UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                  ------------

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

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        Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 24, 2009

                          Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


        Louisiana                     0-22303                   72-1147390
 (State of incorporation)    (Commission File Number)         (IRS Employer
                                                            Identification No.)


       583 Thompson Road, Houma, Louisiana                   70363
       (Address of principal executive offices)            (Zip Code)


                                 (985) 872-2100
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)


                                       N/A
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)


Check  the  appropriate  box  below  if the  Form  8-K  filing  is  intended  to
simultaneously satisfy the filing obligations of the registrant under any of the
following provisions:

[ ]  Written  communications  pursuant to Rule 425 under the  Securities Act (17
     CFR 230.425)

[ ]  Soliciting  material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
     240.14a-12)

[ ]  Pre-commencement   communications  pursuant  to  Rule  14d-2(b)  under  the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

[ ]  Pre-commencement   communications  pursuant  to  Rule  13e-4(c)  under  the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))




Item 1.01         Entry Into a Material Definitive Agreement.

      On March 24, 2009, the Board of Directors of Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc.
(the  "Company")  declared a dividend of one preference  share purchase right (a
"Right") for each  outstanding  share of common stock, no par value (the "Common
Shares"),  of the  Company.  The  dividend  is  payable  on  March  25,  2009 to
shareholders of record on March 24, 2009 (the "Record  Date").  The Company will
continue to issue  Rights with  respect to new Common  Shares  issued  after the
Record Date. The description and terms of the Rights are set forth in the Rights
Agreement  dated as of March 25,  2009 (the  "Rights  Agreement"),  between  the
Company and American Stock  Transfer & Trust  Company,  LLC, as the Rights Agent
(the "Rights Agent").

      The Board of Directors  adopted the Rights Agreement and issued the Rights
to protect the  long-term  interests of the Company's  shareholders,  and ensure
that they are  treated  fairly in light of recent  market  volatility  which has
negatively  affected the share prices of many companies,  including the Company.
The Rights are designed to assure that all of the Company's shareholders receive
fair and equal treatment in the event of a proposed takeover of the Company, and
guard against coercive or inadequate  attempts to gain control of the company or
its assets.

      Under the Rights  Agreement,  each Right entitles the registered holder to
purchase  from  the  Company  1/1,000th  of a share of  Series  A  Participating
Cumulative Preferred Stock, no par value per share (the "Preference Shares"), of
the Company at a price of $30.00 (the "Purchase Price"), subject to adjustment.

      The summary  description  of the Rights that follows is not intended to be
complete, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Rights Agreement,
which is attached hereto as Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K and is
hereby  incorporated  by  reference.  A copy  of the  Rights  Agreement  is also
available free of charge from the Company.

Detachment and Transfer of Rights

      Until the earlier to occur of (i) 10 days following a public  announcement
that a person  or group of  affiliated  or  associated  persons  (an  "Acquiring
Person") has  acquired  beneficial  ownership of 15% or more of the  outstanding
Common  Shares or (ii) 10 business days (or such later date as may be determined
by action of the Board of Directors prior to such time as any person or group of
affiliated  persons becomes an Acquiring  Person) following the commencement of,
or  announcement  of an intention to make, a tender offer or exchange  offer the
consummation  of which would result in the  beneficial  ownership by a person or
group of 15% or more of the outstanding Common Shares (the earlier of such dates
being  called the  "Distribution  Date"),  the Rights  will be  evidenced,  with
respect to any of the Common  Share  certificates  outstanding  as of the Record
Date,  by such  Common  Share  certificate  with a copy of the Summary of Rights
attached thereto.

