Tag Archives: #supply boat

Are Things Getting Better in the Gulf of Mexico?

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I’ve been back at work since late October. I joined this vessel in Amelia, LA on October 27. It’s an ex- Tidewater supply boat, the Ken C Tamblyn, renamed Ocean Guardian. It had been stacked for a few years until this company bought it, They had a couple of guys onboard for a few months, getting it ready to go to work. Then they lined up a job and crewed it up at the last minute.

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A company new to the Gulf, has to have a hard time finding work for their vessel. It’s been hell even for companies that have been around for decades. There are hundreds of boats stacked up all over the bayous of S Louisiana. They must have a hell of a salesman, they’ve managed to find work for it with a dive company for at least this one job. In November no less! Winter is not the time of year to be working dive jobs in the Gulf of Mexico.

If I could find work like that, I would be seriously looking for a boat of my own.

Too bad I couldn’t sell a steak to a starving man. Also, I’m still basically broke. Still trying to catch up to where I was a few years ago financially and don’t have any spare cash to invest in a boat or anything else.

I do think this is probably the best time to buy a boat I’ve seen in a long time. We got to work offshore for a while and then had to bring the boat in to Port Fourchon for the last hurricane (Eta). We spent a couple of days shifting between various docks (doing the old Fourchon Shuffle). It seemed busier than the last few times I’ve been in here.

We went offshore to get a little more work done before the weather kicked up again and we had to come back in. We still have no dock space in Fourchon, so shifting around over and over. It seems to be a sign of an improving situation for boats working in the Gulf. Everything comes through Fourchon now a days (personally, I still think that’s a terrible idea- we should not put all our eggs in one basket/port).

There aren’t nearly as many boats in port as there were previously, but the ones that are here seem to have work. I see a lot of subsea boats running in and out with equipment on deck. I’ve noticed a few supply boats loaded with pipe and casing and various tools. Maybe things are finally picking up offshore?

The latest lease sale was a bit of good news, with a larger than expected $120 million bid. I really hope that translates into improved work situations for all us offshore workers. It’s been a LONG 5+ years since the layoffs started in 2014.

I’d really like to get at least one more full year of work in. I know so many people who have been struggling to survive the last few years and just trying to hold on. It would be great to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and come out strong again. I’ll just have to keep on hoping

Met the Buzcador in Berwick

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Sorry to have been out of touch for so long. I got a last minute job offer, and tho it was not what I was hoping for I was happy to get it.

I didn’t have much time to get ready, so I left the house with a lot of stuff unfinished. I meant to leave the house about 6 am, but with all the last minute stuff, and then phone calls all morning, I didn’t get on the road til around 10.

It was probably for the best. That allowed me to miss all the traffic in Houston and all along the way. It took me about 6 hours to drive from my house in Lake Jackson to where the boat was, in Berwick LA.

I had to meet a lady when I got close, to get passport photos taken for my Panama seaman’s book application. That took about an hour. I got to the boat about 5, already pretty tired.

The Buzcador was tied up next to a deck barge at Basin Fleeting, along the Atchafalaya River in Berwick. She was an old ex-Tidewater AHTS (anchor handling tug supply) and looked in pretty rough shape.

I drug my gear up the gangway and one of the crew showed me my room. I was pretty happy with it. It had just one bunk, a couch, 2 portholes where I could check the weather, a desk, plenty of storage space and my own head (bathroom). It also had a TV and DVD player, but I never bothered to turn them on so I don’t know if they worked or not.

I met the Captain, who I had worked with before on another boat. He was the one who pretty much got me this position. He had worked with this company before (I had never heard of them), and had made the winning bid to deliver the Buzcador to Colombia.

I hired on as AB. Of course I was hoping to get a mates position, but since I’ve been out of work for so long I was so happy just to get the AB job! At least it would get me out of the house and onto a boat. We were going on a voyage. Out of the Gulf of Mexico! I’m always excited about the chance to go somewhere new and interesting!

I met the other deckhands and QMED that night. I met the rest of the crew the next day. All together, there would be 8 of us making the trip. Captain Todd, Mate Noel, AB Sid, OS Marvin, QMED Wilson, Chief Engineer Carlos, and client rep Yesid.

We spent the next couple of days at the dock, working furiously to get the boat ready for the voyage. She had been cold stacked (tied to the dock with no crew) for years. Any boat will deteriorate if she’s not run regularly. The rust on deck is the last thing to worry about, it’s the machinery that is always the most concern. We had plenty to deal with in all departments.

While we were still at the dock, we had drills. Good thing, since it took a good, long while to get the fire pumps to work correctly. Electricians were still working on the alarm systems. We had outside mechanics to help too. Deck department was busy with cleaning, securing the ship for sea, preparing paperwork and voyage planning. Engineers definitely had the short end of the stick on this trip!

I’ll post more later, hopefully with pictures. It won’t allow me to upload any now. Like I said yesterday, I’m STILL having problems with my computers/internet!