Page 51: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2010)

November 2010 www.marinelink.com 51 sels currently under contract in the Gulf of Mexico, working out of Theodore, AL in support of the oil spill clean-up efforts.

BHC has four vessels dedicated to this di- vision and the revenues generated from it represent roughly 15% of BHC income.

You recently expanded into the work- boat business … can you tell me how that came about, and describe the vessels you own to serve this market?

Excelerate Energy in Houston Texas con- structed an offshore LNG transfer facil- ity in the middle of Massachusetts Bay in 2007. The facility, which is roughly 20 miles east of Boston, allows for the safe and efficient transfer of LNG to the re- gional natural gas infrastructure without the need of bringing the ships into a very densely populated city, or through a heav- ily trafficked harbor. The facility, known as the Northeast Gateway, requires 24 hour monitoring and security, as well as occasional maintenance and support. Ad- ditionally, ships operating within the fa- cility require materials and personnel transportation services. BHC was very fortunate to have been selected by Excel- erate 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. The vessels which

BHC has assigned to this division are: • Gateway Endeavor: The Gateway En- deavor is a 125-ft. aluminum crewboat built by Gulfcraft in 1985. BHC pur- chased the vessel in 1997 specifically to meet the needs of the Northeast Gateway project. It was purchased in Amelia, LA and renovated at Seacraft Shipyard. Im- provements included the complete recon- ditioning of the vessels interior and exterior, engine and generator rebuilds, updated electronics and security systems, and the design and construction of two portable FiFi 1 firefighting boxes, which are mounted on the vessels cargo deck.

The firefighting units, owned and sup- plied by Excelerate Energy are capable of pumping 11,000 GPM and are each driven by a Cat 3412 engine. The Gate- way Endeavor is the primary, dedicated vessel to the Northeast Gateway, and stays on station 24/7/365. • Scarlett Isabella: The Scarlett Isabella is a 145-ft. mini supply vessel built in 2010 in Bayou LaBatre, AL. The Scarlett is used during the busy LNG season at the Northeast Gateway providing support to the Gateway Endeavor, and is made available to other clients when not busy on that project. Currently, the vessel is operating in Theodore, AL under contract to Triton Marine, engaged in clean up support in the Gulf of Mexico. The Scar- lett has sleeping accommodations for up to 20 persons at a time, and features a 7- ton knuckle boom crane on deck which has made it very versatile in all opera- tions. The vessel is on charter to BHC

Navigational electronic advancement is moving so quickly and positively, that op- erating vessels safely in most weather conditions, at almost any speed is becoming in- creasingly more certain.

Rick Nolan