Graham Gulf

New Propulsion System Improves Uptime, Power

The repower of Brother, a 140-ft. aluminum offshore crew/supply vessel with Cat 3508Bs, has reportedly improved efficiency more than 20 percent, and helped to decrease downtime significantly, according to Mike Dickinson, Eastern Division general manager for Graham Gulf Inc. of Bayou LaBatre, Ala. Graham Gulf currently operates five 140-ft. aluminum offshore crew and supply vessels in the Gulf of Mexico. All of the boats were designed and built by C&G Boat Works, a sister company of Graham Gulf, also located in Bayou LaBatre. Brother entered service in January 1998 powered by another manufacturer's 16-cylinder engines rated at 1,100 bhp. After more than two years of operation, Graham Gulf decided that the engines were not performing at the level required for the job. Two different engine models were considered for the repower. One manufacturer's engines were eliminated from consideration because they would have required extensive hull modifications, making it cost prohibitive. After discussions with local Cat Dealers and with corporate Caterpillar personnel, Graham specified four Cat 3508B engines rated 1,200 bhp at 1,800 rpm. ZF 2.33:1 marine gears replaced the previous 2.5:1 gears. Required changes during the repower included new water piping from the engines to the coolers, new engine controls and gauges, and new blowers to increase combustion and ventilation air flow through the engine room

Crowning the Decades Crew Supply Boats

Looking back at the Cummins Hotips#84 from 1999 (www.haig-brown.com Hotips) one can see how this class of vessels has evolved over the past decade. The crew boats were already getting larger with vessels up to 183 by 35 ft being the largest built for the Gulf of Mexico at that time. The larger boats demanded more power with the shift from six-cylinder 700-HP KTA19 engines to the larger 12-cylinder 1350 hp KTA38-M2.  

FEATURE: A Family Tradition

The one constant about the management of offshore vessel operating companies is the domination of family members of the founder. Except for the largest of these companies, Tidewater, Inc., that is a public NYSE-listed firm, most of the companies in this category, large and small, are run by the descendents of the founder. Many of these companies still bear the founder's name and most of the vessels are named after family members. by Larry Pearson The CALLAIS Family

Obama Commission to Investigate Oil Spill

According to a May 22 report from Reuters, U.S. President Barack Obama said that offshore oil drilling could only go forward if there were assurances that a disaster like the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill would not happen again. Obama officially unveiled a commission to investigate the accident. Former Democratic Senator Bob Graham and former Environmental Protection Agency chief William Reilly will co-chair the panel

Graham Oil Services Expands Boat Fleet

Boconco Shipbuilding's offices on Bayou LaBatre's Shell Belt Road are surrounded by prefabricated steel components for several utility boats building at the yard. A series of 126 by 30 by 12-foot boats are being built for delivery to Barry Graham Oil Services also of Bayou LaBatre. Alabama. The sister-ship was delivered two years ago with the others to be delivered at regular intervals over the coming year. The first of this set of boats launched on the high water Thursday evening January 23

Watch Out For Dispute Resolution Pitfalls

London law firm Lawrence Graham says users of dispute resolution services should be aware of pitfalls arising in relation to claims for interest under the Arbitration Act 1996. In its latest shipping newsletter - dubbed Shipping Lawgram - Lawrence Graham's shipping team comments on the Commercial Court case of Walker -v- Rowe, in which it was held that the courts had no power to make an order for interest to be paid on unpaid arbitration awards unless the interest had actually been set by the

New Crowley Vessels Keep Coming

In the first of several vessel deliveries over the next few weeks, Crowley christened and launched its newest heavy-lift series deck barge, the 455-4, Saturday at Gunderson Marine Shipyard in Portland, Ore.   The 400 ft long, 105 ft wide barge was christened by Carey Graham, wife of Parker Drilling Vice President Dennis Graham. The vessel's first assignment will be hauling a Parker Drilling Rig.  Following that assignment

London Firm Discusses Container Security

London law firm Lawrence Graham says shipping is set to see new forms of documents, and disputes over the use of existing ones, as security concerns raise to the top of the agenda the issue of what is in a container. Writing in Shipping Lawgram, the newsletter of Lawrence Graham's shipping team, Charles Baker highlights how security concerns are building up the political and industrial will and impetus to force through changes to traditional shipping practices which date from the general

Massive Ship Order in China

While banks keep lending tight, a massive $5 billion order in China should mark the official turnaround of shipbuilding's fortunes, as private equity in the form of The Carlyle Group and Tiger Group Investments Partner have teamed with Seaspan Corporation, the Washington Family, Gerry Wang and Graham Porter to order more than $5 billion in new ships. Coupled with the recent announcement by Maersk and Daewoo to build a series of 10 of the world's largest containerships

New Chairman for Bilbroughs

Graham Edmiston is to retire as chairman and chief executive of A Bilbrough & Co, managers of the London P&I Club, on February 20, 2002. Edmiston has been with Bilbroughs for 30 years, 27 of them as director. The directors, however, are pleased to announce that Edmiston will continue to be associated with Bilbroughs as a consultant. Edmiston will be succeeded as chairman and chief executive by Paul Hinton. Hinton joined Bilbroughs in 1976, and was appointed a director in 1987.