and gas development typically involves significant capital investment and multi-year development plans. As  a result, such projects are generally underwritten by the participating exploration, development and  production companies using relatively conservative assumptions in regards to crude oil and natural gas  prices and these projects are, therefore, less susceptible to short-term fluctuations in the price of crude oil  and natural gas.  The company’s international market segment revenue is derived primarily from vessel time charter contracts  that are generally on a term basis (average three months to two years). The base rate of hire for a term  contract is generally a fixed rate, though some charter arrangements include escalation clauses to recover  specific additional costs.  The company’s vessels in its United States, or U.S., segment operate primarily in shallow, intermediate and  deep waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM). A small percentage of the vessels in the U.S. segment  operate in the U.S. coastal waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The deepwater offshore market has  been a growing sector of the U.S. GOM and is the one domestic market that has yet to experience any  significant negative effects from the global economic recession for the reasons cited above. However, the  recent rig catastrophe in the U.S. GOM may have an impact on future drilling activity. Drilling in the shallow  and intermediate waters of the U.S. GOM generally is less capital intensive and more susceptible to short- term fluctuations in the commodity prices of crude oil and natural gas. The company’s U.S. market segment revenue is derived from vessel time charter contracts that are on a  term basis and on a “spot” basis, which is a short-term agreement (one day to three months) to provide  offshore marine services to a customer for a specific short-term job. The company’s U.S.-based deepwater  class vessels are primarily contracted on a term basis.  Please refer to Item 7 "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of  Operations" of this report for a greater discussion of the company’s International and U.S. segments,  including the macroeconomic environment and market direction for each segment. In addition, please refer  to Note 13 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statement for segment, geographical data and major  customer information. The company's fleet is deployed in the major global offshore oil and gas areas of the world. The principal  areas of the company's operations include the U.S. GOM, the Persian/Arabian Gulf, and areas offshore  Australia, Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Trinidad, and West Africa. The company  regularly evaluates the deployment of its assets and repositions its vessels based on customer demand,  relative markets conditions, and other considerations.  -6-  Geographic Areas of Operation 