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The alarm sounds, and you begrudgingly roll out of bed. It is early morning and dark. While most people succumb to sleep, the deepwater offshore worker prepares for Day One of a 14 to 21-day hitch. The coffee perks as the shower tries to jumpstart the body, and when you’re prepared to exit, a glance around your home and a thoughtful stare at your sleeping family reminds you of why you live this life.
The duffle gets thrown into the truck, and you travel south. Depending on the time of year, the muggy air is too thick to penetrate, or the wet cold makes you question the science of how the South could dispense such frigid temperatures. You drive toward the water; after all, your destination is the heliport, where you will make that long commute to a deepwater asset, a location that has become your second home.
As you approach, the marker and navigation lights illuminate the heliport, the last pillar of civilization between you and an offshore asset 200 miles south into the salty Gulf of Mexico (GOM). You park your vehicle, tote your gear into the heliport, and initiate check-in. It mimics a major airport with security and metal detectors. The activity increases with people of your lifestyle embarking on the same journey. The weigh-in takes place as your body weight, and that of your luggage, are critical when loading the helicopter for flight. After a period of waiting, a quick safety video is screened; then, the faithful walk to the helicopter.
It does not resemble anything like luxury flights. No limos or crowds populate the area. A group of people, still tired from the early wake-up, but purposed with career, endure whatever Mother Nature throws their way as they board the transport. Before long, the helicopter is cleared for takeoff, lift takes place, and travel commences.
The sun breaks and penetrates the window so that it aims directly at your face. The gentle warming shakes the sleep; before you know it, you find confidence in your training to relax for the remainder of the flight. Then, as if out of nowhere, your offshore destination appears on the horizon and gets bigger and bigger as you approach. Before you know it, you have disembarked the helicopter and entered the world of offshore assets. Touchdown. Your hitch, and countdown to going home, commence.
Fly Those Friendly Skies
The journey to deepwater assets has become commonplace in the sense that it occurs every day with well-trained and professional individuals running the show. It is not something that can just be experienced in a next-day scenario. It takes training and preparation to cultivate personnel ready to engage in this commitment, and it requires an enormous undertaking of communication and planning to manage the transportation of a deepwater offshore professional to and from an asset far from land, with nothing visible but a surrounding perimeter of the Gulf of Mexico.
Companies in Texas and Louisiana primarily manage the offshore activity permeating the GOM. As one of the two central air transport companies used for GOM activities, Bristow Group has become a driving force in moving personnel to and from offshore assets. Clay Voss, Operations Manager for the company’s Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operations, says Bristow operates from seven different bases throughout the GOM area, with over 70 aircraft used to support the large numbers of workers being transported.
“Our Houma, Louisiana, base is the largest operation we have in the Gulf of Mexico regarding personnel movement,” says Voss. “On average, in Houma right now, we’re moving 200 or more people daily to various facilities offshore. I think, at one point, in a four-day period here recently, we moved almost 1,300 people in over 100 flights just because of the response to a potential hurricane threat.”
According to Voss, Bristow carries the weight and responsibility of ensuring the safest experience possible to maneuver personnel and gear back and forth from offshore locations. Moving such a large quantity of people requires multiple flights. Each helicopter must be inspected and deemed safe for travel and flown by trained pilots who meet FAA regulations. Offshore workers find themselves in the hands of highly qualified pilots who are trained to endure weather and environmental concerns. Bristow plays a critical role in transportation and meets its customers’ needs in the safest fashion possible. Sometimes, however, that transport can include more than people and luggage.
“We will do a flight that is conducted with just material or supplies based on customer request,” says Voss. “There are hazmat and size concerns along with weight restrictions, so based on what they are trying to move, we will determine with the customer if we can move it.”
Cultivating a Workforce
Those massive quantities of personnel seeking offshore travel come from different walks of life; their fields of interest span every aspect of offshore assets requiring support. Danos has long been associated with the offshore energy industry and supplies professionals in engineering, safety, rigging, and even galley personnel, among other areas of interest. It is understood that if a specific craft is needed offshore, Danos can supply the needed workforce.
According to Michael Guidry, GM of Production Services for the company’s GOM workforce, Danos has over 700 employees working on deepwater projects in the Gulf of Mexico. Each of these individuals has undergone a robust training curriculum to be qualified to climb aboard a Bristow helicopter and fly to an offshore asset for work.
“There are some basic training requirements that flag them green at the heliport,” says Guidry. “Each customer might have different requirements but, for the most part, all deepwater projects typically require a Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) and basic offshore knowledge on the safety side like risk assessment.”
He adds, “On average, there are about 12 different requirements. We conduct the training to meet these requirements in about a four-day period.”
While some training is virtual, a sizable portion must be conducted face-to-face. Each worker must successfully pass HUET and water survival training. This includes four hours in the classroom learning techniques and strategies should complications arise from air travel. The second half of the class includes several crash scenarios experienced in a simulator and deep pool. Students must endure the staged crash, punch out window and door panels, release their seat harnesses, exit the simulator, and swim to the surface without issue.
In addition to this rigorous training, students experience other simulated aspects of water survival, including entering and exiting lifeboats and survival rafts. Additionally, they must tread water and even participate in a simulated water rescue that includes being lifted from the pool and placed safely on the deck perimeter.
Although multiple regulations and precautions have made air travel safe, Voss says this training is vital in developing the seasoned offshore worker. Bristow transports personnel, but its Galliano, Louisiana, airbase is where it launches its rescue services because of its close proximity to Gulf waters. HUET and water survival training help make the company’s job easier and more successful in the event a rescue mission is launched.
Similarities Promote Success
The offshore industry is unique. It takes monumental collaboration and skill from each person involved to yield successful results. The interesting aspect that permeates the industry is the similarity each part has to offer. The pilots who move such a diverse workforce are incredibly skilled in their profession. Some have been flying for extensive careers, and some have military service backgrounds, all of which they draw upon to safely deliver the most precious cargo: their passengers.
The similarity surfaces with the labor pool. The offshore industry is comprised of individuals who not only reside all over the country, but also have many years of experience in their crafts. While some might just be breaking into the industry, they benefit from being surrounded by many who have called the offshore life home. This provides a framework of knowledge available to be drawn upon to help build the following worker’s career.
The offshore industry is unique compared to other business interests. It requires a “can-do” attitude because what might seem impossible to those outside of the industry is simply just another day to the people who work offshore. The 12-hour days add up as they count down. While the sight of the family upon the arrival home brings a smile, the seasoned offshore professional’s first smile comes from the arriving helicopter that brings them home at the end of the hitch.
Headline photo: Preparing for flight. Photos courtesy of Bristow.
Nick Vaccaro is a freelance writer and photographer. In addition to providing technical writing services, he is an HSE consultant in the oil and gas industry with twelve years of experience. Vaccaro also contributes to SHALE Oil and Gas Business Magazine, American Oil and Gas Investor, Oil and Gas Investor, Energies Magazine and Louisiana Sportsman Magazine. He has a BA in photojournalism from Loyola University and resides in the New Orleans area. Vaccaro can be reached at 985-966-0957 or nav@vaccarogroupllc.com.
- Nick Vaccarohttps://energiesmedia.com/author/nick-vaccaro/
- Nick Vaccarohttps://energiesmedia.com/author/nick-vaccaro/
- Nick Vaccarohttps://energiesmedia.com/author/nick-vaccaro/
- Nick Vaccarohttps://energiesmedia.com/author/nick-vaccaro/
- Nick Vaccarohttps://energiesmedia.com/author/nick-vaccaro/
- Nick Vaccarohttps://energiesmedia.com/author/nick-vaccaro/
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