Mike Williams News

Britain’s new polar research ship, the RSS Sir David Attenborough, has been formally presented with Lloyd's Register (LR) certification after a four-year-long construction period, the classification society said.The high-profile vessel, the U.K.’s largest commercial newbuild for over 30 years, was delivered to Natural Environment Research Council and British Antarctic Survey (BAS) by Cammell Laird Shipbuilders. BAS undertake vital research in the polar regions, leading in polar science and polar operations…

Actor Mark Wahlberg said "the biggest responsibility" for himself and the makers of the new movie, "Deepwater Horizon," was to honor the real-life victims of the 2010 oil rig disaster. "The oil can ultimately be cleaned up, (but) those 11 men can't be replaced," Wahlberg told Reuters at the film's London premiere on Monday. "Those were fathers, brothers, husbands, uncles, cousins. We can't replace those guys and so when they approached me about doing this film, I thought, 'What better way to promote their story'," he added.

A top priority for a new movie about the deadly 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill was ensuring it accurately depicted the disaster that killed 11 workers, its director and main actor said. "Deepwater Horizon", which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday evening, focuses on the hours before and after the rig explosion on April 20, 2010 that led to the worst offshore oil disaster in U.S. history. Directed by Peter Berg, the film stars Mark Wahlberg as Mike Williams, the real life worker who was one of the last people to escape from the burning rig.

A shipbuilder is celebrating its 40th anniversary by staging an open day to coincide with the International Festival of Business Mersey Maritime and Shipping Innovation event. MCTAYS, the shipbuilding subsidiary of HS Ocean Holdings (HSOH) is hosting the open day on Friday 13th June at its yard in Birkenhead on the banks of the River Mersey. Peter Breslin, Managing Director of MCTAYS, said the open day will provide an opportunity for customers and suppliers to see the shipyard’s extensive facilities and learn more about the services it provides.

According to a July 21 report from Bloomberg, Transocean Ltd. employees onboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig when it exploded in the Gulf of Mexico have become the focus of a U.S. government probe into the cause of the fatal disaster. Stephen Bertone, chief engineer on the rig, and Mike Williams, chief engineer technician, were designated as parties of interest July 20 by a joint U.S. Coast Guard-Interior Department investigative panel. That boosted to five the number of Transocean workers who could face criminal charges stemming from the accident that killed 11 people. (Source: Bloomberg)

To say the Gulf of Mexico maritime business had a down year would be a major understatement. But rags-to-riches-to-rags experience of the past has resulted in a consolidated, resourceful group of companies poised to pounce on the next market upturn … which should be very soon. The business trends of consolidation and globalization that have largely defined the late 1990s have touched every level of business in the U.S., including the Gulf of Mexico maritime industry. Companies that had largely depended on "business as usual" are generally out of business today. The result: a resilient industrial base that is poised to prosper in good times and bad. "Business is bad right now, as the oilfield is our primary source of business," said Ralston P.

The only logical reason the sustained high price per barrel of oil has not already been dubbed "OIL BOOM 2000" is the fact that hindsight is 20/20. Companies that operate, build and supply vessels for the fickle oil patch have seen schizophrenic markets of days past bring industry goliaths to their knees. There remains a reserve among Gulf of Mexico area companies regarding prospects 2000 and beyond, but there is a growing feeling the business - which has largely been dismal since the end of 1997 - is set to embark on one of those notorious end runs that will fill area yards with healthy backlogs for years. The reason for the "look before you leap" attitude is also largely rooted in changing business dynamics which have effectively altered the way in which the world does business.