Either way, Morris Architects has proposed exactly that:

There are approximately 4,000 oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico varying in size, depth and mobility that will be decommissioned within the next century. If a deck on one of these rigs is about 20,000 square feet, then there is potentially 80 million square feet of programmable space just off the coast of the United States. The current method for rig removal is explosion, which costs millions of dollars and destroys massive amounts of aquatic life. What if these rigs were recommissioned as exclusive resort islands? Could the Gulf be America’s “Dubai” and the rig the artificial island on which to build it? This project examines the possibilities of creating a self-sufficient, eco-friendly high-end resort experience in our own backyard – the Gulf of Mexico.According to Curbed LA, the hotel rooms themselves “are pre-fabricated, designed to be transported out to the rig as a standard cargo container.”

Once there, a new world of luxury interiors unfolds above the continental shelf – apparently an ideal environment in which groups of semi-nude women can watch James Bond films.

Of course, if the real Dubai is any model for what might actually happen with such a resort, then we’ll probably see dozens of oil rigs partially converted to luxury hotels only then to be abandoned by their construction crews and investors.

As the lands of southern Louisiana continue to disappear into the Gulf, heavily armed refugees on fishing boats will move out to sea, recolonizing the derelict structures. There will be campfires at night, burning driftwood, and specialty gardens.

Within four or five decades of inconsistent contact, the Library of Congress sends out a new, 21st century Alan Lomax to visit those thriving offshore subcultures and record their folk songs and oral histories.

He discovers a sort of new Kalevala, written by dwellers of empty structures at sea, somewhere between creation myth and national folk history. The Kalevala of Abandoned Oil Rigs.

Alas, it turns out to be a latter day Ossian – that is, he just makes the whole thing up.

Or, of course, the economy will recover, this plan will work, and within a decade you’ll be suntanning on a platform in the Gulf of Mexico, reading Self (source: http://bldgblog.blogspot.com).

www.MaritimeJobSearch.com | Shipping, Transportation, and Engineering Jobs

International Niche Job Board Invites Employers and Recruiters To Post Jobs For FREE!!!

Chicago, Illinois, January 31, 2009 – MaritimeJobSearch.com, an international niche job board for the Shipping, Transportation, and Engineering industry, is celebrating its one year anniversary and is providing free job postings. The site www.MaritimeJobSearch.com has been up and running for one year and has positioned itself as a global niche job board for maritime, offshore, and port jobs to be reckoned with.

“MaritimeJobSearch.com started as a hobby project and has grown to an international job board with a quality resume database of nearly 4,000 job seekers in the last year”, indicated Dirk Meuzelaar, Interactive Project Manager at Maritime Job Search. The website www.MaritimeJobSearch.com is receiving much praise for its design and high level of usability “I have to say it is very easy to use and thank you for loading our logo into the Halcyon profile. I am very impressed”, says Heidi Heseltine of Halcyon Recruitment. “I found the usability of the site very good. It is pretty user friendly”, says Charlotte Bollu of KeyPower Consultants.

For additional information about MaritimeJobSearch.com or to start your free job posting trial until 3/31/2009, contact Dirk Meuzelaar.

“Excellent! I found your site very easy to use to post our job. Thanks for offering this opportunity to companies such as ours”, Carolyn Macina of Young Brothers, Ltd.

About MaritimeJobSearch.com

MaritimeJobSearch.com is an international niche job board for the Shipping, Transportation, and Engineering industry. There is the ability to add video and keywords to your company profile and job postings for search engine optimization. In addition, employers and recruiters may gain access and receive daily resume alerts from the resume database with almost 4,000 job seekers.

Information about your apprenticeships/internships can be added to your company profile for FREE. To increase your exposure, all your job postings with MaritimeJobSearch.com are distributed to all major job boards around the world like BaseGoogle.com, Indeed.com, SimplyHired.com, CareerJet.com, JobRapido.com, Recruit.net, etc.

All services for job seekers are FREE. This includes searching and responding to jobs, uploading video and resumes, and receiving daily job alerts.

Overall, MaritimeJobSearch.com is an effective, usable, and well designed site that will fulfill all your needs.

