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June 5& 6, 2002. Biloxi, MS

OSV's get ready for the Big Time

by John Snyder (Senior Editor)

One look at the Laney Chouest tells you this is not your father's OSV. Longer than a football field at 348 ft, the Laney Chouest is nearly twice the length of the standard OSVs that have dominated the oil patch since the seventies and eighties. It's just one of several impressive anchor handling towing supply and platform supply vessels that will join Edison Chouest Offshore's fleet this year to support worldwide deepwater drilling operations.

Other Gulf Coast-based operators, such as Tidewater, Hornbeck-Leevac Marine Services and Otto Candies are also making strong plays in deepwater.

What's behind all of this is the dramatic surge in deepwater drilling worldwide over the last ten years. Back in 1991, for instance, deepwater oil production from the Outer Continental Shelf accounted for less than 10% of all the oil produced in the Gulf of Mexico. Now, deepwater production accounts for 52% of all the oil produced and 20% of all the gas produced in the oil patch.

Near the end of last year, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) reported that 47 rigs were drilling in water depths of 1,000 ft or more (the traditional measure of deep water). Nine of these were in ultra-deepwater (5,000 ft or more).

To support deepwater operations, which may take place more than 100 miles offshore, new generation service vessels have to be powerful, stable platforms with the ability to carry ample amounts of cargo, liquid and dry bulk mud, ballast and rig water, fuel, equipment and crew.

The Laney Chouest fits the bill. Built for suction pile/anchor handling operations, it is 348 ft x 72 ft x 31 ft, with a gross tonnage of 5,900 and deadweight of 7,400 LT. It will have a fuel oil capacity of 394,260 gal, liquid mud capacity of 4,460 bbl (with 3,866 bbl spare capacity), and ballast/rig water capacity of 613,400 gal. Your father's 180-foot-long offshore supply vessel, incidentally, would fit nicely on the Laney Chouest's aft deck, which measures 183.6 ft x 56 ft with a clear deck area of 10,276 ft2. Its propulsion machinery includes four 6M43 MAK diesel engines that produce 7,250 bhp each for a total of 29,000 bhp. It will have a speed of 17 knots at normal design draft and accommodations for 58.

Named for ECO vice president Dr. Laney Chouest, the vessel is currently under construction in the largest building hall at ECO's North American Shipbuilding facility in Larose, La., for delivery this September

Last year, ECO added the 320 ft Akira Chouest, which it converted from the 1995-built freighter Margaret B. Chouest.

Besides a series of 260 ft platform supply vessels (PSVs) at North American Shipbuilding and some smaller utility/supply vessels contracted with Bollinger Shipyards, ECO has also ordered a 236 ft PSV from Brazil's Estaleiro Promar I shipyard. Based on a Rolls-Royce UT 755L design, the PSV will be delivered in March 2003 for the Brazilian market. Rolls-Royce is supplying the design and equipment for the vessel.

Promar, which is controlled by Aker Brattvaag, has two shipyards located on Guanabara Bay near Rio de Janeiro. The construction shipyard can build vessels up to 80 m in length, while the repair facility has an industrial area of 20,000 m2 and a capacity to dry dock vessels of up to 30,000 dwt.

The shipyard is also building two UT 755 design PSVs for Companhia Brasileira de Offshore (CBO).

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