News
Allen Marine Delivers 65-ft. Landing Craft
Allen Marine, Inc. delivered a custom fabricated 65 x 21ft. aluminum landing craft to the U.S. National Park Service. Powered by two QSL9 285 hp Cummins engines, the vessel will be used in the Katmai National Park & Preserve on the Naknek River and Naknek Lake to carry heavy equipment, and occasionally passengers to remote Brooks Camp which is the only developed area in Katmai National Park & Preserve. The U.S. National Park Service named the vessel Qit'rwik, which means "sheltered place on the water" in the original Sugt'stun language of Pacific Coast and Kodiak Island peoples. "My team participated in the sea trials for this vessel and we are all extremely pleased with how the Qit'rwik has performed," said Paul Button, Project Manager/Mechanical Engineer with the Alaska Regional Office of the U.S. National Park Service. "The Qit'rwik is a vast improvement over what we have been using and it has exceeded every one of the design parameters that ed the vessel construction project to Allen Marine, Inc., which is a specialist in aluminum vessel construction. Allen Marine, Inc. fabricated the vessel from hull, structure and ramp loading system designs provided by Anchorage-based Coastwise Corporation, the naval architecture/marine engineering firm selected by the U.S. National Park Service. Elliott Bay Design Group was responsible for the lofting and detail design work. This new 65 ft. vessel has a beam of 21 ft., travels at 10 knots, operates with a crew of two and can carry 10 passengers. The vessel will play a key role in the park's ability to service and maintain Brooks Camp and its 26 mile road by carrying building materials, fuel, and heavy construction machinery and equipment including a full-sized road grader, a fuel truck, and a 22 ton dump truck. The vessel's aluminum ramp is designed to load these heavy vehicles from unimproved beaches.
were set. From design to construction through sea trials, the final product is
proving to be a real success story." The U.S. National Park Service award-
Navy Terminates Fourth LCS
Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead announced that the Department of the Navy is terminating construction of the fourth littoral combat ship (LCS 4) for convenience under the termination clause of the contract because the Navy and General Dynamics could not reach agreement on the terms of a modified contract. The Navy had not yet authorized construction on LCS 4, following a series of cost overruns on LCS 2. The Navy intended to begin construction of LCS 4 if the Navy and General Dynamics could agree on the terms for a fixed-price incentive agreement. The Navy worked closely with General Dynamics to try to restructure the agreement for LCS 4 to more equitably balance cost and risk, but could not come to terms and conditions that were acceptable to both parties. The Navy remains committed to the LCS program.
perform its final mission as an artificial reef when it is sunk off the coast of Key West, Fla. The 533-ft. ship formerly known as the troop transport USS General Harry S. Taylor will serve an environmental mission to help relieve recreational pressure from the natural reef in the Florida Keys as part of the Vandenberg Artificial Reef Project. Vandenberg is being cleaned for the protection of marine life before its scheduled sinking in May 2008. Though Vandenberg was overhauled into an Air Force missile-tracking vessel, it isn't the first ship with a naval origin to become an artificial reef and help the ecosystem. The Navy provided the largest vessel intentionally sunk to become an artificial reef when the 888-ft. aircraft carrier USS Oriskany was sunk 21 miles off the coast of Pensacola, Fla.
Vulcan Christens New M/V H.A. Sklenar
Vulcan Materials Company christened the M/V H.A. Sklenar at the company's Blakely Island sales yard at the Port of Mobile recently. The vessel brings Vulcan's fleet of Panamax-Class selfunloading vessels to three. The Sklenar and its sister vessels W.H. Blount and Bernardo Quintana, transport high quality limestone aggregates from Vulcan's Sac Tun quarry on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula to markets along the U.S Gulf Coast, the east coast of Florida and the Caribbean. "We are pleased to honor our former chairman and CEO, Herb Sklenar, by naming our third vessel after him," said Don James, Vulcan's chairman and CEO. "With our plant expansion completed and the Sklenar in service, Vulcan is able to increase it shipments to attractive markets along the Gulf and South Atlantic Coasts." James said long-term population growth and market demand in the region are expected to continue to increase at levels above the national average, while levels of quality aggregates decline. "Over time, we expect to continue to increase production and shipping capacity from our Sac Tun quarry so that Vulcan will be positioned to serve expected growth in markets throughout the region," James said.
Bollinger Launches Double Eagle for Rigdon
Bollinger launched Double Eagle, the second of 10 GPA 654 PSVs ordered by Rigdon Marine in January 2006. With this multi-vessel order, Rigdon's GPAdesigned fleet has increased to 20 PSVs, including 10 GPA 640s. Like her sister vessel First and Ten, which was launched earlier this year, the Double Eagle has already been chartered by a leading U.S. independent oil company to serve the offshore industry immediately.
Historic Naval Ship to Sink
A former naval ship which began its career 64 years ago is scheduled to perform a final mission, which might last more than 75 years. The Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg has changed its name, served three different military services, been featured in a major motion picture and will
The design of the DP2- and FFV1-certified GPA 654s, measuring 58 meters in length, incorporates greater operating efficiency compared to similar sized vessels, increased cargo capacities resulting from locating propulsion generators to above main deck, as well as reduced construction cost due to simplified construction methods. Destined to serve deepwater offshore operations, the GPA 654s are capable of carrying 144 cubic meters of bulk material and 652 cubic meters of liquid mud in self-cleaning oval tanks. As a result of the vessel's diesel-electric propulsion configuration, fuel efficiency is increased, thus resulting in cost savings, lower emissions and higher reliability. The GPA 654 PSV is currently the smallest of the GPA Platform Support Vessel series, which ranges in size from 58 to 92 m in overall length.
18 � MarineNews � November, 2007