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and crane barges, lift boats, industrial vessels and ferries at yards in Morgan City and Amelia, La., and in Orange, Texas. However, Lipely said, our repair seg- ment was down 29% in the first quarter of 2011 compared to first quarter 2010. We believe that was due to the morato- rium and subsequent difficulty in obtain- ing drilling permits that have caused some of our customers to decrease oreliminate drilling and drilling-support ac-tivities in the Gulf.? As more permits are issued, the off- shore drilling outlook has started tobrighten, he said. But, he added in ouropinion, the increase in domestic permitactivity will not improve boat building this year. At best, we should see some im- provement in the first half of 2012.? Also in Morgan City, David Barousse, business development director at Fleet Operators, Inc., said unfortunately, drilling vessels are still stacked, or tied up with crews removed, all around South Louisiana, which means that drilling ac-tivity is still very low.? Fleet Operators owns and charters supply vessels for the offshore oil and gas industry. Barousse said that in recent months, ahandful of oil and gas operators, whohave made sure they are compliant with BOEMRE standards for offshore facili- ties, have generated maintenance and re- pair work that smaller vessels have been able to take advantage of. That has been a shot in the arm for our business.? He said any increase in drilling permits will help South Louisiana's marine in-dustry, particularly the deepwater sector. JUDGE ORDERS FEDS TO ACT ON PERMIT APPLICATIONS On May 10, U.S. District Judge MartinFeldman in New Orleans ordered off- shore energy regulators to act within 30 days on six, pending permit applicationsfiled by companies that have contracts with Ensco Offshore Co., the Gulf com- pany challenging last year's offshore drilling ban.The U.S. unlawfully delayed permits for deepwater drilling after the BP spill last year, the judge ruled in Ensco Off- shore v. Salazar in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. Under fed-eral law, the U.S. Dept. of Interior, which oversees BOEMRE, must act, either fa- vorably or unfavorably, on drilling per- mit applications within a reasonabletime, Feldman said.LOUISIANA'S PREPARED FOR FLOODING LAST MONTHAlready hammered by last year's oilspill and drilling moratorium, marinecompanies in South Louisiana spentmuch of last month taking precautionsfor high water. At the bottom of the Atchafalaya River, Morgan City was flooded following the mid-May opening of the Morganza Spillway, northeast of Baton Rouge. The last time the spillway was opened was nearly 40 years ago. Lipely said three of our four shipyards are located in South Louisiana,one along the Atchafalaya River in Morgan City and the other two in Amelia along the Intracoastal Waterway. We have temporarily discontinued operations at our Morgan City shipyard ? which is located on the Atchafalaya River outside the protection of the levee system ? and have taken steps to safeguard our assets and mitigate the effects of this situation.? He said vessels under construction and key pieces of equipment were moved to the company's other shipyards. Produc- tion personnel, as well as support and ad-ministrative staff, have been relocated to our other facilities in the area.? At Fleet Operators, Barousse said hiscompany built walls with sandbags around the homes of some of its employ- ees living in low-lying areas. GULF INDUSTRY ALSO EYES CUBA'S PLANSMeanwhile, in another Gulf-relatedmatter, officials in Cuba ? which is 90 miles from Florida ? expect offshore drilling to begin this year. Industry mem- bers worry that if Cuba were to suffer an offshore spill, the long-standing U.S. trade embargo on Cuba could hamper cleanup efforts. American companies with spill tech-nologies are restricted from doing busi- ness with the island.64Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Leave These Behind Eliminate stern tube oil pollution by converting from oil to seawater lubricated Thordon propeller shaft bearings. ÝÛGjgn]fÛG]j^gjeYf[] ÝÛQ]jgÛIakcÛg^ÛJl]jfÛKmZ]ÛFadÛGgddmlagf ÝÛI]\m[]\ÛFh]jYlaf_Û:gklkÛ¨EgÛ8=KÛk]Yd© ÝÛ:FDG8:ÛJ]YoYl]jÛCmZja[Yl]\Û ÛÛÛÛGjgh]dd]jÛJ`Y^lÛ9]Yjaf_ÛJqkl]e *Certain conditions may apply. Please contact Thordon Bearings Inc. for further information. *www.ThordonBearin gs.com2011 YEARBOOKOFFSHORE REPORT