Page 74: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 1999)

conversion mar- ket are hardly bullish, several of the speakers discussed the opportunities that would be created if and when Floating

Production,

Storage, and

Offloading

Systems (FPSO) are allowed to operate in the

Gulf of Mexico.

Currently,

FPSOs are not allowed to be used in the GOM.

But as offshore exploration and production con- tinues to move farther offshore and into deeper waters, the use of these innovative production platforms seems a natural "next step," one which would be embraced by U.S. repair and conversion yards.

The FPSO topic was a large part of the

Minerals Management Service (MMS) agenda at its meeting in mid-November, and MMS sup- port is necessary to proceed, as Congress gave

MMS responsibility for oversight of the deep- water research at the Offshore Technology

Research Center. The MMS has increasingly seen its role expanded into global issues, fol- lowing the trend of globalization in the offshore segment, and as a result is now studying the results of FPSO use in other countries.

Chuck Schoennagle is the Gulf of Mexico regional deputy director, and he has his hands full with the many diverse activities in the

Gulf, especially the deepwater activities. MMS considers it a major challenge to not only keep abreast of the technological changes, but to respond to them in a timely manner. To ade- quately evaluate potential environmental effects from FPSO's, steps are being taken to procure a contract for preparation of a NEPA document to assess the effects of using FPSO's, and it is hoped that the contract will be signed by spring 1999. This document is being paid for by industry through the Deepstar consor- tium. The first application for an FPSO was filed by Texaco for their Fuji prospect.

BMI Off To A Good Start

The creation/resurgence of Baltimore Marine

Industries is one of the more compelling turn- around stories of the past year. BMI, which is the successor of BethShip's Sparrows Point yard, has quickly emerged as a fierce yet fair competitor for ship repair business on the U.S. east coast. David Watson, the company's pres- ident, was an invited speaker at MarAd's con- ference on ship repair and conversion in

Washington, D.C.

BMI was effectively born again in August of 1997, when New York based Veritas Capital bought the yard for a little under $20 million.

Although the search for a new owner and the ultimate deal turned out to be a quasi industry- wide soap opera, once the money was secured is when the real work began.

By the time Veritas Capital came along,

February, 1999 76

Watson said that the old Sparrows Point yard has effectively been shut down, with just 25 employees remaining, including a maintenance staff of four. When work to re-open the yard began, the challenge was formidable because of the need to recruit talent quickly, and effective- ly re-create the shipyard, 65 percent of which had been mothballed.

Watson credits the new owner's simple, hands-off approach with enabling BMI to become a quick success, as to date BMI has had 35 drydockings and 11 afloat repairs. A recent, prestigious contract to arrive at the yard (January 18) was the $5 million award for work on the Allied Towing Barge ATC23. Work on the chemical barge will entail renewing 900 tons of double bottoms, structural work and coatings, inside and out. The new owners made it sim- ple, they said grow the business and make a profit." BMI formulated a plan to diversify its business so that it would not wither and die in a prolonged ship repair recession. The yards plan calls for business to be split in the follow- ing manner: Repair and Conversion, 50 per- cent; Barge Construction, 28 percent;

Industrial Construction, 22 percent. New barge construction, the double-hulling of existing sin- gle hull barges and industrial construction are all business areas starting up or planned to start in the near future.

E-OPPORTUNITIES fMARINELINK.COM

Reach Your Customers Online

With Maritime Reporter's Website

Banner Ads

Your image plus our information equals the same kind of success you've achieved through your advertising in Maritime Reporter, with a new audience! Whether you produce the ad or have us do it for you, a banner is the most effective way to capture the attention of the maritime market.

Maritime Marketplace

This comprehensive listing of maritime goods andservices makes it easy for your customers to reach you with links to your homepage and e-mail.

NEW Classified Ad Page

The same great results you get from Maritime Reporter, and more!

To take advantage of these opportunites, contact your sales representative or e-mail Carrie Rivera at [email protected]. Call 212-477-6700.

More New Features and a New Look ... COMING SOON!

WWW.MARINELINK.COM

Circle 312 on Reader Service Card

STRONGER REPAIRS FASTER, EASIER

Unique epoxy resin system bonds to almost anything—produces proven, long lasting repairs with outstanding impact strength, tensile strength, and abrasion resistance • Repairs everything from pinholes and ruptures to complete breaks in pipes, pumps, ducts, tanks, valves, flanges, joints, and machinery casings, including equipment carrying water, low-pressure steam, gases, gasoline, oil, alcohol, and caustics • Bonds tenaciously to most surfaces including steel, plastic, fiberglass composites, ceramic, and wood

F HIGH STRENGTH Ep0xy REPAIR SYSTtW compos, ceramic a u »»9002S ^ " "

Circle 282 on Reader Service

STANDARD RESIN for small holes/cracks (large holes/cracks with fiberglass reinforcement)

RED PUTTY for medium to large holes, cracks and other defects

STEEL PUTTY for steel-like repairs on metal —can be drilled, tapped, machined

SEALER for small holes and cracks

LEVELING COMPOUND to level corroded surfaces

For detailed literature contact:

Ferro Corporation

Liquid Coatings and Dispersions Division 1301 N. Flora St., Plymouth, IN 46563

Tel: 219-935-5131 • Fax: 219-935-5278 ® FERRO.

Card

The OECD agreement will be done early. We are not going to let it wait until the end of the session. I would rather have it decided based on merit — either way — in February, rather than have it put off by stall tactics at the end of a ses- sion. — Senator John Breaux