Contact Information

Dirk Meuzelaar | Interactive Project Manager
MaritimeJobSearch.com
200 S. Wacker Drive – 15th Floor
Phone: 312.924.1020
Fax: 413.513.5697
Email: dirk@maritimejobsearch.com

www.MaritimeJobSearch.com | Shipping, Transportation, and Engineering Jobs

The overall development consists currently of 49 subsea wells connected via subsea production, injection lines and risers to a spread moored FPSO. This FPSO will have a processing capacity of 200,000 barrels of oil per day and can store two million barrels, bringing the installed production capacity on block 17 to over 700,000 barrels per day.

The FPSO is currently under construction at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.Ltd (DSME) in Korea and will have a length of 325 metres, a beam of 61 metres.

DSME awarded the contract to tow the PAZFLOR FPSO from Korea to Angola to Fairmount Marine as well as the contract for providing mooring services upon arrival of the FPSO in the field. The project will be executed towards the end of 2010.

Albert de Heer, Managing Director of Fairmount, and leader of the project team with Operations Director Leo Leusink, Commercial Manager Paul Mulder and Project Manager Ger Leepel commented “We are honoured to be awarded with this very important towage contract by DMSE, after DALIA and UNITY the third recent major FPSO operation in which Total is involved. Fairmount is committed to provide the offshore oil & gas industry with a first class towage service deploying our new fleet of 200 tonnes bollard pull tugs; we are delighted that this commitment and investment is rewarded by the industry with prestigious orders such as PAZFLOR.. More than ever our focus is on delivering top quality complying with the highest standards for Health, Safety and Environment Protection” (source: www.fairmount.nl).

The office in Ukraine is meant to offer customers more opportunities for ‘crewing solutions’. For TOS this is the next step as a global player in total crewing. Ukraine is a true maritime country with leading schools, expert sailors and maritime specialists. The Ukraine is an important base for TOS’ unit Offshore & Maritime Constructions.

TOS specialises in maritime service in crewing solutions, shore jobs, nautical and technical services.

According to Brian Uhlmer, research analyst with Pritchard Capital Partners LLC, Scorpion already had invested about $74 million into it.

“It was contracted with Petrobras and it could not get financed,” he says. “So even with a contract, a well-known yard, a company that—although relatively new has been around a few years now, and has got jackups actually working so they have some operational experience and some cash flows—but they couldn’t get financed.”

Scorpion blames the “continuing turmoil in the global credit market” for its inability to get financing. The company says it has reached amicable agreements with Keppel FELS and third party vendors to terminate the construction contact and equipment orders on “mutually acceptable terms.”

Seadrill also announced today that it has amended its agreements with PPL Shipyard and Keppel FELS for the construction of four new jackups—postponing payments. Seadrill has issued corporate guarantees for the remaining installments on the first two units; no guarantees were made for payments on the second units at the yards.

“But they’re also trying to buy Scorpion which has seven jackups—so they had to make a decision and they realized it would be cheaper to average in and buy all of Scorpion,” Uhlmer says (prior to the official announcement from Seadrill).

In Pride International’s latest monthly fleet update, the company announced its jackup Pride Nevada, which contract ended in December, has been cold stacked. Pride Mississippi was cold stacked after its contract was up in October. Earlier in the year, Pride Alabama and Pride Colorado took the same path (Pride Utah in 2007).

Hercules Offshore has no fewer than nine vessels warm stacked and six cold stacked.
ODS Petrodata reported Hercules 252 and Hercules 250 jackups also have been released and stacked. The company said it expects an additional two Gulf of Mexico jackups stacked as well in the coming weeks.

The US GoM contracted offshore rig fleet utilization rate was at 75.8% at the end of December, with 94 of the 124 offshore rigs deployed. Worldwide offshore rig fleet utilization was at 87.9% (source: offshore-mag.com).

The announcement came as two Chinese destroyers and a supply ship joined the growing international naval coalition patrolling the waters in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia.

The crew members of the Bourbon Leda are all in good health, Paris-based Bourbon said in a news release. They will be “rapidly reunited” with their family and friends, the company said.Pirates captured the Bourbon Leda, a supply vessel, on Sunday. A Bourbon spokesman refused to comment when asked by CNN whether the company had paid a ransom for the ship’s release.

Pirates in neighboring Cameroon seized another Bourbon ship, the Bourbon Sagitta, and 10 of its crew members in October. They released the vessel and its crew 11 days later.

Bourbon specializes in offshore oil and gas shipping and dry bulk transport.

Meanwhile, the Chinese convoy — which left some two weeks ago on a mission to protect Chinese merchant ships from an increasing number of pirate attacks occurring in the gulf — has received requests for help from at least 15 vessels, according to news reports.

