Barry Graham News

Industry trade group the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) announced the addition of four CEOs to its board of directors.The new board members include Wes Bordelon, Chief Executive Officer, Bordelon Marine; Stacy Jo Stanley, Chief Executive Officer, Offshore Oil Services, Inc.; David Dantin, Chief Executive Officer, Odyssea Marine; and Lasse Petterson, Chief Executive Officer, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock."With the addition of these four executive leaders, OMSA pays homage to its roots while welcoming expanded opportunities in emerging energy frontiers…

M/V Glenn Autry, a U.S. flagged 205-foot aluminum monohull crew supply vessel has been delivered for Barry Graham Oil Service (BGOS) of Bayou La Batre, Ala. Designed by Incat Crowther and built by Halimar Shipyard in Morgan City, La., the project involved close collaboration between operator, shipyard and designer that originated with the build of a sister vessel, the M/V John Jacob delivered by Halimar to BGOS in 2014. Driving factors in the design and build process included…

Incat Crowther informs of the delivery of 'John Jacob', a 205’ aluminum monohull Crew Supply Vessel, for Barry Graham Oil Service (BGOS) of Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Built to a high standard by Halimar Shipyard in Morgan City, Louisiana, the project’s successful completion is the result of a close collaboration between operator, shipyard, and designer. The John Jacob has a vast aft cargo deck of nearly 340 sqm (3,640 square feet), which carries loads up to 450 long tons. The main deck cabin houses 72 passenger seats, passenger shower and toilet, stores, a dedicated DP equipment room, and access to the upper deck wheelhouse below deck accommodations. A deck locker, accessed from the cargo deck, is provided for storage of deck cargo securing equipment and other safety gear.

The area directly south of Lafayette, La., is authentic bayou country, known for Cajun culture, excellent food, unique music and, for boat lovers, the crew/supply boat capital of the world. Four boat yards in this area build these multi-engine, all- aluminum, speedy vessels, almost exclusively. Each yard turns out up to six crew/supply boats a year. In fact, three of the shipyards are located within just a few miles from each other in the tiny hamlet of Loreauville, La., a town that seems to be made up mostly of aluminum welders. That, of course, is an exaggeration, but not by much. Not every vessel delivered from these shipyards goes to work supporting the search for oil and gas…

Boconco Shipbuilding's offices on Bayou LaBatre's Shell Belt Road are surrounded by prefabricated steel components for several utility boats building at the yard. A series of 126 by 30 by 12-foot boats are being built for delivery to Barry Graham Oil Services also of Bayou LaBatre. Alabama. The sister-ship was delivered two years ago with the others to be delivered at regular intervals over the coming year. The first of this set of boats launched on the high water Thursday evening January 23 and will be named the Capt. Levert in honour of Barry Graham's 87-year old maternal grandfather. Capt. Levert Seaman had a 100-ton license and has worked most types of boats along the Gulf Coast…

In recent years the demand for large crew boats has continued to grow in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and has increased in some foreign markets, such as West Africa and Mexico. As their size has grown, so has the horsepower employed by these boats as customers demand greater load capacities and greater speed. "The trend in the 170-ft. (51.8 m) class of boats is to more power and faster speeds," affirms Swiftships' A.J. Blanchard, at the Morgan City yard, "These boats have gone up in power from four 1,000-hp engines to four 1,350-hp engines and bigger jets. We've had more interest from both U.S. and foreign customers in all jet boats since the increase in jet size has removed concerns over the loaded speeds," Blanchard adds.

The picturesque town of Bayou La Batre, Ala. has long been known for its production of shrimp trawlers. Normally, about 150 of these 90-105 ft. vessels come out of 8-10 yards set up specifically to produce these boats. Increasingly, however, large deepwater offshore service vessels are taking their place along side of the trawlers as the Bayou La Batre boat builders join with their Louisiana cousins in producing vessels for the oil patch. Interestingly, it is many of the same builders who construct dozens of trawlers a year that are in the forefront of OSV production. One of the prime examples is Master Boat Builders, Coden, Ala., about three miles south of Bayou La Batre.

The one constant about the management of offshore vessel operating companies is the domination of family members of the founder. Except for the largest of these companies, Tidewater, Inc., that is a public NYSE-listed firm, most of the companies in this category, large and small, are run by the descendents of the founder. Many of these companies still bear the founder's name and most of the vessels are named after family members. In 1948, Abdon Callais converted a shrimp trawler into an offshore service vessel and that began a company that is in its third generation of providing transportation of fluids and cargo to offshore oil and gas rigs. Abdon's sons Harold and Ronald became involved with offshore oil buisness.

Mud, Mud, Mud. Liquid mud is the name of the game in the design of today's offshore service vessels. The drilling rigs not only want huge volumes of mud, but they want the vessels that serve them to be able to carry several different types of liquid mud. That means two or three separate piping and pumping systems to keep the mud from cross contamination. That also increases demands for automated control and alarm systems, many of which utilize touch screen controls. The rigs also need dry bulk cement, barite and other such products, so dry bulk tanks with 6,000 or so cu. ft. of capacity would be desired. Many rig owners would also like the vessels to carry methanol and…

The newest buzz among offshore operators serving the oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is the increased use of methanol (CH3OH) by oil companies and contract drillers. This has meant more work for supply boats carrying this alcohol product to rigs along with rig water, fuel oil and liquid and bulk mud. Methanol is used to keep the flow lines from the wellhead to the surface of the water from becoming restricted or blocked. Restricted flow from wells is becoming an increasing problem for oil companies and drilling contractors whose bottom line depends on getting every drop of oil from a well. Flow assurance is a critical issue, especially with longer tiebacks in deepwater drilling operations.