Offshore Marine Service Association News Room (blog)

Navy League calls for support for Merchant Marine and Jones Act

Richard Wells — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:19:37 GMT

The Navy League of the United States has released its latest maritime policy statement. Its theme is "Maritime Primacy & Economic Prosperity," recognizing that even in today's difficult economic climate, maintaining a strong maritime force is critical to U.S. prosperity.

"In light of the new national defense strategy's emphasis on the Asia-Pacific and continued presence in the Middle East, the need for maritime forces that are forward deployed, forward engaged and ever-ready to respond is more critical now than ever before," Navy League Executive Director Dale Lumme said. "This document reflects that reality, and makes specific recommendations regarding the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, U.S.-flag Merchant Marine and the U.S. industrial base that supports them."

For full article, please click here

CBP Denies Escopeta's Petition for Relief of $15 Million Jones Act Fine

Richard Wells — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:10:42 GMT

Monday, February 6, 2012

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has denied Escopeta’s petition for relief of the $15 million fine they face for violating the Jones Act last year. CBP says the full amount of the fine will be upheld with payment due at the end of March.

Last March, despite being denied a new Jones Act waiver and after being told by DHS Secretary Napolitano that they’re 2006 waiver was invalid, Escopeta set out to transport their Spartan 151 jack up rig to Alaska onboard a Chinese owned bulker. The oil company was in a race against time, trying to beat competitors to the state’s offer of $25 million in tax credits to the first company to drill in Cook Inlet. Ignoring multiple rejections of their petition to receive a Jones Act waiver the company moved the rig from Texas to Canada to Cook Inlet – a clear violation of law.

For full story, please click here

OMSA has moved!

Richard Wells — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:18:50 GMT

To better serve the OMSA membership and to decrease our office expense, OMSA has moved back into the New Orleans Central Business District (CBD) into the former Chevron Building. The building has been renamed as the Energy Centre and our new office address is: 935 Gravier St. Suite 2040 New Orleans, LA 70112. Our new phone number is: 504-528-9411 and our new Fax is 504-528-9415. Please stop by when you are in our neighborhood!

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Study: Gulf drilling permits speed up, still below pre-spill rate

Richard Wells — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:27:30 GMT

The Interior Department has accelerated the pace of deepwater drilling permits, but the approval rate remains well below levels that industry enjoyed before the BP oil spill, a newly released study states.

The energy industry consulting firm IHS-CERA released a report Wednesday about the six months leading up to mid-October, the one-year anniversary of the end of a deepwater drilling moratorium imposed shortly after the 2010 disaster began.

The study states that Gulf of Mexico permit approvals increased “significantly,” but even the three months ending in mid-October were just 56 percent of the historical average.

Click here for full story

Year After Obama Lifted Drilling Ban, Pace of Permitting Is Worse

Richard Wells — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:03:51 GMT

The Obama administration is approving only 37 percent of the deepwater drilling plans submitted this year undefined a figure that falls below even last year’s low approval rate. It’s also taking federal bureaucrats an average of 115 days to approve the plans, nearly double the historical average.

Greater New Orleans Inc. reported the numbers as part of its Gulf Permit Index, a measure of permit issuance. The data was provided by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, which oversees shallow-water and deepwater permits.

Last year’s numbers were down sharply, a result of the worst oil spill in U.S. history and a drilling moratorium that lasted until Oct. 12, 2010. But they have continued to take a nosedive in 2011. A few highlights:

Over the past five years, 73.4 percent of plans submitted to BOEMRE were approved. That number dropped to 52 percent in 2010 and stands at 37 percent in 2011.
The federal government approved these plans in an average of 60.6 days over the past five years. That number increased to 67 days in 2010. But it skyrocketed to 115 days this year.
So far in October, the government has issued just one deepwater drilling permit. The average over the past three years is seven new permit approvals per month.

For full story, please click here.

Jones Act Enforcement

Richard Wells — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:58:05 GMT

Escopeta Slammed with $15 Million Fine for Jones Act Violation

Escopeta Oil Co. is facing a federal fine of $15 million stemming from the company violating the Jones Act as they transported a jack-up oil rig to Alaska’s Cook Inlet from Texas, using a foreign-flagged ship.

