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80 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? SEPTEMBER 2013 ed from a small, topside shipyard with 20 people 12 years ago.? Bollinger Four- chon is now a full-service repair opera-tion, with 1,550 feet of bulkheaded wa-terfront, providing access for deep-draft vessels and an area for jack-up rigs that can do hull and leg repairs and exten-sions. ?We currently have two drydocks in operation at Fourchon, working 24-7, with between 125 and 175 employees,? Bordelon said. ?We?ve listened to our clients? needs and are expanding. We?ve taken on an additional 47 acres of prop-erty in the port?s Northern Expansion area, and will add larger drydocks to our existing drydocks. We will accommo- date bigger supply boats and IMR ves-sels. We?ll be able to drydock vessels up 11,000 tons.? Also at Fourchon, ?we?re expanding and/or adding to our machine shop ser- vices, fabrication building, warehousing, propeller repairs, hydraulic services, of-Þ ces and armature services,? he said. ?We?re making a signi Þ cant investment to better serve our clients. Our new area is in the engineering/bidding phase and will be in full service in 18 months and possibly sooner.? Port Fourchon is the nation?s busiest oil and gas support terminal.Offshore GOM Looks Promising Bordelon is optimistic about the GOM?s oil and gas sector. ?We?re seeing lot of positive indications now,? he said. ?Our facilities are supplying a widely di-verse customer base. We see some legs, some sustainability, with major invest- ments in deep water and shallow plays and also in oil-and-gas drilling on the land side. It all Þ ts together, offshore and land. It?s an exciting time.? Asked whether Gulf offshore drilling will return to pre-Macondo levels soon, Bordelon said yes. ?It?s happening now with deepwater and jack-up activity,? he said. Bollinger expects to supply more The Workboat Edition ? Boatbuilding?Roughly 50 percent of our business is new construction and 50 percent is repairs. Government new construction accounts for about 35% of our business, and com-mercial work related to oil and gas provides 50%. Coast Guard projects are keeping us very busy in Lockport. Our Morgan City facility recently delivered four ocean-class tugs for Crowley and a oodgate for Terrebone Parish. We?re currently building three sludge ships for New York City. We?re also building four 300? class platform supply vessels.? Ben Bordelon, Bollinger?s EVP, Repair Business at Bollinger is buoyant, including (starting below left and continuing clock- wise): US Coast Guard Cutters; Sludge ships for New York; state-of-the-art PSVs and a growing presence in Port Fourchon. MR #9 (74-81).indd 80MR #9 (74-81).indd 808/30/2013 10:33:06 AM8/30/2013 10:33:06 AM
