Shipbuilding News, December 2014

Bollinger delivers 11th fast response cutter

Bollinger Shipyards Inc. announced delivery of William Trump, the 11th fast response cutter (FRC), to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The 154-foot patrol craft William Trump is the latest in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program. To build the FRC, Bollinger used a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708.  It has a flank speed of 28 knots; state-of-the-art command, control, communications and computer technology; and a stern launch system for the vessel’s 26-foot cutter boat.  The FRC has been described as an operational “game changer” by senior Coast Guard officials.

The Coast Guard took delivery Nov. 25 in Key West, Fla., and is scheduled to commission the vessel at Key West during January 2015.

Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished him or herself in the line of duty. This vessel is named after Motor Machinist’s Mate First Class William Trump. Because of his valor in action in the assault phase of the landing at Normandy, Trump was awarded a Silver Star.

Metal Shark to market several Damen vessel designs

On Dec. 1, Metal Shark Boats of Jeanerette, La., announced an agreement with Damen Shipyards Group of the Netherlands to market Damen designs. Metal Shark will construct these new designs at its Franklin, La., shipyard.

“We are proud to offer globally proven Damen designs as we expand our footprint in new markets,” said Metal Shark President Chris Allard. “Damen’s impressive portfolio serves as the perfect complement to our own designs, and our location on the Gulf of Mexico puts us within easy reach of many of the most important players in the offshore commercial sector.”

The Damen announcement caps a busy year for Metal Shark, which announced the acquisition of its new Franklin shipyard in January. In April, Metal Shark hired marine industry veteran Carl Wegener, previously of Austal USA and Kvichak Marine, as its director of commercial sales. The company’s new yard, which became operational in July, is currently producing multiple 45-, 55- and 75-foot monohull and catamaran vessels.

“We intend to aggressively market a wide range of Damen designs, including fast crew suppliers, harbor and terminal vessels, wind farm support vessels, offshore patrol boats, pushers and tugs, barges and other specialty vessels,” explained Carl Wegener. “Our new Damen designs, along with the Metal Shark designs that we’re producing at both of our facilities, give us an incredibly diverse product offering that will make Metal Shark uniquely appealing to number of commercial operators.”

Metal Shark’s Franklin yard is capable of producing aluminum and steel vessels up to 250 feet in length.

Jensen designs two new ASD tugs for Crescent Towing

Jensen Maritime, Crowley Maritime Corp.’s naval architecture and marine engineering firm, announced on Dec. 2 that it is providing Crescent Towing with designs for two new Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD), 5,360-hp tugboats. The designs are based on Jensen’s existing 92-foot ASD tug design, which has been driven by vessel performance and construction efficiency. The tugs are the fourth and fifth vessels Jensen has designed for Crescent, with the most recent design having been delivered in 2010.

“The high horsepower and compact, deep-draft design of the 2010 tug allows us to better serve a wide variety of our customer's current and future needs in all aspects of ship assist,” said Keith Kettenring, Crescent Towing’s executive vice president.

Improvements made in the new designs will yield more horsepower and increased stability during the tugs’ operation. Additionally, a modified staple placement is expected to increase steering forces by approximately 30 percent. To accommodate this increase, the tow point will be lowered and allowed to move further off center, increasing stability in working modes. Increased brake tension on the bow winch will accommodate the increased steering forces. Finally, in the new design, tankage is divided to better control liquids on board, which will improve stability and trim control.

For this project, and many others like it, the naval architects at Jensen took functional design to the next level by incorporating all the details of the structural, electrical, mechanical and HVAC systems into a full-size, 3-D model through a process called production engineering. This resulted in a virtual vessel that could be inspected early in the design process for safety, maintainability and constructability. Jensen provided New Orleans-based Crescent Towing all the structural assembly drawings and construction blueprints, which will drive the process of cutting and laying out steel pieces to minimize waste during construction of the new tugs.

The 70-metric-ton-bollard-pull tugs, which will be built by Steiner Shipyard in Bayou La Batre, Ala., can operate in a variety of modes, making them capable of towing, ship assist and escort duties. The vessels are outfitted with Tier 3 GE 8L250 main engines and Rolls-Royce US 255FP Z-drives.

The tugs are scheduled for delivery in November 2015 and January 2016.

Seaspan services Canadian Coast Guard

Seaspan Shipyard’s long-standing relationship with the Canadian Coast Guard was proudly showcased in November with simultaneous repair and maintenance work on Coast Guard vessels at all three of the company’s shipyards — Vancouver Drydock, Vancouver Shipyards and Victoria Shipyards.

“The role we play as an essential service provider to the Canadian Coast Guard is one that we take great pride in,” said Brian Carter, president of Seaspan Shipyards. “It is rewarding that the Coast Guard counts on Seaspan to be a trusted and reliable partner to meet its repair and maintenance needs when and as requested.”

In North Vancouver, Vancouver Drydock completed regular maintenance last week on JP Tully, a 226-foot, ice-class oceanographic survey vessel, including overhauls to the tail-shaft and thrusters, hull preparation, paint, and tank blasting and re-coating.

Seaspan’s other Lower Mainland shipyard — Vancouver Shipyards — has commenced work on the Coast Guard hovercraft Penac. Repairs are estimated to be complete in 10 weeks.

Victoria Shipyards is conducting dry-dock, surveys and associated work on W.E. Ricker, including reviewing underwater paint, steel, shafts and oil tanks to assess any potentially required upgrades or maintenance work. 

Thanks to the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy and its role as Canada’s non-combat capability partner, Seaspan’s relationship with the Coast Guard will increase significantly in the coming years as it begins construction of three offshore fisheries science vessels (OFSVs), followed by an offshore oceanographic science vessel (OOSV), polar icebreaker (PIB), and then up to five offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) as well as up to five medium-endurance multi-tasked vessels (MEMTV), for a current total of up to 15 new ships to be built in Vancouver before tests and trials are conducted in Victoria.

Great Lakes Shipyard awarded cruise ship dry-docking contract

Great Lakes Shipyard of Cleveland, Ohio, has been awarded a contract for routine dry-docking of M/V Nautica Queen. The cruise ship was hauled out using the 770-ton capacity Marine Travelift at Great Lakes Shipyard on Nov. 10. The repair contract includes dry-docking, U.S. Coast Guard inspection and repairs, hull cleaning and painting, and miscellaneous steel repairs.

Nautica Queen offers cruises along Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River.

By Professional Mariner Staff