cost effective by being built longer. Some of the long supply boats we're building will be more energy efficient.? He said the initial price tag of his company's new, lique- fied natural gas or LNG-fueled supply boats is 20 percent higher, but over time, he will amortize some of that addi- tional cost in fuel savings.Harvey Gulf recently hired shipbuilder Trinity Offshore, LLC, in Gulfport, Miss. to build two LNG-fueled off- shore support vessels. The new boats will meet American Bureau of Shipping ENVIRO+ standards, making them ecologically friendly. SEACOR C OMMISSIONSFASTCREW BOATS At SEACOR Marine in Houma, La., project manager Joe McCall said ?big offshore oil producers all use crew and supply boats and helicopters to transport staff and cargo.? SEACOR Marine has 50 crew and fast support vessels in its fleet. ?To make crew boats faster, you need to increase their horsepower, optimize the hull design, Efficiently Moving Cargo & Crew Offshore By Susan Buchanan RJ Coco McCall. (Photo courtesy Gulf Craft LLC) MN#11 (50-65):MN 2011 Layouts 10/28/2011 10:28 AM Page 58