It has been well documented that there are scores of OSVs currently stacked in waterways across the Gulf region.
Some of these boats are new — from the yard to the stack, you might say. There is a glimmer of hope that many of these OSVs will go back to work with a barrel of oil hovering around $50 bbl., particularly if the price recovers over the next three months as it has over the past three.
Yet, even if the price of oil continues to recover and there is an active hurricane season in the Gulf, some of these boats that are now stacked are not coming back. Chad Fuhrmann of (R)Evolution Consulting & Engineering Services has sent a proposal to the U.S. Department of Transportation that would use some of these stacked OSVs as training vessels.
“This is very much a work in progress,” said Fuhrmann, “particularly in an election year when major projects like this are held off. But I’m looking at the Fiscal Year 2019 budget.”
Marad funds and operates the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y. and provides some funding to the six state maritime academies — California Maritime Academy, Great Lakes Maritime Academy, Maine Maritime Academy, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, SUNY Maritime College and Texas A&M Maritime Academy. As part of its support, Marad provides training vessels to all six of the higher education institutions. Those training vessels are mostly bluewater ships.
“Right now they’re training everyone for deepwater,” said Fuhrmann, who graduated from Kings Point, sailed for 10 years and still holds an unlimited chief engineer’s license. “Considering where most of the jobs are, why not train them for smaller vessels?”
Fuhrmann said the number of vessels needed would hardly put a dent in the stack, but that’s not the point. “The vessels are available and some of them might be donated,” he said. “I figure about 12 to start with, but a larger number later because of the total number of students at the schools.”
As for feedback from the DOT, Fuhrmann said, “I received one letter from the DOT in response,” he said, “and a couple of informal emails from the folks at Marad.”
