Louisiana Facility News

U.S.-based boat builder Metal Shark is expanding its presence in its home state of Louisiana with the addition of a third manufacturing facility and a new recruitment effort.The expansion follows the recent divestiture of its Alabama-based ship refit and repair business, after the company sold its operations to Birdon America.With a new 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Metal Shark is looking to boost its production capacity.Together with its nearby Jeanerette and Franklin production facilities…

U.S. grain exports increased last week as shippers along the Louisiana Gulf Coast recovered from flooding and widespread power outages caused by Hurricane Ida's Aug. 29 landfall, but volumes were much lower than normal, preliminary data showed on Monday.Just seven export vessels were loaded with grain and soybeans at Louisiana Gulf Coast terminals in the week ended Sept. 16, down from 23 vessels in the same week last year, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data showed.Ida crippled overseas grain shipments weeks before the start of the Midwest harvest and the busiest period for U.S.

Barge freight costs for moving grains in the Midwestern United States spiked on Thursday due to ongoing logistical problems more than two weeks after Hurricane Ida, while CHS Inc said the timeline to reopen its terminal remains uncertain.CHS Inc, a farmer cooperative and grain trader, said it expected its Myrtle Grove, Louisiana, grain export terminal to be operational by the height of the U.S. corn and soy harvest but could not be more specific.The terminal, which unloads grain barges and loads ocean-going vessels for export…

Belgium-based shipowner Exmar is partnering up with a Canadian fertilizer company to build jointly develop and build a low-carbon, ammonia-fueled vessel which they aim to deploy as early as 2025."Partners for over three decades in transporting ammonia globally, Nutrien is one of the world’s largest producers of low-carbon ammonia and is a leading player and innovator in the transportation of liquefied gas products," Exmar said."Nutrien and EXMAR support the decarbonization of shipping and the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Green House Gas (GHG) Strategy to reduce emissions.

MarineNews showcases the ten best of North America’s 2018 workboat deliveries. Domestic shipyard production is robust, innovative and getting greener. And, that translates into two kinds of ‘green.’As the domestic offshore energy support sector slowly awakens, other sectors have been happy to take the spotlight in its absence. As always, and if a hull was delivered in 2018, we took a look at it, with several areas as a focus for inclusion into this edition. For my part, I’m always excited when the U.S. boatbuilding sector can deliver for a foreign buyer. We’ve checked that box here. And, that’s because we can compete on price, quality and when we do…

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced the appointment of two vice presidents at its Ingalls Shipbuilding division. George Jones has been appointed vice president of operations, and Tim Farrell has been appointed vice president of new Navy programs. In his new position, Jones will be responsible for all facets of ship construction through delivery. He is responsible for enhancing cost and schedule performance, process and facility improvements and driving production strategies across all Ingalls programs. Jones began his career with Ingalls in 1984 as an apprentice.

The Marine Training Institute advises that classes are filling up quickly for ECDIS & DP training at its new technologically advanced facility situated on the central Gulf Coast near Houma, Louisiana. Beier Radio explain that it opened The Marine Training Institute in January 2014, specializing in USCG approved ECDIS certification courses and type-specific ECDIS training, as well as basic and advanced DP Operator training. Students can master there the operations of vessel technology using simulators that apply real-world skills to the real-world challenges of the marine environment during four and five day sessions. The Marine Training Institute is the only full time ECDIS training facility along the Gulf of Mexico, say Beier.

Hoover Container Solutions (Hoover), a subsidiary of Hoover Group, Inc., has announced the grand opening of its new distribution and service center in Scott, La. The opening of this facility will provide an increased ease of operation for Hoover products and services to the Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern United States. The new distribution and service center sits on nine acres and is comprised of 25,000 square feet of warehouse and 3,000 square feet of office. Overseen by Robbie Monlezun…

Cleaning the Gulf of obsolete platforms is the goal of the Southern Recycling’s (SOREC) Morgan City, Louisiana facility. The yard’s new 420-ton land-based crane has increased the Gulf region’s capacity to manage disposal of obsolete rigs and platforms in an environmentally safe and cost-effective manner. The crane, engineered and manufactured by American Crane allows the yard to lift many platforms, up to 120 ft tall, directly from the material barge to the facility’s yard without pre-cuts.

On October 5, 2009, Hope Services Inc. (HSI) delivered the M/V Lavaca Bay to Higman Marine Services, of Houston, Texas. The 2000 horsepower boat measures 72 ft by 30 ft with a draft of 10 ft. Hope Services, Inc. has been designing and building vessels since 1986, but has been expanding its operations over the last year to include more vessel repair and refurbishment at its Dulac, Louisiana, facility. In addition to the core ship building operations, HSI has now expanded to include offshore oil and gas fabrication, off loading of jackets and decks as well as storage of that equipment.

Houston-based J. Ray McDermott recently bid farewell to the Maloob-C drilling platform, built under a contract for PEMEX Exploración y Producción, Northeast Marine Region. The project is located in the Ku-Maloob-Zaap field in the Bay of Campeche, Mexico, in 264 feet of water. “This was the first project for our fabrication facility at Altamira, Mexico,” said John Nesser, J. Ray’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Work on the drilling platform began in February 2008. Fabrication of the two-level, 2,535-ton deck and the 3,527-ton jacket, factory testing, onshore pre-commissioning and operational testing, load out and sea fastening were all performed by J. Ray at Altamira. Additionally, more than 3,300 tons of piles were fabricated at J.

ZF Marine announced that Stephen Taylor has been appointed Account Manager for the Gulf Coast and Inland River region. Taylor comes to ZF Marine with 20 years of Marine Propulsion experience working on commercial and government projects, in project management, and sales and marketing. Taylor will be based out of ZF Marine LLC's St Rose, Louisiana facility.

J. Ray McDermott ("J. Ray"), a subsidiary of McDermott International Inc. ("McDermott"), announced that it has been awarded a contract by Coastal Drilling Company, LLC to fabricate a drilling barge at J. Ray’s Morgan City, Louisiana facility. Coastal Drilling’s Rig #22, a 3,000 HP posted barge rig with dimensions of 250’ x 70’ x 18’ will be constructed in one of J. Ray’s onsite fabrication buildings. J. Ray will have upwards of 100 employees engaged to complete the barge work during the third and fourth quarter of 2005. The drill barge is scheduled to sail by January 2006. “We are very excited to have the opportunity to demonstrate our expertise and capabilities on this job.