It marks the first time Chinese naval vessels have left Chinese waters in centuries. They will will join a multinational naval force already patrolling the area, including vessels from the United States, NATO member states, Russia and India.

Rear-Admiral Du Jingchen, the fleet’s commander, told Xinhua news agency the escort mission has started.

The fleet began escorting four ships — one from Hong Kong and three from mainland China — through the gulf on Tuesday afternoon, the China Shipowners’ Association told the South China Morning Post.

Fifteen ships have applied for protection including some from Hong Kong, said a director of the Ministry of Transport, He Jianzhong, according to the Hong Kong-based newspaper.

Figures from the International Maritime Bureau for the year-to-date show pirates have attacked almost 100 vessels and hijacked nearly 40 off the coast of Somalia.

The all-important Gulf of Aden links the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Around 20,000 oil tankers, freighters and merchant vessels pass along the crucial shipping route each year.

China’s navy is considered a “brown-water fleet” — designed to operate almost exclusively along its coast. But the country has reportedly been working to rapidly modernize its navy for the past several years.

Chinese officials have said their mission would last as long as is necessary and in accordance with U.N. Security Council regulations.

The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution in December aimed at combating piracy along the Horn of Africa by allowing military forces to chase pirates onto land in cases of “hot pursuit.”
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Among the victims of pirate attacks have been cargo ships, oil tankers and luxury yachts.

At least one major company pulled its ships from the Gulf of Aden region this year, meaning cargo bound for Europe had to round the African continent rather than use the Suez Canal (source: cnn.com).

As the global economy inches closer towards recession, it will trigger a domino effect that will affect the industry.

As much of international trade is carried by seaborne transport, the industry will surely feel the pinch of slumping global consumption, production and trade volume.China, whose economic growth has driven global economic growth in the last decade, will also suffer a drop.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that China’s GDP will grow at a slower pace of 8.5% next year from its earlier projection of 9.3%.

Consumers will also continue to tighten their spending and industries will cut down on production.

This will result in lower demand for goods, materials and components, and lessen the volume of global trade.

And several shipping trades will suffer more than most.

The woes of the bulk trade looks set to continue as demand for bulk items decline further.

The container trade will also suffer a sharp fall, partly also due to the impending entrance of huge new tonnage in the market.

These will cause freight rates, which have taken a severe beating of late, to spiral down further.

It will also drive the prices of vessels down and also affect the net worth of shipping companies, whose valuation will be lowered as the prices of their assets decline.

However, players with deep pockets and huge cash reserves will find plenty of opportunities to acquire vessels on the cheap and expand their fleets.

As a result of the credit crunch, banks are expected to tread more cautiously in the ship financing markets.

Less funds will be made available, especially to small shipping companies.

Shipping companies which manage to secure financing will have to pay higher rates for it.

As funding becomes scarce and expensive, shipping companies will defer from borrowing and delay their fleet expansion programme.

Shipyards will also see demand contraction as shipping firms defer their orders while distressed shipowners are expected to cancel orders.

In addition, the ‘funding freeze’ will also result in banks tightening the issuance of letters of credit and trade finance facilities to importers and exporters, which will adversely affect the volume of trade.

The issue of maritime security will also be keenly monitored as the spate of attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden continue.

Although the surveillance and naval patrols have increased in the strategic sealane that facilitates much of the world’s seaborne transportation of crude, the frequency and intensity of attacks have continued unabated.

A more drastic and effective action should be taken by the international community to eradicate the threat of piracy there.

Due to the rampant piracy cases, insurance underwriters are expected to increase their coverage for ships, crews and cargos.

Shipowners and shippers will have to take up extra coverage such as kidnap and ransom coverage and ‘war risk zone’ premiums in high risk areas such as the Gulf of Aden.

The focus on protecting the marine environment will also become more intense, due to the introduction of new environment conventions and growing public attention and concern on the issue.

Several countries which have introduced stringent laws to protect their maritime areas from pollution by the shipping industry will strictly enforce them, in the wake of several recent high profile incidents.

The imprisonment of the master and chief officer of the Hebei Spirit tanker that discharged oil off the coast of South Korea in December 2007 has provided a precedent that has worried many shipowners and seafarers.

Although no shipping trade is immune to the widespread slump in the demand for shipping services as a result of the global economic woes, the offshore shipping sector should continue to perform well as offshore oil and gas activities continue.

Demand for offshore services vessels, especially, will remain strong as oil majors continue their exploration and production activities in deepwater fields.