Spokesman from Escopeta, Steve Sutherlin, confirmed that they received a notice of the $15 million penalty from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on October 13th after their violation of the Jones Act that took place this summer. Escopeta had failed to obtain a Jones Act waiver that requires intra-national transportation efforts to be completed by American vessels before they sent the Spartan 151 jack up rig to Alaska via Chinese heavy lift vessel.

For full story, please click here.

Positive Development on Notice of Arrival on the OCS

Richard Wells — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:10:13 GMT

On September 8th, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee passed the Coast Guard Authorization Act that included a provision that proposes an exemption of U.S. vessels from having to report a Notice of Arrival (NOA) on the Outer Continental Shelf unless that vessel is coming from a foreign port.

OMSA President Jim Adams was pleased with the action, stating “I want to sincerely thank Congressmen Boustany and Landry for their continued leadership and support of the offshore service vessel industry. They recognize how this unnecessary regulation is an unworkable and expensive burden to the U.S. domestic fleet”.

The language was passed without objection or recommended changes by the Committee. Representative Charles Boustany introduced this language and Representative Jeff Landry was the sponsor of the language in Committee. This provision also had the support of Representative Don Young of of Alaska. The Authorization Bill was introduced in the Senate on October 8th and we will keep the membership updated as the bill progresses through Congress.

OMSA continues to work with Coast Guard Headquarters on adjusting the regulation so that it makes sense for OMSA members. OMSA will present a formal proposal to HQ at the end of October that proposes using AIS to provide the Coast Guard with the most up-to-date information/location of our vessels.

The Authorization Act can be read here with the NOA provision at the very bottom http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h112-2838

Coast Guard Certification for the Next Generation of OSRV’s is in Jeopardy

Richard Wells — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:06:13 GMT

The Deepwater Horizon clearly demonstrated that our fleet of Oil Spill Response Vessels (OSRV’s) must be modernized. Due to an outdated Coast Guard policy letter, these vessels are currently are limited to just 500 Gross Tons in size.

Last fall, and after years of discussion, the Coast Guard promised that a larger, more capable OSRV would be authorized. Based on this commitment, OMSA members made business plans to build and operate a new generation of OSVR’s. These vessels are critical to improving our response capability in the Gulf and initiating offshore exploration in Alaska.

Just two weeks ago, OMSA was disappointed to learn that the Coast Guard has altered its plan to provide the immediate regulatory clarity necessary to deploy a more capable class of OSRV.

Working with the affected member companies, OMSA is petitioning both the Congress and the Coast Guard for a decision that will allow the United Sates to apply the best technology in our offshore oil spill response plans. OMSA has received strong support on Capitol Hill and we hope this situation will be favorably resolved very soon. There is simply no reason why bureaucratic second guessing should stand in the way of doing our best to protect the safety of life and the environment at sea.

Jim Adams

Obama's Interior Chokehold on America

Richard Wells — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:26:45 GMT

September 27, 2011

Obama's Interior Chokehold on America

By Jim Adams

How could a bureaucratic bottleneck in the Gulf of Mexico cost the U.S. economy nearly $20 billion and wipe out hundreds of thousands of jobs as far away as Ohio, Pennsylvania and California? Unfortunately, with this White House administration, anything is possible.

President Obama recently announced yet another jobs initiative -- knowing all the while that one very simple action on his part would indeed create new jobs, infuse federal and state budgets with billions of dollars, and make us less reliant on imports. But that didn't happen.

On Oct. 12, 2010, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, "We're open for business," signaling that drilling for new oil in the Gulf of Mexico would resume. But, Mr. Salazar has an odd interpretation of the words "open for business."

For full article, please click here.

Fed Up With ‘Games, Politics and Delays,’ Offshore Workers Offer a Solution To Create Thousands of Jobs at No Cost to Taxpayers

Richard Wells — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:24:52 GMT

Fed Up With ‘Games, Politics and Delays,’ Offshore Workers Offer a Solution To Create Thousands of Jobs at No Cost to Taxpayers

Statement by Jim Adams, president and CEO,

Offshore Marine Service Association

“President Obama wants to spend $447 billion in taxpayer’s money to create jobs, a proposal that is absolutely ridiculous, even by White House standards. We have a far simpler solution to the jobs crisis, one that won’t cost taxpayers a single dime. In fact, it will actually save taxpayers millions of dollars.

