Harvey Gulf

HARVEY GULF INTERNATIONAL MARINE

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HARVEY GULF INTERNATIONAL MARINE

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Harvey Gulf International Marine is the biggest name in state-of-the-art fast supply and multi-purpose support vessels for deep water operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

But when it comes to green technology, CEO and President Shane Guidry wants the oil majors to step up to the plate. “Talking about it is one thing, doing something about it is another.” Colin Chinery reports.

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September 2021, a 310ft platform supply vessel went into service off the Louisiana coast.

Utilising three fuel sources – LNG, electric battery power, and ultra-low sulphur diesel – it was only the second tri-fuelled vessel in America.

Named Harvey Power, it might also be ‘The Power of Harvey’, for owner Harvey Gulf International Marine is an industry trailblazer. Its 60-strong fleet of fast supply and multi-purpose support vessels for deep and ultra-deep-water operations are without equal in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

This is the marine business where green shoots keep on sprouting.

First again In 2015, the New Orleans company built the USA’s first tri-fuel vessel, Harvey Energy, and 2022 will see a further three retrofits capable of full tri-fuel operation hit the water.

“No other company has indicated it will try to build or convert vessels to reach trifuel status, with all other PSV operators in the US relying either solely on diesel, or concurrent diesel and battery power,” said CEO and President, Shane Guidry.

“This puts us substantially ahead of all competitors in the race for emissions reduction and ESG sustainability.

Uber-performing and ultra-safe, Harvey Gulf is a green pioneer. And so far is cutting a figure as a green lone ranger.

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“We identified more than 11 years ago that the world was going to want to go green, ordering five LNG ships to help America reduce emissions, and enable oil companies to capitalise on that; not only through Government credits, but also for investors who would demand you go carbon neutral,” remarked Mr Guidry.

But for Harvey Gulf, green in no way compromises the most exacting performance, with a fleet crane capacity, superior cargo carrying capabilities and overall versatility, far exceeding any other in the market today.

“We are delivering 30% end-user savings in time, location and costs,” added Mr Guidry. “Other companies might take 10 days to do a job; we are doing it in six to seven days max.

The separation factor CEO and President Shane Guidry

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Running on LNG and battery power, Harvey Gulf’s vessels burn less fuel than competitor vessels.

“And when you get to our big supply boats, the tri-fuels are the way to go,” affirmed Mr Guidry. “Our safety record is exemplary, and down time is almost nil when you hire a Harvey boat. If a boat breaks down or has mechanical issues, we are usually up and running in four to 12 hours, whereas for some of our competitors it’s three to four days.”

The company story goes back to 1955, when Captain Numa Guidry assembled a fleet of inland towing vessels to service the Gulf Coast transportation market.

In 1988, Shane Guidry became the third generation of the family to operate the business, assuming the roles of President and CEO in 1997, and going on to develop a focus on towing large jack-up and semisubmersible rigs in the deepwater and ultra-deep waters of the Gulf.

In 2008, together with a New York-based private equity firm, he acquired Harvey Gulf from the Guidry family with the goal of expanding fleet and services to meet evolving customer needs.

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Rivals outsmarted From the start, the reconstituted business was outsmarting competitors in crane capacity, superior cargo carrying capabilities and overall versatility. Then came the green push.

“We started this over 10 years ago and are the only company in America that really invested capital to reduce our carbon footprint by building LNG boats, then adding battery power,” said Mr Guidry. “And we are now designing boats that can be run on liquid ammonia.”

Shane Guidry’s interview with Inside Marine took place in November as world leaders were assembled at the Glasgow COP26 UN Climate Change Conference.

But for all the grandstanding, Mr Guidry is not impressed.

“Talking about it is one thing, doing something about it is another,” he said.

“At Harvey Gulf we are talking the talk and walking the walk, putting money where our mouth is. Our competitors are not doing that.

“And as far as the world leaders are concerned, they have to come up with some type of monetary way to get more companies to move in the direction we are moving. It could be through federal programmes, with investment in your technology and business, or additional tax credit over and above what is allowed by our current US laws.

“But talk is cheap, and I wish everyone would quit talking about it, and I wish the oil companies started supporting it.”

Fat cheque times These are producer fat cheque times, with oil’s super majors announcing billions in profits thanks to surging oil prices.

“I believe the market will continue to grow at a faster rate than we have ever seen,” Mr Guidry predicted. “As fast as the light went out when the price of oil started tumbling, that’s as fast as the light switch will turn back on.

“And over the next 12 months it’s going to get crazy, and just as the oil companies are making record profits, I think the services companies at all levels will make record profits as well.”

But for all the soar away profits, Mr Guidry is frustrated by the boom time majors’ stance on green service technology.

“I have all these LNG tri-fuel boats, and the big oil companies are just not taking

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advantage of them. Big oil just won’t commit and pay for carbon reduction and carbon neutral boats to support drilling operations.

“I guess they have the companies they like, but at the end of the day, with all the activists on the boards, and the world going in that direction, you would think they would push the lower management level guys to go out and hire boats that are the most advanced in terms of greenness and carbon reduction.

But we are just not seeing it.”

Strong wind Outside the oil sector, Harvey Gulf’s Subsea and Wind Farm divisions are growing.

“The wind farm business is going to be so big that we are soon going to have to make some hard-line decisions to hire and/or build equipment,” said the CEO. “The world has only so much equipment available. And the cost of building boats is just unreal. I have boats that can sleep 170 which I built for $130 million out of the door.

Today it would be $210 million. So there are two choices; hire my boat for X, or go build one for Y plus X.” In the meantime, Mr Guidry is urging the oil majors to invest more in greener technologies with contracts to build on cutting edge assets.

“We now have vessels that run carbon neutral by utilising pig and dairy farm recaptured gas. Yes, those five vessels cost more to operate so they cost more to charter yet oil companies still can’t get the little extra money it takes from management to charter these.

“Some of these boats are available for long-term charter; charter boats that are the most eco-friendly and available in the US today.”

He concluded: “The major oil companies need to step up to the plate now, walk the walk, and give long-term contracts to build cleaner energy boats to support their needs going forward.” n www.harveygulf.com

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