Harvey Gulf International Marine’s first LNG-powered OSV entered into service this month, which marks the beginning of operations for the first North American vessel to run entirely on natural gas.The vessel, the MV Harvey Energy started its charter for Shell’s deep water operation in the Gulf of Mexico on March 5th. It will be used to carry supplies to Shell’s assets in the area, like the new Olympus platform.Said John Hollowell, Executive Vice President of Deep Water for Shell Upstream...

On February 5th, the USCG’s Office of the Auxiliary and Boating Safety officially launched a re-designed Boating Safety website, providing simpler navigation for recreational boaters, safety partners and manufacturers to find necessary information.According to Capt. F. Thomas Boross, Chief of the Auxiliary and Boating Safety at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, "The newly redesigned website has a fresh look that is aligned with our strategic partners' visions for what is important to the...

A few miles from Grand Isle next to the Gulf of Mexico sits Port Fourchon – a very large supply depot that serves oil rigs and production platforms across a big swath of the Gulf of Mexico. The depot provides a wide range of supplies, from drilling pipe to groceries.The current, steep drop in oil prices has companies and workers at drilling wells worried. Among the biggest concerns is the question of whether or not the falling prices will leave oil rigs sitting idle.Says Chett Ciasson,...

The U.S. Senate has just passed a nine-cent increase to the barge diesel fuel user fee by a vote of 76 to 16, an outcome applauded by Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) and its stakeholders and members.This provision, part of tax extenders legislation combined with the “Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE)” Act establishing tax-favored savings accounts for people with disabilities, included the provision to increase the fee by nine cents and passed in the House at the beginning of December by a...