“The oil and gas industry wants to spend $19 billion of its own money to create 230,000 jobs from coast to coast. But the Obama White House undefined the same administration that wants to blow billions in tax dollars to create jobs undefined is standing in the way.

“Oil and gas workers in the Gulf of Mexico are largely idle thanks to a huge backlog of administrative approvals and permit applications at the Department of the Interior. Without those permits, we can’t get back to work exploring for oil and gas in the Gulf.

“Billions of dollars in spending and capital expenditures are tied up in red tape. Without those approvals, industry can’t order new computers, trucks, ships, or steel pipes. We can’t get America moving again.

“The White House has made the process sound complicated. So we created a whiteboard video to explain the problem undefined and the solution undefined in a simple, straightforward, and, yes, even entertaining way.

“The President implored Congress: ‘No games, no politics, no delays.’ We couldn’t agree more. This Administration has exerted its political will against domestic energy exploration for more than a year now. We’re fed up with games, politics and delays. Let us get back to work.”

OCS Notice of Arrival proposed change

Richard Wells — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:28:59 GMT

Congressman Jeff Landry (R, LA-03) has successfully fought to relieve offshore supply vessel companies from facing unnecessary regulatory burdens. Landry, the House’s leading proponent of domestic oil and gas drilling and their related supply industries, had a provision inserted into H.R. 2838 – the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2011 – that would prohibit the Coast Guard’s “Notice of Arrival” regulations from applying to domestic offshore supply vessels.

The SAFE Port Act of 2006 directed the Coast Guard to develop regulations that require foreign vessels arriving on the Outer Continental Shelf to provide notice of their arrival to the United States Coast Guard. Inexplicably, the regulation subsequently enacted by the Coast Guard, required domestic offshore supply vessels to provide information to the Coast Guard on the vessel’s destination, crew and passenger names, cargo carried by the offshore supply vessel 24 hours before leaving port. This created an unrealistic burden on supply vessels working for the offshore drilling industry, they don’t know, where they’ll be going or what they’ll be carrying before they leave.

Please click here for full article.

OMSA Applauds Congressional Leadership on Offshore Notice of Arrivals

Richard Wells — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:10:34 GMT

On September 8th, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee passed the Coast Guard Authorization Act that included a provision critical to the domestic vessel industry. The provision proposes an exemption of U.S. vessels from having to report a Notice of Arrival (NOA) on the Outer Continental Shelf unless that vessel is coming from a foreign port.

OMSA President Jim Adams was pleased with the action, stating “I want to sincerely thank Congressmen Boustany and Landry for their continued leadership and support of the offshore service vessel industry. They recognize how this unnecessary regulation is an unworkable and expensive burden to the U.S. domestic fleet”.

The language was passed without objection or recommended changes by the Committee. Representative Charles Boustany introduced this language and Representative Jeff Landry was the sponsor of the language in Committee. This provision also had the support of Representative Don Young of of Alaska.

The Authorization Act can be read here with the NOA provision at the very bottom http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h112-2838.

Jobs depend on stepping up offshore drilling (editorial)

Richard Wells — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:56:41 GMT

By: (Mobile) Press-Register Editorial Board

PEOPLE ALONG the Gulf of Mexico, more than anyone else, understand the need to make sure that drilling is conducted safely in deep water. No one wants a repeat of last year’s devastating oil spill.

But can we pick up the pace of permitting for companies that demonstrate safety?

If we don’t, Southern states stand to lose more than a quarter of a million jobs, perhaps permanently undefined which would be a punch to the gut of the very region hurt the most by the BP oil spill.

The economic impact of the slow permitting process was reinforced last week in a report by IHS Global Insight and energy research firm IHS CERA.

The report suggests that faster permit approvals by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement could create 230,000 jobs nationwide in 2012. It says 3,400 of those could be created in Alabama and 5,400 in Mississippi.

For full story, please click here.

UPDATE - Notice of Arrival on the OCS

Richard Wells — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 23:20:55 GMT

OMSA continues to work with Coast Guard Headquarters to ensure the Notice of Arrival on the OCS regulation is implemented in a way that is feasible for offshore operators and beneficial to the Coast Guard. Together we are working on developing a policy that is more practical for our industry.

