Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator's Instructions) Our first question is from Pierre Conner with Capital One Southcoast.
Pierre Conner - Capital One Southcoast
Good morning, gentlemen. First question, Todd, Jim, there's a pretty wide range on the guidance for the fourth quarter and I wondered if you would elaborate on what kind of variables we might be watching to see where we would end on that range, assuming it's mostly associated with the utilization on the NPSVs if that's correct?
Todd M. Hornbeck
Yeah. You hit the nail on the head. I mean, while we see the market firming and we see into '10, epically the wider part of '10 starting to firm and a lot of projects and a flurry of activity, we're just being conservative. The NPSVs are coming into the market for the first time, very large vessels, very large projects that these NPSVs go on, a lot of engineering required so those projects can move to the right pretty easily. So through the end of the year with the Strongline not going to deliver until the first quarter, that being one element, and also just general market conditions we're being conservative.
Pierre Conner - Capital One Southcoast
Okay. On the Strongline you anticipate getting all of your certifications in that startup period as —
Todd M. Hornbeck
Yeah. We anticipate that they will all be done prior to delivery unlike in the Centerline where we went ahead and delivered the vessel to start doing spud loads and float tell services and working on the traditional upstream OSV type work and while we were applying for the D&O applications which takes much longer in time because they're specialty applications for hazardous cargo and dangerous cargo handling, and then come back in and do her modifications as we move through that process. That won't happen on the second vessel.
Pierre Conner - Capital One Southcoast
Okay. My followup is on the — basically I am trying to get a feel for your limited amount of exposure in the Gulf of Mexico, so kind of pro forma the vessels going to Brazil plus your military contracts east coast west coast plus the two additional — where are we in terms of the number of vessels operating in the Gulf and then what's that split on spot in term, Todd?
Todd M. Hornbeck
Well, we usually don't break that. I think we gave that to you in percentages of what we're contracted through the end of the year, 60 something percent so I would say 40% in spot. On the Brazil, four contracts going to Brazil. Those are moving to the right a little bit. We have a window to deliver those four vessels between the middle of November and all the way to the end of March. So that's the window to deliver those vessels in. I think hopefully we can depart with two of the vessels out of the four by the end of this year because we have some minor conversions that have to take place and some equipment that has to be put on for the contract, and then two, the first part of next year probably around March.
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