Upstream downtream ocean going vessels: marine transport for Alaska's oil and gas industry.

• Author: Swann, Kirsten
• Position: OIL & GAS

In Alaska--a state with 6,640 miles of general coastline (33,904 miles of tidal shoreline), a sparse road system, and a multibillion-dollar oil and gas sector--one type of business sees consistently high demand. Companies that provide marine transportation within the state's bustling petroleum industry are important catalysts to the biggest economic driver in the state.

Alaska isn't like most other states: Its communities are remote, subject to extreme weather conditions, and home to small populations and vast natural resources. The businesses that provide shipping services for the oil and gas industry in the Last Frontier face one-of-a-kind challenges and unpredictable opportunities with potentially vast rewards.

Overcoming those challenges is often a matter of having the right equipment.

Upstream Bowhead Transport

Bowhead Transport Company, a subsidiary of the Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation (UIC), has the equipment and also knows the value of flexibility.

A new 150-foot landing craft, set to launch this season, was designed to provide "multi-mission capabilities in conjunction with our common carrier barge services and for other maritime services uses during the open water season," according to Bowhead Operations Manager Sean Flochanadel.

Hochanadel says the vessel was built by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders based in Washington state and is primarily designed to work with Bowhead's common carrier cargo deliveries, but it also has some built-in functionality that could make it attractive for other jobs.

"It's got room for a big crew," Hochanadel says.

Working with Alaska's oil and gas industry requires more than just flexible equipment; it necessitates operational adaptability, too.

Bowhead reached a new level of versatility through a partnership with Crowley Marine Services, Inc. The joint venture, UIC Bowhead-Crowley LLC, was formed in 2013, and Hochanadel says it led to a multi-year contract for cargo transport between Prudhoe Bay and Point Thomson. He says the power-up of the Point Thomson project has been the joint venture's main focus.

During the exploration phase, the marine transport company brought in construction materials needed to build a pad, large-diameter tanks, and other equipment.

During the exploration phase, Hochanadel says, barges might carry pipe-laying machinery, support equipment, or "other things that it takes to do a different job."

Different cargo is needed for all the various phases of oil and gas development. For...