The first reprieve our industry has received is a letter from HQ that provides clarity that the Coast Guard will not be enforcing the NOA requirements as we work toward a reasonable alternative compliance program. OMSA emailed this letter to all its vessel members and all operators are encouraged to print the letter and maintain it on each vessel. The Coast Guard has assured us that the Coast Guard is unable to enforce
this regulation because the electronic reporting system does not capture the necessary information for vessels operating on the OCS. Once the revisions for the reporting format are complete, the Coast Guard must submit the new data collection form to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review. Once OMB approves the data collection, the Coast Guard will publish a notice in the Federal Register informing the public of OMB’s decision to approve, disapprove or modify. It is anticipated this process
will take nine months or more.

OMSA also met with several members of Coast Guard through the OMSA/Coast Guard Safety Partnership on June 8th, including Rear Admiral Paul Zukunft, Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship. Admiral Zukunft has served along the Gulf Coast and was extremely receptive to our industry’s concerns on complying with the NOA requirements. He agreed fully that the requirements are
burdensome for our industry and that they need substantial revision. While this was uplifting news, there is still much work ahead.

OMSA also has support from both Houses of Congress. Representatives Jeff Landry, Charles Boustany and Don Young (Alaska) have either introduced legislation to exempt U.S. flag vessels or voiced their support for the industry during committee hearings. Below are clips of Congressman Young and Congressman Landry during a Coast Guard Subcommittee Hearing where the NOA was discussed.

Congressman Landry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usctn0cvrGo

Congressman Young http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxzfbGENeAk

We will continue to keep you updated as we make process on this issue. If you need a copy of the Coast Guard letter for your vessels, please email Sarah Branch at sarah@offshoremarine.org.

Sarah Branch
OMSA Director of Government Relations

President’s Report

Richard Wells — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:17:20 GMT

The summer is upon us and OMSA continues the fight to create the political will necessary to improve market conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. Since February, OMSA has been quoted in more than 100 articles and six Op-Eds that have highlighted the devastating effects of President Obama's de facto drilling moratorium. Our Board Members and Staff have appeared a half dozen times on Fox News to link the Administration's energy policy to higher gas prices, lost jobs and national insecurity. Our White Board Video has been seen by over 40,000 people on YouTube.

On Capitol Hill, we told the truth about the moratorium when we testified before the House Commerce Committee and the House Resources Committee. These opportunities supported the passage of legislation that sent a clear message to the White House that their war on domestic energy runs counter to the will of the American people and it comes with a steep political price.

A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to testify before the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee on the jobs that would be created if we had vigorous Jones Act enforcement in the Gulf of Mexico. The Subcommittee is chaired by Senator Mary Landrieu and she wanted her colleagues to understand the potential of OMSA's Jones Act compliance program as managed by Joe Kavanaugh.

We told the Subcommittee about how our Jones Act compliance program is a partnership with the federal government that allows us to work with CBP to ensure that federal law is obeyed. We testified that OMSA had developed information on six separate enforcement cases that are currently awaiting a penalty assessment. The penalties in these cases could range from $2.5M to $12M. A stiff penalty would change the behavior of the offshore energy market and create American jobs. Chairman Landrieu is following up with CBP to better understand what is causing the backlog of penalties that haven’t been assessed. We anticipate the bright light that Senator Landrieu directed at the need for disciplined enforcement will lead to progress very soon.

We recently achieved a breakthrough in working with the Coast Guard on their "impossible to comply with" Notice of Arrival. The Coast Guard has agreed that an AIS based system will deliver far superior Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) without obstructing the offshore industry. MDA is a homeland security term that describes the goal of knowing who is operating in a particular area. MDA is the driver behind the NOA. In meeting with the Coast Guard we used the OMSA Jones Act compliance program as a great model for achieving AIS-based MDA. It’s a program that works. We are grateful to the Coast Guard for their willingness to listen and for providing OMSA with a policy letter that clearly states that the NOA will not be enforced for the indefinite future. In the meantime, we will use the OMSA/Coast Guard safety partnership to achieve a solution that promises to deliver benefits to both industry and the Coast Guard.

Jim Adams
OMSA President/CEO