Donjon and Seacor announce completion of a new tug
Donjon Marine Co. Inc. and partner Seacor Holdings Inc. have announced the completion of a new 135-foot tugboat, Ken Boothe Sr.
The 10,700-hp tug will work as an articulated tug/barge in conjunction with a 740-foot, 34,000-ton-capacity, self-unloading bulk cargo barge. The yet-to-be-named barge is scheduled for completion by spring 2012. The two vessels will use the Hydraconn connection system.
The tug was constructed at the Donjon Shipbuilding and Repair facility in Erie, Pa., over the last 14 months and named after Kenneth Boothe Sr., former president of Donjon Shipbuilding and Repair, who passed away last June.
“We are very pleased to see the completion of this state-of-the-art towing vessel, and to share in the success with our partner Seacor. This represents a new and exciting chapter in our companies' stories,†said J. Arnold Witte, president and CEO of Donjon Marine Co.
Donjon Marine provides a broad spectrum of marine services, including dredging, marine salvage, heavy lift transport, tug/barge transportation, demolition, pollution control and remediation, shipbuilding and repair, as well as land-based metals recycling, demolition and landfill remediation/site management.
Seacor Holdings is a diversified multinational company that owns and operates marine and aviation assets primarily servicing the oil and gas, industrial aviation and marine transportation industries.
New EPA Tier 3 engines for Signet Maritime's ASD tugs for LNG
Signet Maritime Corp. has announced that it will be the first to install the Caterpillar C175 Acert 16-cylinder main propulsion diesel engines rated at 3,417 bhp each on its two Robert Allan Ltd.-designed RAstar 3100 class escort tugs.
The tugs are being built at Trinity Offshore, Inc. in Gulfport, Miss.
The new engines address the needs of emissions and hazardous location applications and meet offshore emissions requirements, including EPA Tier 3, EU Stage IIIA, and IMO Marine Tier II.
The two vessels are slated for delivery in October 2011 and will provide marine services for Angola LNG Supply Services vessels into the Port of Pascagoula, Miss.
J. Barry Snyder, Signet's president, said, “A vital evolution for this decade is the initiation of Tier 3 environmental protection with internal combustion engines and we are the first to install the new Cat C175-16 EPA Tier 3 engines on ASD tugs.â€
Signet Maritime, with its Colle division, is a full-service domestic and international marine transportation company. Signet specializes in harbor tugboat operations, ocean rig transport, heavy-lift cargo barges, petroleum transport and marine logistics.
Navy awards Bath Iron Works $28 million contract
The U.S. Navy has awarded a $28 million contract to Maine’s Bath Iron Works (BIW). The shipyard will use the money to buy materials needed to build the second of three Zumwalt class (DDG-1000) guided missile destroyers, according to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
"This is encouraging news for BIW and its skilled workers, and it continues to show the Navy's commitment to building the three DDG-1000s that are scheduled to be built at Bath," Collins said in a statement.
Collins said she will continue "to press Navy officials to sign the remaining contracts for construction of these ships as soon as possible."
Word of the contract comes a few weeks after the shipyard laid off 130 workers as the facility finished up work on two DDG-51 ships.
"Tremendous work is already being done on the first DDG-1000 and the BIW workforce continues to prove why they have earned a reputation for being the most skilled in the world," said Senator Collins.
It is unclear what impact the new contract will have on laid-off workers.
First platform supply vessels built in the Great Lakes
Tidewater Marine LLC, a subsidiary of Tidewater Inc, of New Orleans, has agreed to build twin 303-by-62 foot platform supply vessels at Fincantieri Marine Group’s Bay Shipbuilding Company, in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. The vessels are believed to be the first PSVs to be built at a Great Lakes shipyard.
The two new vessels are based on the MMC 887 LH PSV design from MMC Ship Design of Poland. The twin vessels will be fitted with diesel electric z-drives and built to ABS Polar Class 7, Firefighting Class 2 and Enviro standards.
Launches are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2012 and second quarter of 2013.
Røkke named new head of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard
Kristian Røkke, 27, son of Aker ASA Chairman Kjell Røkke, has been appointed president and CEO of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard (APSI). Kristian Røkke replaces Jim Miller, who has been appointed executive vice president of Aker Contractors’ U.S. Onshore Engineering and Construction business and member of Aker Contractors’ new executive management team. Miller has also been nominated to succeed Karl Erik Kjelstad as chairman of the board of APSI.
Kjelstad said that he was resigning due to other commitments. He has been involved with the shipyard since Aker ASA became an active owner in 2001.
An American citizen, Røkke most recently served as senior vice president of operations at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. He joined the company in 2007. He took on the position of senior shop manager in 2008 and in 2010 he was promoted to senior VP. Røkke assumed his new position on April 5, 2011.
Additional money for Swiftships
Swiftships Shipbuilders LLC, of Morgan City, La., received an award modification of $42 million to a previously awarded Foreign Military Sales contract for the design and construction of three 35-meter patrol boats. The award is being contracted by the Naval Sea Systems Command, based in Washington, D.C.
This award also contains the option for three additional 35-meter patrol boats and associated technical services for the Iraqi navy bringing the total number of vessels to be built to 15.
According to Jeff Perin, vice president of Swiftships, the cumulative value of the work on the 15 boats will be about $400 million.
The bulk of the work, 60 percent, will be performed in Morgan City, La. The rest will be shared by subcontractors in Detroit, Mich., 30 percent; Ocean Springs, Miss., 8 percent; and Charlottesville, Va., 2 percent.
Completion of the work is expected by August 2012.
