The Jacob, a $17.8m boat designed by Metairie-based A.K. Suda Inc. for CS Liftboats, recently launched in the Gulf of Mexico on July 14. According to the New Orleans Business Center, the move helps alleviate a five- to six-boat demand for post-Katrina cleanup. Liftboats are considered the transport trucks of the offshore oil industry. Industry analysts predicted a backlog of months for liftboats after Hurricane Katrina. Insurers paid out more than $8b in claims for storm damage in the Gulf of Mexico, and demand is rampant for liftboats to handle cleanup and repairs.Most liftboats use only a portion of possible leg length because a crane is attached to the legs. Suda’s team placed the 200-ton crane on the liftboat’s deck. Engineers shaved roughly 15 ft.