Ask a Responder: Q & A with an Owner and Operator of a Vessel of Opportunity
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Eric Hebert at the helm of the vessel Lady Sonya. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Grace Baldwin. |
SNPA Grace Baldwin is serving as a public affairs specialist in the Deepwater Horizon Response. She is a U.S. Coast Guard Reservist from the public affairs detachment at Sector Baltimore, Md.
Eric Hebert is a fisherman in LaFourche Parish, La., and the owner and operator of the vessel Lady Sonya hired by BP as part of the Vessel of Opportunity program. He is part of Charlie Company and is the team leader for the Zulu supply boat group, which carries supplies for VoO skimmers. SNPA Baldwin spent some time aboard the Lady Sonya, June 29, 2010, hearing from Eric and learning more about how the Vessels of Opportunity are assisting in the Deepwater Horizon Response effort.
Q: What was the process to help in the Deepwater Horizon Response?
A: We had to fill out a contract with BP for Vessels of Opportunity, we had to do a self Coast Guard inspection and, then, once they called and activated us, the Coast Guard inspected the vessel.
Q: What are your hours like?
A: It varies some. Usually, we start in at 5:30 in the morning. Yesterday, we finished around 7:30 at night but, usually, it's about 5:30 or 6:00 at night.
Q: What challenges are you facing and are they the same each day?
A: Pretty much the same, just dealing with the weather. We have these storms rolling in and out. Today's basically the worst day with this storm that's rolling in.
Q: Are you seeing people and other agencies work together?
A: Yeah, we have a really good group over here, really good group. The Coast Guard and safety people and companies, everybody's working together. They're working alongside the fisherman, it's real good.
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Eric Hebert in the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Grace Baldwin |
Q: Is this where you're from and where you used to fish?
A: Yeah, we work out of Leeville, La., and all these grounds that we're working is where we used to fish. This is basically our back yard.
Q: Does the fact that this is your home contribute to your motivation each day?
A: It's a real motivation because this is where we fish. If we lose this we ain't got nothing. Basically it's our job; if we lose these marshes we lose our job.
Q: Have you experienced any successes regarding the response?
A: We've had a lot of success over here. I'd say we've got about 80 percent of our marshes boomed off in the last four weeks so they're protected. Each group has been averaging anywhere between 10,000 to 16,000 feet of boom a day we've been laying out along the marsh. We've pretty much got a lot of the outlaying marsh protected already.
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