Crowley takes delivery of two new tugs
Crowley Maritime Corp. took delivery of Ocean Wave on Sept. 12, the first of four high-bollard-pull Ocean-class tugboats being built at Bollinger Shipyards in Amelia, La.
“Taking delivery of this first Ocean-class tug is a significant milestone for Crowley and our customers who will benefit from its use on their projects,” said Tom Crowley, company chairman, president and CEO. “These Jensen Maritime-designed towing vessels — three of which are under construction at Bollinger — are a new generation of powerful, high-tech and environmentally friendly workhorses for Crowley that will further solidify our standing as an industry leader in ocean towing, salvage and offshore marine support for the upstream energy industry.”
The second Ocean-class vessel, Ocean Wind, is scheduled for delivery later this year.
Crowley’s Ocean-class tugs are modern ocean towing twin-screw vessels with controllable-pitch propellers in nozzles, high lift rudders and bollard pull that exceeds 150 metric tons. The first two vessels, Ocean Wave and Ocean Wind, are classed as dynamic positioning 1 (DP-1) tugboats and are twin-screw, steel-hulled tugs with an overall length of 146 feet, beam of 46 feet, hull depth of 25 feet and design draft of 21 feet. The second two tugs of the class, Ocean Sky and Ocean Sun, will be classed as DP-2 and will be 10 feet longer.
The tugs will work with Crowley's new 455 Series heavy-lift deck barges that measure 400 feet by 105 feet and offer increased stability for loads up to 4,200 pounds per square foot.
BAE Systems starts construction on dump scows for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock
BAE Systems of Mobile, Ala., began construction on the first of two dump scows for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. on Oct. 3. When complete, the vessels will weigh about 1,600 tons and be 295 feet long and 62 feet wide, with a draft of 17 feet. Construction on the second is scheduled to start in January 2013. Both 7,500-cubic-yard split-bottom dump scows will be used to support U.S. dredging operations and will be U.S. flagged.
The contract demonstrates BAE Systems’ continued expansion in the commercial shipbuilding market. Recently the company teamed with Mid Ocean Tanker Co. and Alterna Capital to deliver American Phoenix, a U.S. flag/Jones Act-qualified product chemical tanker. With a length of 616 feet and beam of 105 feet, it is the largest vessel ever built and launched in Alabama. BAE Systems also marked a milestone last month with the keel laying of Magdalen, a trailing suction hopper dredge scheduled for delivery in 2014.
In addition to the vessels under construction in Mobile, BAE Systems announced in August that it was awarded a contract with GulfMark Americas to build two platform supply vessels, with an option for two additional vessels in the future. Construction on the first platform supply vessel, which is to be 288 feet long, is expected to start in January 2013.
Nichols Brothers gets contract to build second state ferry superstructure
US Fab, a subsidiary of Vigor Industrial will partner with Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Freeland, Wash., to build the second 144-car Washington State Ferry. The vessel is the second Olympic-class vessel to be built for the Washington State Department of Transportation. Construction of the first vessel is currently underway at both US Fab and Nichols Brothers facilities.
Construction of the superstructure will begin in December following the delivery of the first structure to US Fab. Nichols Brothers will be responsible for fabrication of the superstructure, which entails all structure above the lower vehicle deck, including the ramps to the upper vehicle deck and outfitting of each pilothouse. Nichols Brothers will deliver the completed superstructure on a barge to US Fab for final assembly in November 2013.
The new double-ended ferry will be 362 feet overall and have the capacity to carry 1,500 passengers and 144 vehicles.
Crowley christens tug and petroleum barge in Tampa
Crowley Maritime Corp. christened the 16,000-hp tugboat Legend and 330,000-barrel tank barge 750-2 in Tampa, Fla., on Sept. 27. Together the vessels comprise the company’s newest articulated tug-barge (ATB) and will be used to transport petroleum products between the U.S. Gulf and East Coasts, making regular port calls in Tampa where Crowley currently discharges nearly 163 million gallons of product each month.
Legend/750-2 is the second of three ATBs in its class in terms of size, speed and capacity in the Crowley fleet. Together the tug and barge measure 674 feet in length. The new vessel will employ 14 American crewmembers and four people shoreside in Tampa.
Legend/750-2 is the second of three U.S.-flag 750-class ATBs to be built for Crowley. The first of its class, Legacy/750-1, was christened in November 2011. The last of the three, Liberty/750-3, is currently under construction. Once completed, it will be operated in Jones Act coastwise trade by Crowley's petroleum services group, along with Legacy/750-1 and Legend/750-2. These three new vessels will bring Crowley's total ATB fleet to 17, including four 155,000-barrel and 10 185,000-barrel ATBs.
The 750-class barges are 45,000 deadweight tons, 600 feet in length, 105.5 feet in breadth and 54 feet 3 inches in depth. The fully loaded draft is 35 feet.
VT Halter Marine in Pascagoula, Miss., built the barges 750-1 and 750-2 and is currently building 750-3. Dakota Creek Industries in Anacortes, Wash., built the tugs Legend and Legacy, and has Liberty currently under construction. Liberty/750-3 is scheduled for delivery during the first half of 2013.
MTU engines power new catamaran passenger ferry to Martha’s Vineyard
Ava Pearl, a new catamaran operated by Rhode Island Fast Ferry, is meeting the ferry service’s goal of fuel-efficient operation thanks to the vessel’s twin MTU 12V4000 M53 engines from Tognum America.
The 112-foot passenger vessel, designed by Incat Crowther and built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding of Somerset, Mass., makes three daily round-trips between North Kingstown, R.I., and Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., a one-way distance of 52 miles. In the first two months of operation, the 150-passenger Ava Pearl logged more than 18,700 nautical miles.
The MTU engines, produced by Tognum, were supplied by New England Detroit Diesel Allison, the local MTU distributor located in Wakefield, Mass.
