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Southern Louisiana News

19 Dec 2022

How Climate Change is Altering River Shipping

© Rob Sheppard/Danita Delimont / Adobe Stock

Rivers are critical corridors that connect cities and ecosystems alike. When drought develops, water levels fall, making river navigation harder and more expensive.In 2022, water levels in some of the world’s largest rivers, including the Rhine in Europe and the Yangtze in China, fell to historically low levels. The Mississippi River fell so low in Memphis, Tennessee, in mid-October that barges were unable to float, requiring dredging and special water releases from upstream reservoirs to keep channels navigable.Conditions on the lower Mississippi may be easing somewhat…

18 Aug 2022

Next US Energy Boom Could Be Wind Power in the Gulf of Mexico

© Mosto / Adobe Stock

With passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which contains US$370 billion for climate and energy programs, policy experts are forecasting a big expansion in clean electricity generation. One source that’s poised for growth is offshore wind power.Today the U.S. has just two operating offshore wind farms, off of Rhode Island and Virginia, with a combined generating capacity of 42 megawatts. For comparison, the new Traverse Wind Energy Center in Oklahoma has 356 turbines and a 998-megawatt generating capacity.

08 Sep 2021

Asian Crop Importers Brace for Delays After Ida Hits US Export Hub

© Tom / Adobe Stock

Asia’s grain and oilseed buyers are set to face shipping delays of at least one month after Hurricane Ida damaged key export terminals around the U.S. Gulf Coast, two traders and one miller said. The slowdown in supplies is likely to stoke food inflation fears for price-sensitive consumers in Asia, where many importers have already drawn down crop inventories after having been forced to curb purchases amid volatile crop prices and COVID-related supply disruptions this year.Importers led by top soybean buyer China…

02 Sep 2021

Baton Rouge, New Orleans Ports Reopen After Ida, Key Oil Hubs Remain Shut

© momentscatcher / Adobe Stock

Most ports along the U.S. Gulf Coast had reopened on Thursday following lengthy closures from Hurricane Ida, which lashed southern Louisiana with 150-mile-per-hour winds that caused extensive infrastructure damage and floods.Two of Louisiana’s main ports, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, reopened late on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. They joined the already functional terminals of Panama City, Biloxi, Mobile, Pascagoula, Bienville, Beaumont, Cameron, Lake Charles, Port Arthur…

02 Sep 2021

More Grain Terminals Found Damaged by Ida, Exports May Stall for Weeks

© danimages / Adobe Stock

Grain shippers on the U.S. Gulf Coast reported more damage from Hurricane Ida to their terminals on Wednesday as Cargill Inc confirmed damage to a second facility, while power outages across southern Louisiana kept all others shuttered.Global grains trader Cargill Inc said its Westwego, La., terminal was damaged by Ida, days after confirming more extensive damage at its only other Louisiana grain export facility, located in Reserve.Ida, which roared ashore on Sunday, has disrupted grain and soybean shipments from the Gulf Coast, which accounts for about 60% of U.S.

10 May 2021

Valero Charters Tanker for Storage as Cyber Attack Shuts U.S. Pipeline

Valero Energy chartered an oil products' tanker for storage in the U.S. Gulf Coast on Friday amid a cyber attack that shut the Colonial pipeline, the biggest U.S. fuel pipeline, two sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday.The tanker, called the Nave Titan, is currently in the Mississippi River in southern Louisiana, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data.Nave Titan can hold up to 330,000 barrels of oil, according to the tanker data.Other Gulf Coast refiners were looking to book tankers for storage this weekend as the outage affected shipments of refined products to the East Coast, according to the sources.Valero did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Laura Sanicola; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Kim Coghill and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

29 Mar 2019

Conrad Industries Announces 2018 Results and Backlog

Conrad Industries has announced its 2018 results and backlog.The company had net income of $198,000 and earnings per diluted share of $0.04 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 compared to net loss of $2.1 million and loss per diluted share of $0.42 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017. Results for the year ended December 31, 2018 includes $7.5 million from the Deepwater Horizon Court-Supervised settlement. The company’s financial reports are available online.The backlog as of December 31…

30 Aug 2018

Shipyard in Focus: Conrad Shipyard

Oceangoing tug Kapena Jack Young built for Young Brothers Ltd in Honolulu conducts sea trials
south of Port Fourchon

Parker Conrad, a shipbuilding pioneer and a legend along the Gulf of Mexico coast and beyond, founded Conrad Shipyard in 1948. The company, headquartered in Morgan City, Louisiana, is now a public company with new generations of Conrad’s at the helm. “I grew up in the shipyard working side by side with my father,” said Johnny Conrad, President, Chairman and CEO explains. “I saw firsthand how he treated customers, and how his handshake was as good as a contract. Many of our current customers did business with Parker…