      The  Rights  Agreement  provides  that,  until the  Distribution  Date (or
earlier redemption or expiration of the Rights),  the Rights will be transferred
with and only with the Common Shares.  Until the  Distribution  Date (or earlier
redemption or expiration of the Rights),  new Common Share  certificates  issued
after the Record  Date upon  transfer  or new  issuance  of Common  Shares  will
contain a notation  incorporating  the Rights Agreement by reference.  Until the
Distribution  Date (or earlier  redemption  or  expiration  of the Rights),  the
surrender for transfer of any certificates  for Common Shares  outstanding as of
the Record Date,  even without such  notation or a copy of the Summary of Rights
being  attached  thereto,  will  also  constitute  the  transfer  of the  Rights
associated with the Common Shares  represented by such  certificate.  As soon as
practicable  following the Distribution Date, separate  certificates  evidencing
the  Rights  ("Right  Certificates")  will be mailed to holders of record of the
Common  Shares as of the close of  business  on the  Distribution  Date and such
separate Right Certificates alone will evidence the Rights.


                                       2


Exercisability of Rights

      The Rights are not  exercisable  until the  Distribution  Date. The Rights
will expire on March 25, 2012 (the "Final  Expiration  Date"),  unless the Final
Expiration  Date is  extended  or unless  the  Rights are  earlier  redeemed  or
exchanged by the Company,  in each case,  as described  below.  Until a Right is
exercised,  the holder thereof, as such, will have no rights as a shareholder of
the  Company,  including,  without  limitation,  the right to vote or to receive
dividends.

Adjustments

      The Purchase Price payable,  and the number of Preference  Shares or other
securities  or  property  issuable,  upon  exercise of the Rights are subject to
adjustment  from time to time to  prevent  dilution  (i) in the event of a stock
dividend  on,  or  a  subdivision,   combination  or  reclassification  of,  the
Preference  Shares,  (ii) upon the grant to holders of the Preference  Shares of
certain rights or warrants to subscribe for or purchase  Preference  Shares at a
price, or securities convertible into Preference Shares with a conversion price,
less than the then-current  market price of the Preference  Shares or (iii) upon
the   distribution  to  holders  of  the  Preference   Shares  of  evidences  of
indebtedness or assets  (excluding  regular  periodic cash dividends paid out of
earnings or retained earnings or dividends  payable in Preference  Shares) or of
subscription rights or warrants (other than those referred to above).

      The  number  of  outstanding  Rights  and the  number of  1/1,000ths  of a
Preference  Share  issuable  upon  exercise  of each  Right are also  subject to
adjustment  in the  event  of a stock  split  of the  Common  Shares  or a stock
dividend  on the  Common  Shares  payable  in  Common  Shares  or  subdivisions,
consolidations or combinations of the Common Shares occurring, in any such case,
prior to the Distribution Date.

      No  adjustment  in the Purchase  Price will be required  until  cumulative
adjustments  require an  adjustment of at least 1% in such  Purchase  Price.  No
fractional  Preference  Shares will be issued  (other than  fractions  which are
integral  multiples  of  1/1,000th  of a  Preference  Share,  which may,  at the
election of the  Company,  be  evidenced  by  depositary  receipts)  and in lieu
thereof, an adjustment in cash will be made based on the closing market price of
the Preference Shares on the last trading day prior to the date of exercise.


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Terms of Preference Shares

      Preference  Shares  purchasable  upon  exercise  of the Rights will not be
redeemable.  Each  Preference  Share will be entitled to a minimum  preferential
quarterly  dividend  payment equal to the greater of $1 per share or 1,000 times
the cash and non-cash  dividends declared per Common Share since the immediately
preceding  quarterly  dividend  payment date. In the event of  liquidation,  the
holders of the  Preference  Shares will be  entitled  to a minimum  preferential
liquidation  payment of $1,000  per share,  plus  accrued  and unpaid  dividends
thereon, and will be further entitled to an aggregate payment of 1,000 times the
payment  made per Common  Share.  Each  Preference  Share will have 1,000 votes,
voting  together with the Common  Shares.  Finally,  in the event of any merger,
consolidation  or other  transaction in which Common Shares are exchanged,  each
Preference Share will be entitled to receive 1,000 times the amount received per
Common Share. These rights are protected by customary antidilution provisions.

      Because of the nature of the Preference Shares' dividend,  liquidation and
voting  rights,  the value of each  1/1,000th  interest  in a  Preference  Share
purchasable  upon  exercise of each Right  should  approximate  the value of one
Common Share. The Preference Shares would rank junior to any other series of the
Company's preferred stock.

