Offshore Mission News

A refurbished 48-foot workboat has been delivered to The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) for its second life as a research vessel.The vessel, an Endeavor 45 cabin patrol vessel originally built by Silver Ships in 2008 for the State of Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR), returned to the Theodore, Ala. shipyard for the transformation. The vessel is now capable of supporting the USM School of Ocean Science and Engineering’s deep ocean underwater surveys using various uncrewed underwater vehicle systems.

SAFE Boats International, a manufacturer of aluminum, patrol and response boats located in Bremerton, Wash., has manufactured and delivered two new 41-foot Center Console – Offshore Interceptors for the Royal Bahamas Police Force adding to its growing fleet of SAFE Boats. The 41-foot Center Console - Offshore Interceptor Vessel’s primary mission is counter-narcotics and human trafficking interdiction within the waters of the Bahamas. The vessels were delivered late in December and acquired through a joint effort between the U.S.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. of Panama City, Fla. announced it has been selected as one of the three finalists to design the United States Coast Guard’s new Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC). In accordance with the terms of the $22 million dollar Phase I finalist award cap, Eastern said it will spend the next 18 months finalizing the engineering and ship design in order to become the final shipyard selected to build the first OPC. The OPC fleet is expected to total 25 Cutters, while the initial contract is for up to 11 Cutters.

Acquisition Update: U.S. Coast Guard Awards Three Contracts for Offshore Patrol Cutter Preliminary and Contract Design. In a process that has come a long way since the early days of the Coast Guard's so-called "Deepwater" recapitalization efforts, the U.S. Coast Guard yesterday awarded three firm fixed-price contracts for preliminary and contract design (P&CD) for the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) acquisition project. The contracts were awarded to Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC (Lockport, La.), Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc. (Panama City, Fla.) and General Dynamics, Bath Iron Works (Bath, Maine). The total value of the award is approximately $65 million.

U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service has announced its 2010 recipients of the Offshore Leadership Award (OLA). Gene Barfield, CSP and Garrel Rowell of Danos & Curole have been recognized for their excellent dedication in developing and implementing the Subpart O workshop. In early 2009, Gulf Coast Safety & Training Group formed a committee to assist their membership and others in the oil & gas industry by developing a model Subpart O Training Plan to meet the requirements as set forth in the MMS regulations. The GCSTG Subpart O Training Plan Committee, chaired by Gene Barfield was comprised of representatives from 4 major E&P companies, 4 independent E&P companies, and 4 contractor companies.