OSV Sales and Charters

We are pleased to report the following OSV sales and charters. Since Marcon’s first sale in 1983, Marcon has sold or chartered a total of 1,512 vessels and barges including 163 supply boats & AHTS, 20 utility boats, 110 crew/pilot boats, 19 seismic boats, 34 research/survey vessels, 9 dive support vessels and one drill ship.

The sale of the 254' x 44' x 16' U.S. flag, platform supply vessel "Elsa Leigh", broke the 1,500 mark for the number of vessel & barges sold or chartered since Marcon opened in 1981. This was the second time during its life that Marcon has sold this vessel. "Elsa Leigh" was originally built in 1983 by Moss Point Marine, Escatawpa, MS as the "Nicor Clipper" for Nicor Marine, Inc. of New Orleans, LA to expand their 37 vessel OSV fleet. At that time, according to then Moss Point Marine president John Dane III, its astounding 254' in length was believed to be the largest offshore workboat vessel ever built in the United States. In addition to her below deck supply vessel mud storage capabilities, the vessel had unique above deck characteristics too - primarily in the form of a special stern ramp constructed by the Moss Point Marine work crews allowing cargo containers to roll on and off her 170' x 35' clear deck for carrying freight. The tug/supply/container deck vessel actually began life as a more conventionally sized 214-foot vessel. After construction began though, Nicor requested that modifications be made to extend the deck area an extra 40 feet. In 1989, Nicor Marine was bought out by Seacor, the vessel renamed "Seacor Clipper" and put for a time on a Military Sealift Command contract out of Florida. In January 2002, "Seacor Clipper" was laid up in Louisiana and sold by Marcon eight months later to Aries Marine Corp. of Louisiana. She was renamed "Elsa Leigh" after one of the Owner's daughters who was 4 years old at the time. By 2002, this was the fourth vessel Marcon had sold to Aries Marine and the fifth vessel sold from Seacor. "Elsa Leigh" went through an extensive renovation at Bollinger's Morgan City shipyard. Much work involved mechanical systems in the hull and replacement of about 30% of the boat's steel, coating tanks and bringing the vessel up to ABS DPS 1, FiFi1 and GMDSS Area 3 certification. Her two main EMD 16-645E engines were removed and rebuilt by NREC in Houma, LA, who boosted their power and the boat's old reverse/reduction gears were replaced with re-conditioned Falk gears. Two new 11,000gpm fire monitors were added and the stern was adapted to accommodate a 600HP Schottel skeg thruster with a DP-1 positioning system controlling the bow & stern thrusters. Two Cummins diesels were added to power the new mud pumps and drive Quincy air compressors handling the dry bulk. Four new 80 PSI dry bulk tanks were also installed, giving the vessel 6,000 cubic foot capacity, and six ballast tanks converted to hold liquid mud. Unfortunately, once again the offshore market took another fall and "Elsa Leigh" was laid up in 2015. New owners are planning to take the vessel out of the offshore petroleum market and trade her as a container feeder vessel in the Caribbean.

Coastal Crewboats of Rockport, Texas has sold their 42.0' x 12.0' x 4.9' depth, aluminum, "vee" hull crewboat "Janie" to South American interests. The 14 passenger boat was built by Lafco of Lafayette, Louisiana in 1981 and powered by twin 230HP GM6-71s with Twin Disc gears giving the vessel a speed of 20kn. Vessel is capable of carrying 650lbs cargo on a 14' x 9' clear deck aft. Marcon acted as sole broker in the transaction. This is the second vessel was sold to the buyers over the last six months.

The 223.0' oceanographic research vessel "Kaimikai-O-Kanaloa", has been sold by the University of Hawaii to private foreign buyers. The vessel originally started out as the highly sophisticated 185' x 38.0' x 16.0' depth, SCR Diesel Electric powered geophysical research / seismic vessel "Western Strait" built by Mangone Shipbuilding Co. of Houston, Texas in 1979 as Hull 126. At that time, "Western Strait" joined Western Geophysical Company's fleet of some 30 vessels engaged in offshore research throughout the world. The SCR Diesel Electric propulsion system supplied power from two GM16V149TI diesels, each driving a 1,100kW Kato AC generator to two Westinghouse 1,000HP DC motors. The ship had a range of abt. 11,500 nautical miles and working endurance of 38 days. Quarters were provided for 39 geophysical personnel and crew. Her first assignment was in South American waters and she operated worldwide under the Panamanian registry until the time of the last big industry down-turn in mid-1980s when she was laid up. University of Hawaii purchased the vessel in 1988-89 and in 1991-93, the ship was lengthened from her original length to 220' by installation of a mid-body section at Bender Shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. At this time she was converted to a multi-purpose oceanographic research vessel and primary mother ship for two dedicated deep-diving Pisces manned submersibles operated by the University of Hawaii (not included in sale). "Western Strait" was renamed "Kaimikai-O-Kanaloa" and promptly became commonly known as the "KOK". The ship was classed with the American Bureau of Shipping and reflagged to U.S. registry. Over 1,050ft2 of space was provided in four separate laboratories and over 3,000ft2 of exterior working space was available on the aft main deck, aft 01 deck and hanger. A 4m x 4m moon pool with a remotely operated 9ft2 platform and support cabling allowed for simultaneous trans-hull deployment of up to four separate acoustic transceivers. Endurance was increased to 50 days and with her 98,000g fuel capacity her range increased to 15,000nm. "KOK" operated out of Honolulu, Hawaii throughout the Pacific for the past two decades with 14 crew and 17 scientific personnel plus two University of Hawaii technicians. University of Hawaii (UH) Marine Operations are coordinated by the UH School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology's (SOEST) UH Marine Center at Pier 35 in Honolulu Harbor. Marcon International, Inc. acted as sole broker in both the sale and arranging the 2,000nm tow on for the buyers.

A 16.7m x 4.8m x 2.2 aluminum hull crewboat has been sold from South American sellers to West Coast South American buyers. The 2009 built vessel was built by Chesapeake Yachts of Virginia. She is powered by a pair of 600HP Cummins QSM11 diesels with ZF 360A 2.25:1 gears and two three-blade, 32" x 36" fixed pitch props on 3" shafts, which gives her a maximum speed of abt. 20kn. Ship's power is provided by a single 25kW Northern Lights diesel generator. The 18.2mtdw crewboat has air conditioned seating for 20 passengers plus crew and can carry about 7.8 tons cargo on her 30m2 clear deck aft. Tankage consists of 2,000g fuel and 250g potable water. Marcon previously handled the sale of this vessel from the shipyard to the present sellers ten years ago. This is the second vessel we have sold to the buyers. Marcon acted as sole broker in both sales of this boat.

Full OSV Sales report is available here: OSV Sales Report.pdf