摘要: |
Shipbuilding and fabrication, the subjects of this study, are, among other things, two distinct but overlapping segments of the larger offshore industry. They are distinct in that, both within the offshore industry and more broadly, these segments are geared toward different markets and respond to different economic indicators.1 They overlap in that, as the two primary “onshore” industries servicing offshore oil and gas, they consume many of the same materials, tap the same labor markets, and interact in the same communities. Some firms even fabricate both platforms and ships/boats. Both shipbuilding and fabrication for the offshore industry emerged from, and in close relationship to, pre-existing shipbuilding and oil and gas industries on the Gulf Coast. After World War II, they continued to be affected by national and global developments in shipbuilding and oil and gas, but they also evolved as a local response to the growth of offshore petroleum in the Gulf. Due to the extent and character of the offshore oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico, centers of industrial activity have not been directly tied to particular offshore projects or developments. Other factors, such as access to transportation, workforce geography, and economic incentives have determined where fabrication and shipyards located. They have become specialized industries that are not well described in industry or government publications. Yet they are the most significant sector in outer continental shelf (OCS) program-related employment. Also, like the offshore businesses that they serve, the Gulf’s shipbuilding and fabrication businesses have expanded internationally, bucking a general decades-long trend in the U.S. of steady decline of heavy industries in the face of globalization. The principal reason these two industries are difficult to describe is that they encompass numerous and changing subsets of businesses and companies. Both are included in the U.S. Census of Manufactures (historically taken every five years). Prior to 1997, they were covered under the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code 3731, “Ship Building and Repair,” which encompasses “establishments primarily engaged in building and repairing ships, barges, and lighters, whether self-propelled or towed by other craft . . . [and] the conversion and alteration of ships, the manufacture of offshore oil and gas, well drilling and production platforms (whether or not self-propelled).” However, mobile drilling vessels were not broken out as a sub-category of the product group, “self-propelled ships, nonmilitary,” until 1972, at least 20 years after the first generation of mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) were launched.2 In 1997, the SIC codes were replaced by the North American Industrial Classification (NAIC) system, under which these sectors are now categorized as “Ship Building and Repairing,” NAIC 336611. The Maritime Administration (MARAD) of the U.S. Department of Transportation breaks down U.S. shipbuilders into first-tier, second-tier, and third-tier facilities. First-tier shipyards have at least one shipbuilding position consisting of an inclined way and a launching platform and are capable of constructing, drydocking, or topside repairing vessels 122 meters in length or 1 Other marine contractor segments of the offshore oil and gas industry include drilling, diving, supply, surveying, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and such, and are represented by organizations such as the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC), the Offshore Marine Services Association, and the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA). 2 The |