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Frank L Beier Radio News

30 Sep 2003

Feature:SEMCO Builds World's Largest Liftboat

Lift boats are the unglamorous vessels of oil and gas well servicing industry. They travel to the job site with three large cylindrical legs rising 150-250 ft. above the waterline. Once onsite, lift boats lower their legs to the seabed and raise their hull up to 100 ft. above the waterline to be even with the structure they are servicing to provide a stable platform for workers to transit from the lift boat to the project in which they are working. These versatile vessels can serve through the entire life of a oil or gas well from driving casing to provide a "path" for a jackup rig to drill through construction of the platform, repair and renovation of the platform to plug and abandonment of the well.

01 Aug 2002

FEATUTRE: Fingertip Control

The 240-ft. HOS Dominator built by LEEVAC Shipyards, Jennings, La; and delivered earlier this year to Hornbeck Offshore Services is a prime example of a vessel using a touch screen monitoring, sensing and alarm system. This vessel also has a GMDSS communications suite and is equipped with DP-2 dynamic positioning system. As noted in the accompanying article, alarm monitoring, tank level sensing and the control of almost every function onboard a vessel has made giant strides in just the last few years. Instead of banks of warning lights, vessel operators now use touch screen computer displays that intuitively troubleshoots a problem leading to a quicker resolution. Frank L. Beier Radio, Harvey, La. has been on the cutting edge of the development and installation of many of these systems.

20 Nov 2002

Leevac Stays Ahead of the Game

While it would be foolhardy to classify Leevac as a cutting-edge ship and boatbuilder, the Jennings, La.-based company quietly goes about its business of building high quality vessels in an efficient manner. Unassuming president Fred Stokes sits at the helm of the company that has weathered markets good and bad, and watched as competitors and colleagues have been oftentimes swept overboard by financial maelstroms. The secret to Leevac's success lies not in its physical facilities, though the company is not hesitant to invest should a proven technology help to make its operations more efficient. Its success lies in, trite as it sounds, relationships with its customers, offering a known quantity with little or no surprises.

08 Jun 2001

Hornbeck Offshore Delivers HOS Innovator

Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. of Mandeville La. delivered its first Classed DP II PSV, HOS Innovator, for service. Leevac Industries of Jennings, La. constructed the vessel to Hornbeck's design. Upon delivery, the vessel began a three-year charter with Sonsub Inc. of Houston, Texas as a multi functional ROV Support Vessel. Measuring 240 x 54 x 18 ft. (73.1 x 16.4 x 5.4 m), this vessel is the first of six DP II classed vessels to be delivered to Hornbeck Offshore during the next eight months. The latest of the HOS "New Breed" has been uniquely engineered to offer numerous advantages over existing tonnage in the U.S flag fleet. The unique hull form assists in making the Innovator a very DP capable and fuel-efficient vessel.

09 Jul 2001

Local Yards Start to Feel the Impact

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico region is again poised to prosper, spurred by the buzz of activity surrounding the oil patch, and specifically the renewed vigor with which companies will explore and develop deepwater fields for the production of natural resources. Though the resumption of business at "full throttle" has taken perhaps a bit longer than many observers would have initially predicted, particularly given the continued high price of oil and gas and the "pro" oil industry political team occupying the White House, it is a safe bet that, at least for the next several years, the offshore oil business will ensure that the marine business in the GOM region is a prosperous one.

26 Jan 2000

Leica Supplies for Offshore Fleet

Leica has delivered eight MX 480 of its professional chart navigators for the fleet of offshore supply vessels operated by Hornbeck Offshore, Mandeville, La. The equipment was sold and installed by Leica dealer Frank L. Beier Radio Company of New Orleans. Each of the systems includes dual Leica MX 412B DGPS navigation receivers linked to a ruggedized PC-based chart plotter. Complete with built-in differential beacon receivers, the two independent DGPS receivers are designed to provide integrity monitoring with automatic switchover in the case of a failure or error in either receiver.

03 Feb 2000

Leica Supplies Offshore Fleet

Leica has delivered eight MX 480 of its professional chart navigators for the fleet of offshore supply vessels operated by Hornbeck Offshore, Mandeville, La. The equipment was sold and installed by Leica dealer Frank L. Beier Radio Company of New Orleans. Each of the systems includes dual Leica MX 412B DGPS navigation receivers linked to a ruggedized PC-based chart plotter. Complete with built-in differential beacon receivers, the two independent DGPS receivers are designed to provide integrity monitoring with automatic switchover in the case of a failure or error.

07 Sep 2005

Bordelon Boosts Fleet

The ground swell is well underway. For the past few months the undeniable signs of another boom period in the offshore oil and gas business are all around the Louisiana bayous. Personally, I follow the rig count, day rates and how fast drill pipe moves from certain outdoor staging areas onto trucks heading for Port Fourchon, Intercoastal City and other "jumping off" points to the Gulf of Mexico. Another way to keep abreast of what is happening in the offshore market is to talk to major equipment suppliers like Frank L. Beier Radio of Belle Chasse, La. They typically have contracts in hand before the first piece of steel is welded at the shipyard. "Things are popping," said Karl Beier president of the company.