The tanker market should remain resilient as global demand for energy continues to grow, albeit at a modest pace.

Economic growth and demand for container shipping services in the Middle East and South Asia are expected to remain buoyant.

Shipping, being a demand-derived service, stands to rebound quickly once consumer confidence, industrial output and the global economy pick up steam (thestar.com.my).

Speaking at the Deep Offshore Technology Conference in Perth, Australia, today, John Westwood, chairman of Douglas-Westwood said, “Although we expect some small decline in 2009, thereafter, the deepwater oil and gas industry is set for renewed growth, with annual capex reaching nearly $31 billion in 2011. This is a 45% growth for the 2009-2013 period compared with the previous five years. Deepwater currently accounts for over 15% of total offshore oil production, but over the next few years its relative share will rise to over 20%.

“Africa is expected to be the leading deepwater development area by far, accounting for nearly 40% of the global spend. Since the first deepwater ‘elephants’, Africa has emerged as perhaps the most significant deepwater region in the world, with some stunning successes in recent years, such as Girassol, Xikomba, and Kizomba.

“Latin America’s deepwater activity is dominated by Brazil with its national operator Petrobras who has pioneering the use of innovative technology to achieve production from tremendous water depths. Overall, the region is expected to account for nearly 20% of world deepwater development spend over the 2009-2013 period. Beyond 2013, we expect Brazilian spend to reach new heights as the recently discovered ‘pre-salt’ giant fields are developed.

“Over the next five years, North America is expected to attract a similar share to Latin America. With a few notable exceptions, deepwater fields in the US Gulf of Mexico tend to be smaller than those in other deepwater ‘hotspots’ such as Brazil or West Africa. The region’s extensive offshore infrastructure and the relative proximity of supply and service centers have a significant positive influence on E&P activity, turning otherwise marginal prospects into viable commercial propositions.

“The ‘Golden Triangle’ of Africa, Gulf of Mexico, and Brazil will account for three-quarters of global deepwater expenditure over the forecast period. However, the emergence of Asia as a significant deepwater region should not be overlooked. Indonesia, Malaysia and India all have development prospects on screen for the 2009-2013 period and the region should account for nearly 10% of deepwater capex. Western Europe, will maintain its market share but growing activity will see actual expenditure increasing over 30%.

“In terms of hardware, floating production systems will grow from 22% of historic spend to 28% over the forecast period. Surface wells’ share is set to decrease from 4% to 1%, with all other components, including subsea wells remaining stable. Combined, subsea wells and platforms, at $92 billion, are forecast to represent 67% of expenditure.” (source: offshore-mag.com).

The Perdido Development will drill 35 wells (22 direct vertical access and 13 remote) in the Great White, Tobago, and Silvertip fields located in Alaminos Canyon. Moored in about 8,000 ft (2,438 m) of water, the drilling and production facility will be the deepest in the world, the company says. Nine polyester mooring lines averaging more than 2 mi (3.2 km) in length now hold the spar in place. The floating structure will weigh 50,000-tons (45,359-metric tons) and be nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower when fully operational.

First production from Perdido is expected around the turn of the decade, with the facility capable of handling 130,000 boe/d. To get the oil and gas to market requires installing 77 mi (124 km) of oil export pipelines and 107 mi (172 km) of gas export pipelines.

The Perdido Development includes a common processing hub that incorporates drilling capability and functionality to gather, process, and export production within a 30-mi (48-km) radius of the facility (source: offshore-mag.com).

The shipyard itself has been under construction, and delays in the yard development schedule have resulted in the delivery delay. Originally, an August 2009 delivery date was anticipated.

During high level meetings in China in early November 2008, SeaMetric received confirmation from both the shipyard’s top management and the President of PetroChina Liaohe Oilfield Company, the yard’s owner, that construction of the TML vessels is a high priority project. A promise was given to deliver the vessels according to a newly developed recovery plan.

The CPLEC shipyard has recently strengthened its organization by recruiting a number of experienced inspectors and managers. At present, there are around 1,000 workers at the yard. The cutting of steel, the welding of panels and the fabrication of blocks are all ongoing processes.

Investors in SeaMetric’s bond issue visited the shipyard also in early November 2008. These investors will be able to confirm the status of the shipyard, the construction process and the commitments given by the yard and the yard’s owners.

