Marblehead marine co. joins battle in Gulf against oil spill

MARBLEHEAD – A local marine company is part of the massive effort to defend Gulf Coast beaches from the toxic effects of the April 20 BP rig explosion and oil leak.Seven employees of Smith Marine of Marblehead, including co-owner Andy Smith, are scheduled to work 12-hour day shifts (7 a.m.-7 p.m.) off a threatened beach.Their task will be to deploy a boom – think of a net without any holes – between their boats to capture and collect the oil and oil-created material before it reaches the shoreline.They will literally be the shoreline’s first line of defense.Smith Marine co-owner Robin Smith said her seven-year-old firm provides support for dredging, bridge inspection and repair and a lengthy list of other commercial projects.”We have a longtime client, Moran Environmental Recovery, which handles environmental remediation for large-scale spills,” she said. “They called us two weeks ago and asked if we could supply support vessels for the Gulf operation for up to six months.”Within hours of that Sunday call the Smiths assembled a work team and six of the smaller boats they use for safety work, averaging 25 feet in length. All the boats were on trailers and hooked up to cars.They left Marblehead on Monday and were on the scene in Alabama Wednesday night, part of a work force of thousands that is growing every day.The Smith crew includes Hunter Smith of Marblehead, Eddie Wolfe and Tim Pickering of Salem, Jody Young, Kevin Riley and Kyle Conant of Gloucester and Erin Hardy of Malden. They are boat people – the company made a decision to use local mechanics for support if needed, as a way of helping the Alabama coastal economy, which is probably due for a downturn.They are presently doing preparation work in Mobile Bay. If the oil slick behaves as originally predicted they will be stationed off Alabama’s Orange Beach.However, recent reports indicate that it could also be headed out of the Gulf to the Atlantic and the coast of Florida.Wherever that problem goes, Smith said, “We’ll do anything we can to protect the coastline.”The co-owner said she plans to head for the Gulf herself eventually, as soon as company services are in shape for partner Matt Plauche of Marblehead to oversee.As a businesswoman, Smith isn’t pointing any fingers or assigning any responsibility. “This is a catastrophe and we all need to work together,” she said.Anyway, as far as the emotional impact is concerned, “I haven’t gotten there yet, this all happened so fast,” she said.However, “At the end of the day I’d feel helpless if we weren’t doing something.”