Bollinger and Bouchard sign contracts for three OPA ’90 tank barges

Work in progress at one of Bollinger’s OPA’90 barge building facilities continues on schedule, as the backlog increases with the signing of two 60,000 and one 80,000 BBL offshore units for Bouchard.

(LOCKPORT, LA – December 28, 2007) Bollinger Gretna and Bollinger Marine Fabricators have signed contracts for new construction of three Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA’90) compliant tank barges, consisting of one 80,000 and two 60,000 barrel units for Bouchard Ocean Services, Melville, N.Y. 

The 80,000 BBL tank barge, which will be built at Bollinger Gretna in Harvey, LA, is a manned ocean, clean oil barge measuring 399-feet long, with a 74-foot beam and a depth of 28-feet.  Named the B. No. 284, it is a sister ship to Bollinger’s recently delivered B. No 282.  The barge is built to meet the requirements of OPA’90, with twelve cargo compartments and three separate pumping systems.

The two 60,000 BBL tank barges, which will be built at Bollinger Marine Fabricators in Amelia, LA, are manned ocean, clean oil barges measuring  350-foot long, with a 70-foot beam and a depth of 25-feet.  Named B. No. 262 and B. No. 264, they are near sisters to the B. No. 260, currently in production at Bollinger Gretna.  The barges are also being built to meet the requirements of OPA’90, with ten cargo compartments and two separate pumping systems.

The Bouchard fleet currently includes 29 barges ranging from 25,000 BBL to 252,000 BBL and 19 tugs with power ratings from 3,000 to 10,000 horsepower. They serve the U. S. East, Gulf and West Coasts, the Great Lakes, and the Caribbean.

By Professional Mariner Staff