Page 22: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 1992)

Maritime Reporter Staff

Southern shipyards, for years the traditional suppliers of equipment for the Gulf of

Mexico offshore sector, now build, repair and convert boats, ships and other vessels for the entire cross- section of marine sectors—passen- ger boats, casino riverboats, Navy oilers, dredges, offshore supply boats, Navy combatants, oil spill response vessels, barges, etc. This review examines some of the latest deliveries and current activity at

Southern shipyards.

Oil Pollution Act

Spurs New Orders

For OSRVs

The Marine Spill Response Cor- poration (MSRC) awarded a $40 mil- lion-plus contract to Bender Ship- building & Repair Co, Inc., Mobile,

Ala., in 1991 for four 210-foot oil spill response vessels, currently under construction at the yard.

Other work includes drydocking, repair and sponson modification on the 470-foot cable repair ship USNS

Meyer, operated by the MSC, over- haul of the Corps of Engineers' dredge Wheeler, and overhaul work on the NOAA vessel Mt. Mitchell and the USNS Redstone (T-AGM- 20). Last year, the Alabama firm completed over 190 projects in re- pair and new construction for for- eign, domestic and government own- ers.

The Pascagoula, Mississippi, ship- yard of Sea-Fab, Inc., repaired 45 vessels, built one work barge and converted three other boats during 1991. Most notable of the company's projects during the year was the conversion of an oil spill recovery vessel for the Delriver Bay Corp.,

Lewes, Del. Sea-Fab also built a work barge for Chevron Pipeline

Company, New Orleans, La.

Among the work underway at the

Mississippi yard's facility this year is the construction of two oil spill recovery vessels for Clean Coastal

Waters, Inc., Long Beach, Calif., as well as repair work on a cargo/sup- ply vessel for Tidewater Marine Ser- vices, New Orleans, La.

Six smaller all-welded aluminum boom boats were built by SeaArk

Marine, Inc., Monticello, Ark., for

Sun Refining & Marketing Company,

Philadelphia, Pa. One 24-foot "Transporter" boat is located at six different terminal sites.

Offshore Supply Boat

Construction, Conversion

Gulf Coast shipyards, which tra- ditionally served the needs of the

Gulf of Mexico offshore sector, are finding new opportunities in foreign markets. For example, Steiner Ship- yard, a Bayou La Batre, Ala., builder, hasrecently completed two contracts for four offshore vessels for Seacor

Offshore, Inc., Morgan City, La., owner and operator of a fleet of 51 offshore vessels.

One of the vessels Steiner com- pleted for Seacor was the Veesea

Typhoon, a 180-foot by 40-foot ves- sel used for standby rescue work in the North Sea. The 1976 vintage supply boat was completely updated by Steiner and is operated by Seacor and a joint venture partner, Vector

Offshore.

The other contract was for three 220-foot vessels that have been de- livered to Seacor over the past two years. The Sun Island, Discovery

Island and most recently the Avery

Island were built from modules of three 180-foot supply boats that had been abandoned by a now-defunct

Gulf Coast shipyard. "The existing modules were for 180-foot vessels," said Russell

Steiner, president of Steiner Ship- yard. "We had to add 40 feet of hull length to the boats to give Seacor the 220-foot boats they required."

The first two vessels delivered, the Sun Island and the Discovery

Island, are working in the Gulf of

Mexico for Seacor. Seacor also con- tracted for a third vessel to work off the West Coast of Africa.

The first two vessels were set up with a pair of rebuilt EMD 12V645-

CE2 diesels, each rated at 1,500 hp at 900 rpm and coupled to Marine

Gears, Inc., reduction gears at 2.97 to 1 ratio. The Avery Island uses 16V645-CE2 diesels rated at 1,950 hp working with the same gears.

All three vessels are equipped with

Cummins-powered bow thrusters.

The Avery Island uses a larger thruster than the other vessels, a 500-hp Harbormaster unit.

Located on the Escatawpa River,

Homeport Marine Services Inc.,

Moss Point, Miss., recently com- pleted the conversion of the 187-foot supply vessel Veesea Tempest to a standby/rescue boat with supply capabilities for Seacor Marine, Inc., (continued on page 24) 22 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News