Page 10: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 2006)

10 • MarineNews • July, 2006

Unbeatable Quality

ISUZU FORD ROBIN VM NEWAGE LOMBARDINI

GENERATORS • ENGINES • PUMPS • PARTS • SERVICE 1212 St. Charles St. Houma, LA 70360

Phone: 985-857-8000 / 800-960-0068 www.mlengine.com / [email protected]

Circle 225 on Reader Service Card

O'Brien's Group Marks

Opening

The O'Brien's Group celebrated the grand opening of a new state-of-the-art Command Post and Emergency

Operations Center (EOC) in Slidell, La. O'Brien's previ- ous Command Center was destroyed when Hurricane

Katrina devastated the New Orleans area in 2005. "After temporarily relocating to our Houston, Texas office and a considerable evaluation of our current and future opera- tions, we are proud to announce the Grand Opening of our new state-of-the-art facility in Slidell," said Tim

Perkins, CEO of The O'Briens's Group.

The Command Center has been the foundation for

O'Brien's emergency response management services, which are provided to over 150 oil and gas company clients, as well as local, state and federal agencies.

O'Brien's also provides Qualified Individual (QI) and

Spill Management Team (SMT) services to the shipping industry representing over 5,000 ships operating in U.S. territorial seas. Emergency calls received by O'Brien's clients worldwide are managed from the Slidell Com- mand Post and EOC.

Several public officials attended the ribbon cutting cer- emony from the City of Slidell, including Mayor Ben

Morris, Fire Chief Larry Hess, and John O'Neil, St. Tam- many Parish Fire Services Director. Also present were

Captain Paskewich of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector New

Orleans and Alton Bates of the Department of Interior and Minerals Management Service (MMS).

As a part of the welcoming home ceremony, Randall

Blank, CEO of SEACOR Environmental Services, pre- sented Mayor Morris with a donation of $10,000 for the restoration and enhancement of Slidell's radio communi- cations equipment.

ACR Promotes Two

ACR Electronics Fort Lauderdale, Fla., team announced that some team members have assumed new titles and responsibilities as they move into bridge elec- tronics and an overall increase in marine sales domesti- cally and worldwide.

Tony Smith, a 15 year sales veteran at Fort Lauderdale-based ACR Elec- tronics, has been promoted to Sales

Director, assuming the responsibili- ties of marine and bridge electronics, government, outdoor and aviation sales for the company’s international division, which covers Asia, the

Pacific Rim and Latin America.

Bob Pro, who joined ACR in 2004 as the Western Marine Sales Manag- er, has been promoted to North

America Sales Manager, Marine

Division. Pro¹s new assignment will entail managing all aspects of marine business, including bridge electron- ics, commercial, recreational, and national accounts.

Marie Appointed to Board

J.J. Marie, President and CEO of Zodiac of North

America (ZNA) has been appointed to the board of the

Association for Rescue at Sea (AFRAS) -a non-profit organization dedicated to providing support to voluntary lifeboat services all over the world.

Tugs Relocate to Oakland

Oakland ship assist and escort customers Crowley

Maritime Corporation relocated its tugs to Berth 9 in the

Port of Oakland effective June 16. The move, eight miles away from Crowley's previous terminal at 10th Avenue, will allow Crowley to provide faster service upon receiv- ing a customer's ship assist request.

Crowley tugs will be based closer to most customer operations and will be able to work with greater ease in the expanse of the Outer Harbor. Tugs will no longer need to sail through the Oakland Estuary to reach most vessels. Crowley tugs, which were once a fixture in San

Francisco Bay from the early 1900s to 1996, returned home in 2004 to once again provide service to area cus- tomers. In the Bay Area, Crowley provides traditional ship assist services to carriers, typically container ship- ping companies, as they enter and leave the port and its surrounding areas.

Harvey Gulf Leases at

Port of Fourchon

Shane J. Guidry, President and CEO of Harvey Gulf

International Marine, Inc., announced that the company has completed the leasing of property in the Port of Four- chon for the support of operations in the deep waters and the shelf of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Harvey Gulf plans to upgrade the existing property to support their fleet of offshore towing, supply and diving vessels with Dynam- ic Positioning Capability.

This property will also be capable of supporting other operators in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. These conversions will be completed by November 2006, and will enhance the company's position as the industry leader.

The modification of the property will initially include 7 primary needs that the largest ocean going vessels will require: 1,500 ft of Steel Bulkhead Water Front; Lift

Crane, Cherry Pickers, Fork Lifts; Water Service; Secure

Storage 24/7; Office Rental Space; Warehouse Rental;

Logistics Services.

J. Ray McDermott Returns

To New Orleans

J. Ray McDermott, S.A. (J. Ray), a subsidiary of

McDermott International Inc., announced that it has reopened its Engineering office in New Orleans, LA (NOLA). The return to NOLA comes nearly 10 months after Hurricane Katrina forced the evacuation of J. Ray employees to temporary offices in Amelia, Louisiana and Houston, Texas. J. Ray's new NOLA office is locat- ed on the 12th floor of 1340 Poydras Street (formerly the

Amoco Building). The office has an initial staff of 27 employees, including 22 engineers, with room to expand over time to 37 employees.

News

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Smith

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