21 May 2018

LNG is the Bridge to ‘Zero Emissions’ Shipping

(Photo: Skangas)

The advent of industry wide tightening of allowable sulfur emissions is getting nearer. Suddenly, with the deadline now little more than one year away, the countdown clock will very soon be ticking much louder. Simply stated, the cap on allowable sulfur content in marine fuels, presently at 3.5 percent in many geographical regions, will be reduced to 0.5 percent in January 2020. The 0.1 percent sulfur cap, already in effect since 2015 in coastal Emissions Control Areas (ECAs) in Europe and North America…

29 Mar 2018

Conrad Industries Announces 2017 Results and Backlog

Johnny Conrad (Photo: Conrad Industries)

Conrad Industries, Inc. (OTC Pink: CNRD) has announced its fourth quarter and twelve months 2017 results and backlog. For the quarter ended December 31, 2017, Conrad had net loss of $3.4 million and loss per diluted share of $0.67 compared to net loss of $836,000 and loss per diluted share of $0.15 during the fourth quarter of 2016. The company had net loss of $2.1 million and loss per diluted share of $0.42 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 compared to net loss of $1.7 million and loss per diluted share of $0.33 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016.

21 Jun 2017

Tropical Storm Cindy Rolls in on US Gulf Coast

Image: NOAA National Hurricane Center

Tropical Storm Cindy is likely to hit the Gulf Coast near the Texas-Louisiana border on Wednesday night, threatening to bring flash floods from Texas to Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center. Cindy was located about 165 miles (265 km) south of Morgan City, Louisiana, early on Wednesday with maximum sustained winds of 60 miles (95 km) per hour, the NHC said. The storm was moving northwest at nearly 8 miles (13 km) per hour, and forecasters said they expected this motion to continue until it hits the coast.

25 Aug 2016

MN100: Conrad Shipyard

Johnny Conrad (Photo: Conrad Shipyard)

Conrad Shipyard was established in 1948 and is headquartered in Morgan City, Louisiana. The company designs, builds and overhauls tugboats, ferries, liftboats, barges, offshore supply vessels and other steel and aluminum products for both commercial and government markets. The company provides both repair and new construction services at its five Gulf Coast shipyards located in southern Louisiana and Texas. Widely recognized for innovation, Conrad has a separate business unit devoted to the construction…

24 Jun 2016

Conrad Shipyard Forms LNG Business Unit

Conrad LNG Vice President Brett Wolbrink (Photo: Conrad Shipyard)

Conrad Shipyard has formed a new business unit focused on LNG projects. Conrad, builder of North America’s first LNG bunker barge scheduled for 2017 delivery, said it continues to actively pursue other LNG opportunities, including developing designs for additional transport barges, dual-fuel powered towboats and other research and development projects. “We believe the continued development of the LNG fuel market to be of critical importance. Not only will it provide positive change with respect to environmental emissions…

13 May 2016

Conrad Declares Dividend

Conrad Industries, Inc. which provides both repair and new construction services at its five shipyards located in southern Louisiana and Texas, announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on June 14, 2016 to shareholders of record on May 24, 2016. Established in 1948 and headquartered in Morgan City, Louisiana, Conrad Industries designs, builds and overhauls tugboats, ferries, liftboats, barges, offshore supply vessels and other steel and aluminum products for both the commercial and government markets.

18 Oct 2015

GCSG Delivers Harvey Power

Gulf Coast Shipyard Group (GCSG) has delivered Harvey Power, the second LNG vessel operating in the United States—for Shell Upstream America’s deep water operations in the Gulf of Mexico—is fully in service. She is the second of six LNG OSVs being built for Harvey Gulf International Marine, and like her sistership Harvey Energy, Harvey Power is capable of operating on LNG or diesel fuel. Along with being able to operate on LNG, she also meets the strident criteria of the ABS Enviro+, Green Passport notation. When operating on LNG, these vessels exceeds the new Tier IV emissions regulations requiring lower sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides emissions as part of the North American Emission Control Area (ECA).

10 Jul 2015

Conrad Industries Appoints Leonard as VP

Conrad Industries, Inc. announced the appointment of Rene J. Leonard as Vice President of Business Development and Engineering. "Rene has been in the shipyard business over 25 years in various capacities including naval architect, project engineer, program manager, director of commercial programs and more recently as Vice President – Engineering for the past ten years, overseeing all functional design development, regulatory approvals, and production engineering," said Johnny Conrad, President and Chief Executive Officer. Conrad Industries, Inc., established in 1948 and headquartered in Morgan City, Louisiana, designs, builds and overhauls tugboats, ferries, liftboats, barges, offshore supply vessels and other steel and aluminum products for both the commercial and government markets.

