Page 79: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 2013)

www.marinelink.com 79Lockport, La.-based Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. is humming with work from oil and gas companies and government agencies. Family-owned and operated, Bollinger has 10 shipyards -- nine in south Louisiana and one in Texas -- along with 28 drydocks and 3,000 em-ployees in four administrative locations. Last month, we caught up with Ben Bor- delon, Bollinger?s Executive Vice Presi- dent of Repair, for his outlook on the Þ rm and the Gulf of Mexico. Bordelon is the nephew of Boysie Bollinger, who has been at the helm as CEO since 1985. ?Roughly 50 percent of our business is new construction and 50 percent is repairs,? Bordelon explained. ?Gov-ernment new construction accounts for about 35 percent of our business, and commercial work related to oil and gas provides 50 percent.? Bollinger is the largest vessel-repair company operating along the GOM. The company designs and builds military patrol boats, ocean-going barges, offshore oil support ves- sels, liftboats, tug boats, rigs, inland push boats, barges and varied steel and aluminum products. Bordelon said capacity is tight within the shipbuilding industry now. ?Coast Guard projects are keeping us very busy in Lockport,? he said. ?Our Morgan City facility recently delivered four ocean-class tugs for Crowley and a ß oodgate for Terrebone Parish. We?re currently building three sludge ships for New York City. We?re also building four 300? class platform supply vessels.? Crowley Mari-time Corp. is based in Jacksonville, Fla.At Lockport, ?we just delivered our seventh fast-response cutter, the Charles David Jr., to the Coast Guard,? Borde- lon said. ?We have a total of 18 FRCs to build, and expect future awards to add to that contract.?As busy as its employees are, Bol-linger will accept work that Þ ts into it schedule. ?We?re currently considering and reviewing additional opportunities,? Bordelon said.Repeat CustomersAs for Bollinger?s clients, ?with 68 years in the business, we have a lot of great customers and a lot of repeat cus-tomers, going back to my grandfather,? Bordelon said. ?They range from the USCG, one of our very best, to oil and gas companies, which are tops for us.? ?The needs of our customers range from deepwater jack-ups to offshore tank barges and inland water vessels,? he said. ?Our broad customer base has been key to our success in this business over the years.?Asked about the contribution of inland push boats and barges to earnings, Bor- delon said inland waterways are a signif-icant, mature segment of the company?s business from a customer and vendor standpoint. ?They?re a vital part of our repair and propeller work,? he said. ?We have a large customer base operating on the Mississippi River and the waterways, served by our machine and hydraulic shops and propeller services.?Transportation on interstate waterways is crucial to the nation?s commerce, he noted. Bollinger?s shipyards and dry- docks, located between New Orleans and Houston, have direct access to the Mississippi River, Intracoastal Water- way and the Gulf of Mexico.Presence at Port Fourchon Grows Bollinger has invested heavily in Loui-siana?s Port Fourchon. ?Fourchon was an emerging port 15 years ago,? Borde- lon said. ?Our facility there has expand-MR #9 (74-81).indd 79MR #9 (74-81).indd 799/4/2013 1:49:08 PM9/4/2013 1:49:08 PM