Page 50: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2010)

50 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

The continuing advancements in naviga- tional electronics, have allowed fast fer- ries to become favorably competitive with other modes of mass transit, and have been very healthy for our industry.

Time is money for every client today, and we have evolved into such a fast paced society physiologically, that without this advancement in speed, our industry would have a very bleak future. So for

BHC, the most critical technologies over the past 40 years that have helped us to sustain a steady growth pattern have been the advancement of construction design and materials, combined with the corre- sponding navigational electronics that have allowed us to move from 10 to 20 and now to 35 knot operational speeds safely.

Your business is diverse: can you give us a brief breakdown of the markets you serve, and their contribution to your company’s bottom line?

BHC is proud of its diverse business make-up, and is currently operating sev- eral different divisions in marine trans- portation and entertainment cruises.

They are as follows; • Commuter Ferry Services: BHC op- erates two large commuter ferry service contracts under the Massachusetts Trans- portation Authority (MTA); they are the

Inner Harbor Commuter Service and the

Hingham to Boston Commuter Service.

These are year round services that carry a combined total of around 1 million pas- sengers annually. BHC has a total of seven vessels committed to these two services, and the revenues generated from Commuter Ferry Services repre- sents about 33% of BHC income. • Seasonal Excursion Services: BHC operates a large number of seasonal recreation services; including sightsee- ing, whale watching, Provincetown Fast

Ferry, Codzilla Thrill Ride, and luncheon and dinner charters. These combined services carry a total of around 700,000 passengers annually on 12 vessels, and the revenues generated form this division generates roughly 52% of BHC income. • Offshore Logistic Support Services:

BHC has been providing offshore vessel support services to the Northeast Gate- way in Massachusetts Bay since 2008.

This service provides for 24/7 patrolling and security of the offshore ports facil- ity’s and equipment, and crew and mate- rials support to LNG ships while on station, as well as providing vessel sup- port during diving and ROV operations on the ports underwater infrastructure.

Additionally, BHC has one of these ves-

WORKBOAT ANNUALFEATURE

Boston Harbor Cruises business expanded when Excelerate Energy of Houston constructed an offshore LNG transfer fa- cility in the middle of Massachusetts Bay in 2007. The facility, which is roughly 20 miles east of Boston, requires 24 hour monitoring and security, as well as occasional maintenance and support. BHC was selected by Excelerate Energy to provide such support services. BHC currently operates several vessels in support of this facility; all work is performed essentially the same as crew and supply boat services to the to the US offshore oil industry.