21 May 2015

Conrad Announces Management Team Changes

Conrad Industries, Inc. announced the appointment of Scott J. Theriot as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Johnny Conrad, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Scott has been in the shipyard business since 1976 in various positions spending the majority of his career with Bollinger Shipyards and was a member of Bollinger’s senior management team for a total of 25 years. Terry T. Frickey, Chief Operating Officer since February 2005, will assume the new position of Executive Vice President – Business and Product Development and will remain a member of the executive team. Conrad Industries, Inc., established in 1948 and headquartered in Morgan City…

13 Mar 2015

Harvey Energy Begins Work for Shell

Gulf Coast Shipyard Group (GCSG) informed that Harvey Energy, the first LNG vessel operating in the United States—for Shell Upstream America’s deep water operations in the Gulf of Mexico—is fully in service. The first of six LNG OSVs being built for Harvey Gulf International Marine, Harvey Energy is the break-out vessel capable of operating on LNG or diesel and is the result of a forward-thinking operator, complex engineering and sophisticated building. Along with being able to operate on LNG, she also meets the strident criteria of the ABS Enviro+, Green Passport notation. When operating on only LNG, this vessel meets the new Tier IV sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions regulations—part of the North American Emission Control Area (ECA).

17 Apr 2015

Solving the LNG Propulsion Puzzle

GTT’s membrane technology is Class certified by all major regulatory agencies and has been in service since 1967, encompassing over 300 LNG ships to date.

The last piece of the LNG infrastructure puzzle, in the form of North America’s first LNG bunker barge, falls into place at Conrad’s Orange, Texas Shipyard. With continued debate over new emissions standards and compliance dates hanging over the heads of operators in the Emission Compliance Zones like the Sword of Damocles, WesPac Midstream LLC, a provider of liquefied natural gas solutions, and its affiliate Clean Marine Energy, a facilitator of solutions for emission compliance…

24 Jul 2014

Bollinger to Build 6 More FRCs for the USCG

A Bollinger-built Fast Response Cutter underway on sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico (Photo courtesy of Bollinger)

Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., Lockport, Louisiana, announced the award of six additional USCG Sentinel Class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs). The U. S. Coast Guard (USCG) awarded a $255 million contract option to Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, La., July 23, 2014 for the production of six more Sentinel-Class FRCs, bringing the total number of FRCs under contract with Bollinger to 30, with a current contract value of $1.4 billion. The FRCs acquired under this contract option are scheduled to be delivered in 2017 and will be homeported at various bases throughout the U.S.

15 Aug 2014

Conrad Reports Strong Q2 Results, Backlog

Photo: Conrad Industries, Inc.

Conrad Industries, Inc. announced its second quarter and six months 2014 financial results and backlog at June 30, 2014. For the quarter ended June 30, 2014, Conrad had net income of $6.8 million and earnings per diluted share of $1.14 compared to net income of $6.1 million and earnings per diluted share of $1.02 during the second quarter of 2013. The company had net income of $13.2 million and earnings per diluted share of $2.21 for the six months ended June 30, 2014 compared to net income of $12 million and earnings per diluted share of $2.01 for the six months ended June 30, 2013.

14 Aug 2013

Conrad Industries Ratchet Up Q2 2013 Profits

Conrad Industries, Inc., headquartered in Louisiana, announce its second quarter and six months 2013 financial results and backlog at June 30, 2013. For the quarter ended June 30, 2013, Conrad had net income of $6.1 million and earnings per diluted share of $1.02 compared to net income of $5.3 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.87 during the second quarter of 2012. The company had net income of $12.0 million and earnings per diluted share of $2.01 for the six months ended June 30, 2013 compared to net income of $8.5 million and earnings per diluted share of $1.39 for the six months ended June 30, 2012. The diluted weighted average shares outstanding for the six months ended June 30, 2013 and June 30, 2012 are 6.0 million and 6.1 million, respectively.

15 Nov 2013

Conrad Industries' Performance Rides High in Q3 2013

Morgan City, Louisiana-based Conrad announce positive third quarter 2013 results, and is to pay a special cash dividend of $2.00 per share. For the quarter ended September 30, 2013, Conrad had net income of $6.5 million and earnings per diluted share of $1.09 compared to net income of $4.4 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.74 during the third quarter of 2012. The Company had net income of $18.5 million and earnings per diluted share of $3.10 for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 compared to net income of $12.9 million and earnings per diluted share of $2.13 for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. During the first nine months of 2013…