Anyway - at the end of the Apache II naming ceremony in Invergordon last week I wasn't terribly much the wiser; save that I can see that it is an efficient way of laying pipes on the ocean floor and I know that Technip, the vessel's owners, are getting contracts the world over.

The tour of the vessel before the naming ceremony was not only interesting, but it also served to underline two points. Firstly that the newly completed Apache II is state-of-the-art when it comes to pipelaying technology; and secondly that Technip's pipeline assembly facility at Evanton is an important contributor to Ross-shire's local economy. In other words - jobs don't grow on trees, particularly during a recession, and the jobs at Evanton are vital.

"Have you been on a vessel like this before?" Ron Cookson, Technip UK's managing director asked me as we gazed out at Invergordon and the Cromarty Firth from the vessel's palatial 360° view bridge. I confessed that I hadn't ever been on one like Apache II - and that it had been a very long time since I had set foot on a vessel that had had anything specifically to do with the oil industry, not since Kishorn in fact.

The Maersk Plotter was her name and she was an ocean going oil supply vessel. I worked on her for a number of months; not as a hairy-chested man of the sea, but rather as the night shift cashier...

In those days I worked for Grand Metropolitan who ran the accommodation, cleaning and catering for the thousands of "bears", or "Kishorn Commandos" as we called ourselves, who were constructing the mighty Ninian Central Platform at Loch Kishorn.

After some months of building the vast concrete structure alongside the main construction camp, it was moved to the "wet site" in the deeper waters of the Minch itself.

In order to avoid having to transport the workforce to and from the camp for meals the management moored the Mearsk Plotter beside the platform and built a large canteen on her after deck.

This was where I came in - my job being to take the money at the floating canteen's till, tally up at the end of the day (and also run the food store for the chefs and kitchen porters).

It was a wonderful experience for a twenty-three-year-old starting out in life. Vivid images are etched in my memory. The sight of the huge internal "centre shaft" thrusting deep below the ocean's surface. Looking from above you could see hundreds of men, almost like ants under the massive arc lights, working against the clock to finish the internals of the platform before it started on the long journey to the North Sea. It was pure James Bond stuff.

I remember climbing all the way up to the helideck for a smoke one dawn. It would have been about February - and seeing the sun slowly rise above the Ross-shire hills and light up the waters far below with moving fire was one of the most wonderful sights that I have ever seen. They talk about sunrise off East Africa? I have been there - and I can tell you the Minch has it.

Then there was the night the chef forgot to order the bread rolls - and insisted on offering the lads their midnight burgers between two cream crackers.

"Ah'm no eating this *****!" On the whole I felt it wisest to grab my till and run to my wee cabin to cash up the day's takings. This was a matter for chefs, rather than lowly cashiers, to sort out.

Kishorn in the past - and with the Apache II as a good example of the present, we must now think of the future.

Earlier this month I was briefed by Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) regarding their proposal to build a very large offshore wind farm off the coast of Sutherland adjacent to the Beatrice production platform.

If the project goes ahead, then we are talking about major onshore fabrication work: in terms of money, not just up to, but way beyond the scale of the Ninian Central in the 1970s. It could be the bonanza for Nigg that we have all been praying for. As KBR considers its options to lease or sell the Nigg yard, the decisions to be made during the weeks and months ahead are absolutely crucial. There could be a great future.

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