People & Company News
APM Terminals Opens in Virginia
APM Terminals Virginia opened its new $450m, 291acre container terminal (on 576 acres of land) to serve customers in the Hampton Roads region. This maritime center, the third-largest container terminal in the U.S., is capable of handling one million TEU annually, and has the potential to expand to handle a capacity of more than two million TEU. New technology at the terminal is designed to keep workers and drivers safe, while expediting cargo movement. The "green design" of the facility incorporates energy-saving and emissions-conscious technology into the equipment and the terminal. The yard area features weight-sensitive booths and remotely controlled cranes - the first of their kind in the U.S. As part of an overall focus on security, a new identity-credentialing system limits access to high-risk or sensitive areas, allowing entry only to certified workers. Twelve inbound and 12 outbound high-efficiency gates minimize idling time, which reduces truck emissions and speeds cargo movement. Optical scanners and radio frequency identification (RFID) readers prompt more efficient truck entry and exit, directing trucks to the proper loading area, or if needed, a separate area dedicated to resolving problems. In addition, overhead electronic screens and a new on-line reservation system will optimize the flow of both trucks (turn time) and cargo movement on the terminal.
Emissions reduction and spill prevention
The terminal's all-electric crane inventory includes six super post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes, 30 semiautomated rail-mounted gantry yard cranes (RMGs), and two rubber tire gantry cranes (RTGs) with electric spreader bars. Twenty shuttle trucks transport cargo from the dock to the stack area. Fewer diesel engines and use of onroad engines in 62 off-road terminal vehicles contribute to significantly reduced levels of particulate matter and nitrous oxide emissions. In addition, electric spreader bars eliminate hydraulic spills.
The new tugs will be suitable for a wide range of duties including harbor towage and ship-handling, fire-fighting, coastal towing, salvage and rescue towing operations, however the primary role will be standing by tankers using the offshore mooring buoy.
First Choice Marine Supply Expands
First Choice Marine Supply opened an office in Savannah, Ga. The office has experienced personnel with more than 16 years of ship chandlery background, and offers the maritime industry complete food provisions, technical & bonded stores, and spares-in-transit delivery services from Charleston, SC. to Jacksonville, FL.
First Choice Marine Supply is part of Rope Warehouse & Industrial Supply which has been servicing the maritime community for 20 years from their headquarters in Tampa, Fla. The Tampa location has over 25,000 sq. feet of inventory including the largest inventory of ship's mooring ropes in the Southeast, all available for immediate delivery.
Markey Supplies Electric Hawser Winch to Baydelta
Markey Machinery completed the first winch for its current series of tugs under construction at Nichols Brothers Shipyard. This Electric Hawser Winch, designated the DEPCF-52, is installed on the Crowley-chartered tug VALOR (on charter from Baydelta Maritime). Newly
Conrad Industries Announces Award of Ferry Contract
Morgan City, La.-based Conrad Industries Inc., announced it has been awarded a contract to build a ferry for the State of Texas and numerous other contracts totaling $36.6 million. The Texas Department of Transportation awarded Conrad the contract for a 264-footlong passenger/vehicle ferry for the Galveston, Texas, terminal. The $22.5 million vessel is scheduled for delivery in 2009. Conrad also announced it will build 11 120-foot deck barges, three spud barges and two crane barges for four different customers. In addition, Conrad will conduct drydock inspection and general repairs to the M/V Culebra II, a 500-passenger aluminum-hull vessel operated by the Puerto Rico and Municipal Islands Maritime Transportation Authority. "All of the contracts added will be performed at our Morgan City and Amelia-Aluminum facilities," said Johnny Conrad, the company's president and chief executive. "We are very excited to receive the award of the Texas ferry, particularly since our company has built three other ferries in the past. We are also pleased to continue to add barge contracts from repeat customers as well as new customers." Conrad's current backlog is about $103 million, which is a record for the company. Johnny Conrad said the company delivered 25 jobs in the second quarter of 2007 and foresees a brisk business climate ahead. "Bid activity continues strong and we see excellent business opportunities in both blue water and brown water markets and in both new construction and repairs," Conrad said.
designed for the ship escort market, it incorporates all the features on the Markey type DEPCF-48 Render-Recover winch- with important enhancements. It's larger sized drum makes it possible to carry 750 ft. long by 10 in. hawsers. Increasing the electric drive motor from 50 to 75 horsepower enables the tug's operator to call upon higher line-pulls and speeds when needed. The DEPCF-52 Electric Hawser Winch is a single drum, deck-mounted machine with integral, automatic level wind and Markey pioneered Render-Recover controls. The controls allow the operator to adjust the render-recovery automatic operations up to full rated line speed (378 ft./min.) and tension (46,227 lbs.) and monitor line tension through the large back lit liquid crystal display. Customer specifications call for a variable frequency winch controller and 460vac/3 phase/60 hertz input power. Drum brakes are rated for over 600,000 lbs of holding capacity.
repairs to the ship's cargo hatch covers, and minor exterior repairs to ensure the weather tight integrity of the ship. The ship's propeller will be removed during the drydocking as well. These repairs are in preparation for the eventual dismantlement and disposal of the remnants of the ship's nuclear power plant.
Sea Recovery selects Martinez Marine Service
Sea Recovery has appointed Martinez Marine as its sole Caribbean distributor for sales, service and warranty claims. Martinez Marine, a leading dealer of boating hardware, electronics, and sanitation systems, is based out of Marina Puerto Del Rey in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, and has been serving the boating community since 1982.
J. Ray McDermott Completes Offshore Jacket
J. Ray McDermott's Morgan City, La., fabrication facility successfully completed the load out recently of a 9,015 shortton jacket built for Reliance Industries Ltd., as part of an engineering, procurement, construction and installation deal. The load-out was the culmination of just over 12 months of work building the jacket destined for the KG-D6 field off the eastern Indian coast. This is the first structure we have built here at Morgan City for export to India," said Bob Deason, President and Chief Executive Officer of J. Ray. "The Reliance KG-D6 field development contract was a fast-track project, and we were able to use our company's worldwide resources to ensure we met our customer's delivery deadline for first gas from the field by June 2008."
BAE Systems Wins N.S. Savannah Contract
The Maritime Administration (MarAd) announced that a $4.1m contract has been awarded to the Norfolk Ship Repair Unit of BAE Systems for dry-docking and maintenance on the National Historic Landmark vessel N.S. Savannah. The Savannah, the world's first and the only U.S.-built nuclear-powered merchant ship, is currently moored at the BAE facility. All nuclear fuel was removed from the Savannah more than 30 years ago. The major work to be done on the Savannah is a full surface preparation and coating of the ship's exterior from top to bottom. Other work includes detailed inspection of the ship's double bottom ballast tanks,
34 � MarineNews � October, 2007