The WorkBoat Composite Index mirrored 2023’s performance in January, closing out the first month of 2024 relatively unchanged.

In January, WorkBoat stocks declined slightly, losing 13 points, or less than 0.4%. For the month, losers topped winners 16-9.

Among the winners was Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. The Houston-based steel fabricator and service provider to the industrial and energy sectors, eked out a small gain in January.

At its third-quarter conference call late last year, Richard Heo, Gulf Island’s president and CEO, told analysts that the company had finally settled its MPSV litigation with Hornbeck Offshore and that the winding down of the remaining shipyard obligations was nearly complete. “We will be able to fully move on to the next phase of our journey,” he said. “We have nearly closed the chapter on a challenged past, and we’re excited to be a pure-play services and fabrication business.”

Heo said he was excited by the opportunities that lie ahead for the company. “With the anticipated wind down of the shipyard operations in the fourth quarter, we’ll have removed the significant overhang and distractions from our business. Our execution and operations are strong, our end markets are favorable, and we are in a solid financial position. We’re optimistic that 2024 will be an even stronger year for Gulf Island.”

David Krapf retired in 2024 after serving as editor of WorkBoat, the nation’s leading trade magazine for the inland and coastal waterways industry, since 1999. During his tenure, Krapf oversaw the editorial direction of the publication, shaping its reputation as an industry leader. Krapf's career in publishing began in 1987 as a reporter and editor for daily and weekly newspapers in the Houston area. He also served as the editor of a transportation industry daily in New Orleans before joining WorkBoat as a contributing editor in 1992. With a career spanning decades, Krapf has been covering the transportation industry since 1989. He holds a degree in business administration from the State University of New York at Oswego and studied journalism at the University of Houston.