Flip-In and Flip-Over Rights

      In the event that any person or group of affiliated or associated  persons
becomes an Acquiring Person,  proper provision shall be made so that each holder
of a Right,  other than Rights  beneficially owned by the Acquiring Person which
will have become void,  will  thereafter have the right to receive upon exercise
that number of Common  Shares  having a market  value of two times the  exercise
price of the Right.

      In the event that the Company is  acquired  in a merger or other  business
combination  transaction  or 50% or more of its  consolidated  assets or earning
power are sold after a person or group has become an  Acquiring  Person,  proper
provision will be made so that each holder of a Right will  thereafter  have the
right to receive,  upon the exercise  thereof at the then current exercise price
of the Right,  that number of shares of common  stock of the  acquiring  company
which at the time of such  transaction will have a market value of two times the
exercise price of the Right.

Redemption and Exchange of Rights

      At any time after any  person or group  becomes  an  Acquiring  Person and
prior  to the  acquisition  by  such  person  or  group  of 50% or  more  of the
outstanding  Common  Shares,  the Board of Directors of the Company may exchange
the  Rights,  other than  Rights  owned by such  person or group which will have
become void, in whole or in part,  at an exchange  ratio of one Common Share per
Right (subject to adjustment).

      At any time prior to the acquisition by a person or group of affiliated or
associated  persons of  beneficial  ownership of 15% or more of the  outstanding
Common  Shares,  the Board of  Directors of the Company may redeem the Rights in
whole, but not in part, at a price of $.01 per Right (the  "Redemption  Price").
The  redemption of the Rights may be made  effective at such time, on such basis
and with such  conditions as the Board of Directors in its sole  discretion  may
establish.  Immediately upon any redemption of the Rights, the right to exercise
the Rights will terminate and the only right of the holders of Rights will be to
receive the Redemption Price.


                                       4


Amendment

      The terms of the Rights may be  amended by the Board of  Directors  of the
Company without the consent of the holders of the Rights.  However, the Board of
Directors  may not  cause a person or group to  become  an  Acquiring  Person by
lowering the threshold  below the percentage  interest that such person or group
already owns. After a person or group becomes an Acquiring Person,  the Board of
Directors may not amend the Rights  Agreement to adversely affect holders of the
Rights.

Item 3.03         Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders.

      The information  required by this Item 3.03 is set forth in Items 1.01 and
5.03 and such information is hereby incorporated by reference.

Item 5.03         Amendment to  Articles  of  Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in
                  Fiscal Year.

      In connection with the adoption of the Rights Agreement on March 24, 2009,
the Company filed Articles of Amendment  creating the Preference Shares with the
Secretary  of State of the  State  of  Louisiana  on  March  25,  2009.  See the
description  set forth under Item 1.01 for a more  complete  description  of the
rights and  preferences  of the  Preference  Shares.  A copy of the  Articles of
Amendment for the  Preference  Shares is attached as Exhibit 3.1 to this Current
Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01         Financial Statements and Exhibits.

       (d)        Exhibits.

                  The following exhibit are filed herewith:

                  Exhibit No.       Description
                  -----------       -----------

                  3.1               Articles  of  Amendment  for  the  Series  A
                                    Participating Cumulative Preferred Stock, as
                                    filed  with  the  Secretary  of State of the
                                    State of Louisiana on March 25, 2009.

                  4.1               Rights  Agreement,  dated  March  25,  2009,
                                    between  Gulf Island  Fabrication,  Inc. and
                                    American  Stock  Transfer  & Trust  Company,
                                    LLC.


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                                    SIGNATURE

      Pursuant to the  requirements of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                                              GULF ISLAND FABRICATION, INC.



                                              By:     /s/ Robin A. Seibert
                                                 -------------------------------
                                                       Robin A. Seibert
                                                   Vice President - Finance,
                                                    Chief Financial Officer
                                                         and Treasurer
                                                  (Principal Financial Officer
                                                   and Duly Authorized Officer)

Dated:  March 25, 2009


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