Southeastern Louisiana News

Jeffersonville, Ind.-based barging company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) has agreed to acquire and preserve 649 acres of woodland wildlife habitat and will pay an additional $2 million for damages stemming from a 2008 oil spill on the Mississippi River, near New Orleans.The company has already paid $1.32 million to reimburse the federal and state trustees for their past damage assessment and restoration planning costs after one of its barges discharged approximately 6,734 barrels (282,828 gallons) of No. 6 fuel oil into the Mississippi River upriver of New Orleans in July 2008.

One person has died, a dozen are missing and six others have been rescued after a commercial lift boat used to service oil rigs capsized in hurricane force winds south of Louisiana’s Port Fourchon, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday.Rescuers in Coast Guard cutters, aircraft and volunteer civilian boats were hunting for the dozen missing people in the Gulf of Mexico after the 234-foot commercial vessel, Seacor Power, capsized in rough seas eight miles off Port Fouchon about 4:30 p.m.

Six people were rescued near the coast of Louisiana after a commercial [lift boat] capsized about eight miles off Port Fourchon on the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Coast Guard said late Tuesday.About a dozen people are still missing after the 234-foot commercial lift vessel [reportedly Seacor Power] capsized in a storm, according to local media reports citing authorities. There was no immediate response from the coast guard to a Reuters request for comment on the number of missing people and potential casualties."We're still searching for more people…

Pacific Carriers Limited (PCL), a Singapore-based company that owns subsidiaries engaged in international shipping, was sentenced today in federal court before U.S. District Court Judge Louise Flanagan in New Bern, N.C., after pleading guilty to violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, obstruction of justice, and for a failure to notify the U.S. Coast Guard of a hazardous condition on the cargo vessel Pac Antares.PCL pleaded guilty to a total of eight felony offenses across three judicial districts – the Eastern District of North Carolina, the Southern District of Texas, and the Eastern District of Louisiana. PCL was sentenced to pay a fine of $12 million…

U.S. oil companies on Monday began restoring some of the more than nearly 74% production shut at U.S. Gulf of Mexico platforms ahead of Hurricane Barry, the U.S. offshore drilling regulator said.There was 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil production off line in the U.S.-regulated areas of the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, about 80,000 barrels less than on Sunday, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).Workers also were returning to the more than 280 production platforms that had been evacuated.

Oil traders from Texas to Louisiana braced on Tuesday for supply disruptions as Tropical Storm Cindy, formed in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, threatened to hit refining and production centers with wind and rain later this week. Cindy was located about 265 miles (430 km) south of Morgan City, Louisiana with maximum sustained winds of 45 miles (75 km) per hour. It is expected to approach the coast of southwest Louisiana late Wednesday or Wednesday night, and move inland over western Louisiana and eastern Texas on Thursday, the NHC said. The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the largest privately owned crude storage terminal in the United States…

Torrential rainstorms battered Louisiana on Sunday, leaving thousands without power, after pounding southeastern Texas as the remnants of Hurricane Patricia converged with a second storm. The heaviest band of rain moved over the Gulf of Mexico, triggering coastal flood warnings and flash flood watches in southwest Louisiana and soaking New Orleans, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). About 22,000 people were left without power in the greater New Orleans area. Some streets were flooded, while a high tide surge brought some coastal flooding as well. Rainfall has totaled as much as 7 inches (18 cm) since late Saturday night, and forecasters predicted another 5 inches (13 cm) could fall.

Under a settlement agreement with the United States, ATP Infrastructure Partners, LP (ATP-IP) will pay a $1 million civil penalty and perform corrective measures to resolve claims by the U.S. under the Clean Water Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) of unauthorized discharges of oil and chemicals from an oil platform into the Gulf of Mexico, announced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). This is the first joint judicial enforcement action involving EPA and BSEE claims in response to alleged violations of both the Clean Water Act and OCSLA. The United States’ complaint, which was filed in February 2013, in the U.S.

Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. headquartered in Lockport, La., inform of the upcoming retirement of its Vice President Repair, Eastern Division, Dave Marmillion, after 46 years in the shipyard industry. Marmillion’s retirement was announced by Bollinger’s Chief Operating Officer, Ben Bordelon, who said, “Dave has been an integral part of Bollinger’s growth and a mentor to many in the shipyard industry over the past 46 years. Marmillion started his shipyard career as a lifelong resident of the New Orleans Westbank area. He attended West Jefferson High School and graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, Louisiana in Industrial Technology.

Paul B. When Paul B. Candies passed away suddenly on July 21, 2013, the lifelong resident of Des Allemands, LA left behind a prolific, enormously accomplished family and one of the most well-respected marine services and vessel operations firms on the planet. His passing also opened our eyes to the breadth and depth of an individual whose influence and impact extended far beyond the sometimes insular world of maritime commerce. Fitting far more into his time here on earth than others living much longer…

Wild Well Control, a Superior Energy Services company, has named Kerry Girlinghouse Vice President of Well Control Engineering. Girlinghouse has been with Wild Well Control since 2004. In his most recent position he served as a Senior Technical Advisor within the engineering division. Based in Houston, Girlinghouse will lead the engineering division, increasing his role in global well control and prevention and response services. “Kerry has been an integral part of the success of Wild Well Control and the engineering services division.

According to a May 11 report from Reuters, BP Plc said it has finished building a smaller dome designed to trap oil spewing from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico and plans to try placing it over the relentless leak. This "top hat" dome was taken out to sea by ship from Port Fourchon in southeastern Louisiana, where it was made. Robotic submarines will then make preparations before the containment structure is put into place. (Source: Reuters)

Louisiana Economic Development, local economic development organizations and federal agencies are combining forces to host free Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone Workshops in five Louisiana communities. The seminars will offer local business owners, developers and practitioners a detailed view of how to take advantage of the post-hurricane incentive package. Experts from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other state and local agencies will inform participants on the tax breaks and bonding options available under the GO Zone Act. These workshops will be particularly valuable for small businesses that may not have considered GO Zone incentives to help restore or expand their companies.