Oﬀshore shows more energy

from WorkBoat May 2023

LOOKS BACK

It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to share good news about what used to be our bread and butter — the U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore oil and gas market.

The offshore energy sector has ﬁnally bounced back — and strongly. The Gulf of Mexico is now enjoying increased demand and day rates throughout the service sector, from deepwater rigs to offshore support vessels (see Jim Redden’s report that begins on page 26).

“The fundamental setup for our industry is arguably the best that it has looked in the past 20 years based on a conﬂuence of macro supply and demand factors,” said Robert Eiﬂer, president and CEO of drilling contractor Noble Corp., Sugar Land, Texas. He sees “a sustained multiyear upturn in offshore investment and rig demand.”

According to its website, Transocean has 11 ultradeepwater drillships at work in the Gulf at an average day rate of $439,000 and as high as $480,000. Noble’s four active oaters are commanding an average of $377,500/day.

Day rates for the latest generation platform supply vessels (PSVs) and drilling support vessels (OSVs) are also high, S&P Global Senior Marine Analyst Richard Sanchez told WorkBoat.

“Even your smaller 280-foot PSVs are easily making $45,000 a day or more,” he said.

It’s a different story in the Northeast, where project viability has become the operative phrase within the offshore wind sector as soaring costs and infrastructure limitations have rendered some earlier rate agreements and timelines unsustainable, Redden wrote.

David Krapf, Editor in Chief dkrapf@divcom.com

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) concluded in a recent analysis that limited domestic port, vessel and manufacturing infrastructure threatens to delay half of the planned offshore wind projects beyond 2030.

Given the worldwide expansion of offshore wind, U.S. developers also are ﬁnding it difﬁcult to source components. “It’s a tough time to bring on any new kind of global program as the rest of the world is doing the same,” Jeff Bukoski, president of St. Johns Shipbuilding, told WorkBoat Offshore oil and gas may be strong now, but we all know that can change in a heartbeat.

EDITOR IN CHIEF David Krapf / dkrapf@divcom.com

SENIOR EDITOR Ken Hocke / khocke@divcom.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Kirk Moore / kmoore@divcom.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Capt. Alan Bernstein • Bruce Buls • Michael Crowley

• Jerry Fraser • Pamela Glass • Betsy Frawley Haggerty

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Will new rules destroy maritime careers?

AsI read the article by Pam Glass on the new legislation that Congress is imposing on the maritime industry (“Cracking down on sexual harassment and assault,” WorkBoat, February 2023, page 15), it occurred to me that there seems to be a clear path that will allow an open avenue to false accusations, thus ruining many mariners’ careers.

I’m not saying that there isn’t a need for proper behavior by our merchant seamen and that there isn’t a need for rules for males and females to cohabitate while at sea, but it appears that Congress has left the door wide open for those that see an easy way to get revenge for almost anything other than what the legislation intends. Yes, sexual harassment has no place in the world, especially at sea where there is nowhere to run. I believe that whole- heartedly. But human nature is hard to control through legislation. I’m just concerned that some will see this as an easy road to “riches” and destroy many careers in the process.

As Congress usually does, a lot of their reactions to problems is knee-jerk. The problem isn’t looked at from all sides and fully understood before they start to pass a bunch of laws that only exasperates the issue.

If I were still going to sea, I would take offense to these bureaucrats that are basically calling me a sexual predator and creating a hostile work environment between me and any women that might be on my ship.

I would feel that any woman that came onboard would be a threat to my livelihood and career if they decided to make an unfounded accusation because they felt that I might have been too hard on them by demanding that they perform their duties to the proper level of performance.

I believe that this new legislation will cause more trouble for the merchant seaman than if the proper way to x a problem like this, through education, was explored and implemented.

Capt. Rick McAnn Cape May, N.J.

Something on your mind?

WorkBoat encourages readers to write us about anything that appears in the magazine, on WorkBoat.com or pertains to the marine industry. To be published, letters must include the writer’s address and a daytime phone number.

Email: dkrapf@divcom.com

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