Marine Log - September 2007 - (Page 50)

COVERSTORY BY JOHN R. SNYDER RIGDON SCORES Delivery of First and Ten kicks off next phase in Houston-based operator’s expansion ike a swarm of bees in the summertime, workers buzzed in and out of the hulks of five vessels in various stages of completion under the sweltering mid-morning sun. The air, thick with humidity, carried the smell of steel, sweat and Louisiana mud. The shipyard workers busied themselves grinding, cutting, welding, and wiring. It was the smells, sights and sounds of hard work. It is just another typical day at Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, La., where five 190 ft platform supply vessels (PSV’s) are under construction for Rigdon Marine, Houston, Tex. Just days prior, the shipyard delivered First and Ten to Rigdon Marine, the first in a series of ten 190 ft PSV’s. All of the Rigdon 4000 Class vessels in the series will be named for sports terminology. For example, the next four vessels in the class are Double Eagle, Triple Play, Grand Slam and Hat Trick. Just as in the preceding 5000 Class, the 4000 Class features eight independent and fully segregated oval liquid mud tanks that are far easier to clean with a Butterworth self-cleaning system than traditional square mud tanks. The vessel’s dieselelectric propulsion plant is located in the engine room on the first deck, making it easier to conduct engine maintenance, as well as freeing up space below decks for bulk tank capacity. Designed by Guido Perla & Associates, Inc., Seattle, Wash., the First and Ten is classed by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) as ABS +A1 +AMS +DPS-2, Circle E, SOLAS, USCG Subchapter L, Full Ocean. It is 190 ft x 46 ft x 18 ft, with two 1,130 hp azimuthing Z-Drives one fixed 1,130 hp L-Drive aft and two 750-hp fixed-pitch, variable-speed tunnel thrusters 50 MARINE LOG SEPTEMBER 2007 L forward. The diesel-electric propulsion power for these vessels consists of two Cummins KTA-50DM1-powered 1,235 kW and one Cummins KTA-19DM1-powered 425 kW main propulsion generators and one 6BTA5.9G-85 kW SOLAS emergency standby generator. The diesel generator sets were supplied by Cummins Mid-South, LLC, Kenner, La. The engines are connected to the vessel management system via a mod bus arrangement supplied by Cummins MidSouth using Auto Maskin panels. They tier into a Techsol vessel management system and a Beier Radio IVCS DP system. Electric Power Design Inc., Houston, Tex. and Yangzhoa China supplied the entire vessel power management system including all motor control centers, silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) system and the drive motors. Karl Senner Inc., Kenner, La., supplied the Steer Prop steerable propeller system. Paris-based Bourbon, a minority stake holder in Rigdon Marine, is building 28 vessels based on the GPA 654 design at Dayang Shipyard in China. The vendors will remain constant on all 38 GPA-designed vessels that are to be built in the U.S. and China. NEWBUILDING PROGRAMS While Rigdon Maine has several newbuilding programs underway, it by no means poses a threat to the “Big Boys” in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Tidewater, Inc., Houston, Tex., Edison Chouest Offshore, Galliano, La., and Seacor Holdings, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., each have fleets that number in the hundreds www.marinelog.com http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - September 2007

Marine Log - September 2007 Contents Update Inside Washington High Speed Design Heads into New Waters The National Maritime Salvage Conference & Expo Guide China Aims for the Top Azipods: Just Add Ice Rigdon Scores Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Website Directory InfoDirect Ml Marketplace Last Word

Marine Log - September 2007

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