The shipyard has indicated that the vessels will be delivered without any cost increases for the vessel construction. In addition, SeaMetric has not identified any cost overruns for deliveries of the various types of equipment to the vessels. However, some increases in management and financing costs could be expected as a direct consequence of a delayed delivery.

SeaMetric’s TML System consists of the two TML vessels in addition to a number of lifting arms which are placed across the vessels. With eight lifting arms in place, four on each vessel, the TML System will be able to install and remove platform topsides and jackets weighing up to 20,000 tonnes (19,684 tons). Such marine heavy lifting capacity is not currently available in the world markets.

SeaMetric has received bids from a number of contractors for the construction of the TML lifting arm systems. Construction of the lifting arm systems will not start until the necessary financing is in place. Financing would most likely be triggered by SeaMetric winning a contract from an end user of the TML System.

SeaMetric has secured production slots for engines, generators and thrusters for four additional vessels, two further 140 meter (459 ft) long heavy transport vessels for a second TML System as well as two 180 meter (590 ft)  transport vessels. The potential orders for these further vessels would have to be executed through separate contracts.

The two TML vessels have a total remaining financing requirement of approximately US$85 million. One potential financing source would be loans from Eksportfinans, the Norwegian export credit agency. SeaMetric has received an offer of loans from Eksportfinans of up to NOK 352 million (US$50 million), covering Norwegian deliveries to the two vessels. The Eksportfinans financing is dependent on SeaMetric meeting certain financial obligations.

SeaMetric is evaluating a restructuring of the company whereby SeaMetric’s shipping assets (the shipbuilding contracts), would be transferred to 100 percent owned single purpose companies, making possible direct investment into the companies. SeaMetric officials note that the current financial market climate is extremely demanding, but they remain confident that the remaining financing for completion of the two TML vessels will be secured. SeaMetric is also confident that financing for the construction of the TML lifting arm system can be achieved on the back of a contract for the use of the TML System.

SeaMetric has generated considerable industry interest with the TML concept.

The TML concept involves two semisubmersible heavy transport vessels, with DP3 class dynamic positioning systems, living quarters and helidecks. Each vessel will be capable of carrying up to 25,000 dwt of cargo. When not used as part of SeaMetric’s TML System, the vessels may be used in the traditional heavy transport market and also in the markets for construction support, subsea construction and subsea intervention.

In September, SeaMetric entered into a global cooperation agreement with AMEC plc under which the companies will use their combined skills to provide offshore decommissioning services. In October, SeaMetric and AMEC issued a joint submission to the oil company BP for the Miller platform decommissioning. Contract award is scheduled for September 2009. In addition, preparation is ongoing for a joint submission with AMEC to Shell for the Brent D topsides removal.

SeaMetric is actively pursuing contracts for the TML System to be used in marine heavy lift projects worldwide. These activities are primarily directed towards the industrial and operational partners of the company’s two Memorandums of Intent (MoIs) and one Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Mexican marine contractor Blue Marine Technology Group, CNOOC Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC) in China and the British oil company Fairfield Energy Ltd. All three MoI/MoU partners have strategies in which the TML System will play a central role.

The MoI with Blue Marine concerns operations in Latin America. The shareholder’s agreement for a jointly-owned operating company for TML System operations in this region was signed in October 2008. Mexico’s state owned oil company Pemex has confirmed its acceptance of TML as a possible installation tool. Pemex has instigated a rebid for a tender for a living quarter platform installation in 2010 and SeaMetric is responding in cooperation with ICA Fluor or Swecomex. Other opportunities with Pemex for platform installations are being pursued.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has nominated SeaMetric’s TML System as its preferred heavy lift tool in its new 5-year strategic plan, and has demonstrated this by canceling the planned construction of a 16,000 tonnes (15,747 tons) crane vessel. CNOOC’s affiliate COOEC is currently conducting due diligence as preparation for signature of the shareholder’s agreement for a jointly-owned operating company for TML System operations in the North East Asia region. The establishment of this operating company in by the end of the year is on schedule. The joint SeaMetric/COOEC planning work for a major marine heavy lift project offshore China is still ongoing.

The MoU with Fairfield Energy concerns the use of the TML System in the decommissioning of Fairfield’s current and future platforms. The MoU also includes any future installation work for Fairfield. SeaMetric expects to sign Heads of Agreement for a contract with Fairfield before the end of the year. The final agreement is expected to be signed during 2009. The eventual contract date would be subject to Shell and DBERR’s approval of Fairfield’s abandonment plan (source: energycurrent.com).