MONTCO OFFSHORE

Coast Guard Responds to Liftboat Incident

The liftboat Juan tilts to its starboard side about 70 miles south of Gibson, La. The Coast Guard is monitoring the situation, and all personnel aboard the boat were safely evacuated. U.S. Coast Guard photograph The Coast Guard is monitoring a liftboat that is listing to one side today about 70 miles south of Gibson, La. A liftboat is a self-elevating, self-propelled boat used for various tasks such as crane operations, pipe laying and construction. The Coast Guard was notified that the liftboat Juan, owned and operated by Montco Offshore Inc. in Galliano, La., was listing to its starboard (right) side during jack-up procedures. All six crewmember were safely evacuated from the boat. Initially, the boat was listing at 10 degrees, and the boat is currently listing 45 degrees. No pollution has been reported, and personnel from Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Morgan City, La., are continuing to monitor the situation and will investigate the cause of the incident. The boat is located on the Outer Continental Shelf in Ship Shoal Block 207, and an overflight is scheduled to better assess and monitor the situation.

Bollinger to Build Another Liftboat

Success achieved by the 245-ft. class liftboat L/B Myrtle, delivered two years ago from Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., Lockport, La., to Montco Offshore, Inc., Golden Meadow, La., has led Montco to order another nearly identical vessel, L/B Kayd. Like its predecessor, the L/B Kayd will be built in Lockport and delivery is planned for September 2005. "When we took delivery of the L/B Myrtle,” said Lee Orgeron, president of Montco, “we hailed it as a giant leap forward in the evolution of liftboats

Putting the "Lift" into Liftboats

In the strictest sense, a liftboat is a self-propelled crane barge that can elevate itself above the water line. It is the cranes that make a liftboat such a valuable tool for building and/or renovating offshore oil and gas structures. A recent example of the working ability of these liftboats is the L/B Myrtle, a 137.5-ft. by 92-ft. vessel with a trio of 245-ft. legs, enabling the vessel to work in water depths of 180 ft. with a 15-ft. air gap

Offshore Wind Energy Health & Safety Summit Planned

Offshore Wind Health and Safety Summit 2012 to consider how to ensure workers safety in this hazardous industry. The European offshore wind industry is growing exponentially. In the first half of 2012 alone offshore wind power was up 50% on the previous year; 523.2 MW compared to 348.1 MW. EWEA predict that 2012 will be the best ever year for the industry. Along with this installed capacity, 13 offshore wind farms were in construction in the first half of this year.

Operational Management Program for Offshore Industry

ABS Nautical Systems LLC has released a new version of its advanced ABS SafeNet operational and management system software, developed to meet the needs of the offshore industry. The new system has been released as ABS SafeNet Offshore. ABS SafeNet Offshore is equally applicable to mobile and fixed units, to ship shaped drilling and production units, to spars, TLPs, semisubmersibles and platforms. "This is a very flexible program," says Jack Kitchura, president of ABS Nautical Systems

Stolt Offshore To Settle Share Guarantee

Stolt Offshore S.A. announced that, as expected, Vinci, the owner of the 6.1 million Stolt Offshore Common shares issued as partial compensation in the ETPM acquisition in December 1999, has advised Stolt Offshore of its intention to sell all of its Stolt Offshore shares as permitted by the ETPM acquisition agreement. Stolt Offshore has in turn advised Vinci that Stolt Offshore will organize this sale. As advised in our November 26th 2001 press

India’s Shipping Companies Look to Offshore Investments

With the boom in the oil and gas exploration sector, fueled by the recent awarding of new blocks under NELP VI, Indian shipping companies are tanking up to sharpen their focus on the offshore segment. Only last month, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) came out with a tender for chartering of around 26 offshore supply vessels, with mobilization requirement up to the third week of November. Shipping companies such as Great Eastern Shipping

Another AHTS for Med Offshore

Med Offshore ordered an AHTS 6615 of the Damen Offshore series. This is the second time Med Offshore orders an anchor handling tug supply vessel from Damen, following the AHTS 6114, Med Otto, which was elivered to Med Offshore in September 2006. Med Offshore, the Italian shipping company owned by the Garolla Family, operates a fleet of supply boats and anchor handlers while the holding company Sarda Bunkers operates a fleet of tankers for the transportation of bunkers and oil products

Dolphin Offshore Lines up Investments

Dolphin Offshore Enterprises (India) Ltd., an offshore construction and ship repair company for the oil and gas industry, has lined up investments worth Rs 1,000 crore over the next 5-6 years, a senior company official said. Dolphin has already invested $35m in the initial expansion plans like acquiring ships. Offshore construction being its main focus, Dolphin is looking at moving up the value chain with bigger contracts and would invest Rs 200 crore for expansion in this field.

MacGREGOR Forms Offshore Division

The MacGREGOR Group recently unveiled details of its new offshore division, a division made possible by the recent acquisitions of Hydramarine in Norway and Plimsoll in Singapore. The Offshore division will comprise more than 660 employees: 160 in Norway and 500 in Asia. In 2006, Hydramarine and Plimsoll had a combined turnover of approximately €104 million and a order backlog of €175 million. Both Hydramarine and Plimsoll are financially consolidated into the MacGREGOR Group as of April