The Cost of Doing Business...

Both of my loyal readers have probaby noticed a lull in the blogging around here. I've been a busy boy of late. One of our customers has a number of rigs that were destroyed during the storms and we've been looking at how to go about cleaning up the mess left behind using the vessels and equipment available. We are by no means the only ones in this boat, except that boats, barges, divers, ROV's, and workover equipment are all few and far between right now. Equipment is being brought in from all the corners of the globe, but there is significant demand for this equipment elsewhere too, which is complicating the logistics. Day rates are skyrocketing, demand is through the roof, and all the vendors are telling us to lock them in NOW, because tomorrow, someone else might and we'd be SOL for as long as two years. I know we aren't the only ones being told this. I can't say any of this is all that unexpected, given the number of rigs that were beat to hell and gone, the boom in salvage and workover jobs was inevitable. Divers in particular are rolling in it right now. These guys are a different breed, they have to be to be abe to deal with some of the stuff they have to do, and they are paid a kings ransom to do it, but DAMN they can be strange beasts! They tend to be nomads always looking for more money. Turnover among diving companies would scare the bejesus out of anyone in HR in a different industry. Diving contractors also can be a bit inhumane in the way they treat thier divers which is both a cause and a symptom of the turnover rate. It is a dysfuntional industry manned by dysfuntional people. Up until recently it was a dying industry, as the oil industry moved to deeper and deeper waters, there was less and less demand for divers, the waters were just too deep. Most of the divers found honest work in other industries. The storm driven workover work is going to really stimulate growth, at east temporarily, in that industry.

So just remember when you complain about the price of gasoline when you fil up the tank, There are real valid reasons for the price you pay at the pump.