News
Crowley Christens New ATB
Crowley Maritime Corporation christened the third of ten new 185,000-barrel Articulated Tug-Barge (ATB) tank vessels that the company will take delivery of by the end of 2010. The vessels christened were the 9,280 hp-tug Resolve and barge 650-3. During ceremonies held at the Mobile Convention Center on South Water Street, Nancy Schlueter, wife of Ed Schlueter, vice president of Crowley's Vessel Management Services (VMS) christened the Resolve, while Alison Haber-Djuve, wife of Karsten Djuve, regional chartering manager, BP Shipping USA, christened barge 650-3. Crowley's Petroleum Services group will charter the VT Halter Marine-built ATB from VMS, and operate it for BP under a seven-year agreement. The 650-3 is the first vessel in the United States to be certified by Lloyds Classification Society as complying with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO's) Green Passport program. This certification ensures that any and all potentially hazardous materials that went into the original construction of the barge have been identified and will be properly disposed of when the barge ceases trading at the end of its useful life. Crowley already has four, 155,000-barrel ATBs and two 185,000-barrel ATBs operating. Crowley and VT Halter Marine jointly designed the ATB tank vessel. The barge 650-3 was built at Halter's shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., and the Resolve at its shipyard, in Moss Point, Miss. The new ATBs feature the latest systems technology and double-hull construction for maximum safety and reliability. Not only does the unit have the capability of transporting refined products, but it can also carry heated cargoes and easy chemicals, which require special arrangements of vents, stripping systems, pump components and tank coatings above that normally required for product carriers. All of Crowley's ATBs are built under the ABS SafeHull program for environmental protection. This program puts the vessel design through an exhaustive review to identify structural loads and strengthen the vessel structure. The 650Class barges will be 27,000 deadweight tons, 587 ft. in length, 74 ft. in breadth and 40 ft. in depth. The fully loaded draft will be 30 ft. There is an electric cargo pump in each of the 14 cargo tanks to assure maximum cargo integrity and segregation flexibility; two anchor windlasses and associated equipment to enable the vessel to accommodate offshore mooring operations; and a vacuum system with three retention tanks to easily handle cargo changes.
There is also a nitrogen generator and vapor collection system for maximum safety. A layer of nitrogen covers products in the tanks to make the atmosphere too lean for combustion. An enhanced mooring system features 1,000-ft. Spectra-type lines on split drums with a high-speed
recovery rate of 100 ft. per minute. The tugs meet all SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) and ABS criteria, and have a foam capable fire monitor; twin fuel-efficient heavy fuel oil engines; a noise reduction package; and other upgrades to increase crew comfort.
Gladding-Hearn Co-Founder Dies at 87
Richard C. "Dick" Hearn, who co-founded Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, died July 3rd at his home in Arizona. He was 87. Born in London, Hearn emigrated to the U.S. with his family at the age of six. They settled in Rhode Island, where Hearn later studied business administration at Bryant College before serving with the Army-Air Corps in the Pacific Theater during World War II. After the war, he returned to R.I. where he taught mathematics at a local high school and accounting at Bryant. After serving as treasurer at Blount Marine, Hearn and Preston Gladding, the shipyard's naval architect, formed Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding in 1955, to build steel workboats on the Taunton River in Somerset, Mass. In the same year, George Duclos, the shipyard's current CEO, joined the company as a partner. Hearn, known to be frugal and forward-thinking, founded Gladding-Hearn with modern accounting practices, including labor and material cost controls, the basics of which are still in use today. In the mid-1970s he added the use of personal computers for inventory control and accounting functions. During this time, he helped to develop apprenticeship programs at local trade high schools, which remain an important source of skilled, entry-level employees for the shipyard and area boat builders. Following a leverage buyout in 1983 by the Duclos family and the death of Preston Gladding a year later, Hearn retired to Arizona with his wife Mary (Lowe) Hearn.
Navy Buys FarSounder System
The Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division's Combatant Craft Division (NSWCCD CCD) has purchased a FarSounder FS-3DT sonar system. NSWCCD CCD supports Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Special Operations Command high performance craft programs with identification, integration, testing and evaluation of advanced new technologies and COTS products such as the FS-3DT. NSWCCD CCD intends to install the FS-3DT on a test platform this fall in order to perform testing, evaluation and user assessment of the capability provided by the FS3DT in support of future integration into military platforms operating in restricted littoral and riparian environments. Used on commercial, government and private ships for obstacle avoidance and shallow water navigation, FarSounder FS-3 sonars are capable of generating a complete 3-dimensional image of the sea floor and in-water objects at navigationally significant ranges with a single ping. They offer visualization of a clear, easy to understand 3D sonar image. This new sonar technology revolutionizes marine navigation, especially in shallow areas. The
standard user interface software includes automated alarms, BSB chart plotting capabilities, and GPS, compass, and depth sounder display capabilities. FarSounder's technology is also appropriate for security and defense applications. The company is currently working on a Phase II SBIR for the Department of Homeland Security.
Horizon Lines Makes Organization Changes
Charles G. Raymond, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Horizon Lines, Inc. said several organization changes, key executive promotions and a realignment of senior management responsibilities. Effective September 1, 2007, Horizon Lines, Inc. is structuring its transportation and logistics operations under two wholly owned subsidiaries, Horizon Lines, LLC, and Horizon Logistics, LLC. Horizon Lines, LLC will continue as the nation's leading Jones Act container shipping company, with a fleet of 21 U.S.-flag vessels and service routes linking the continental United States with Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Micronesia and Puerto Rico. Horizon Logistics, LLC is being established to manage the company's growing integrated logis-
6 � MarineNews � September 2007