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38 MN November 2010 Marine companies along the Gulf of Mexico have seen little new business since the offshore drilling moratorium was lifted in early October as oil producers apply for per- mits and decide how to navigate costly safety regulations. At Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., one of the top U.S. boat builders, Chief Executive Officer Boysie Bollinger, said “we're waiting for BOEM to start issuing offshore drilling permits, and no one has any idea when that will be.” He wonders if the government knows when more permits will be released. BOEM, or Bureau of Ocean Energy, Management, Regulation and Enforcement, is part of the U.S. Dept. of Interior and oversees offshore drilling. At the company's Lockport, La. headquarters, Bollinger said “this year is almost finished and I'm nervous about the first quarter of 2011. We've had some reductions in force and loss of work at our company since the morato- rium was imposed.” With twelve shipyards in South Louisiana and Texas, Bollinger builds offshore-oil support vessels, lift boats, barges, drilling rigs, oil skimmers and military patrol boats. For now, much of the Gulf's drilling remains on pause. In Morgan City, La., David Barousse, business develop- ment director at Fleet Operators, Inc., said “nothing has changed for us since the moratorium was lifted. We have boats standing by, waiting for drilling operations to resume.” One of the firm's vessels is providing emergency services for workers on a rig that is not drilling now. Fleet Operators owns and charters supply vessels for the off- shore oil and gas industry. “Our customers are saying that it's been difficult to get permits from the BOEM to do pretty much anything off- shore,” Barousse said. Moreover, a de facto moratorium Offshore Market Update Waiting on Feds to Issue Permits By Susan Buchanan Aerial image of Bollinger’s new-construction yard in Lockport, La.
