Marine Log - October 2007 - (Page 13) Crowley inks ATB deal with VT Halter, Dakota Creek acksonville, Florida-based Crowley Maritime keeps expanding its ATB fleet. Its Vessel Management Services subsidiary has signed a contract with VT Halter Marine Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., and Dakota Creek Shipyards, Anacortes, Wash., to build three articulated tug-barge (ATB), 330,000barrel tank vessels that will be the company’s largest and the fastest in their class. The ATB’s will be delivered in yearly intervals between the second half of 2011 and the first half of 2013. VT Halter Marine will construct the barges at its Pascagoula shipyard. The new tank barges will have 78% more capacity than Crowley’s previously largest class, the 185,000 bbl 650-class vessels. The value of the vessels is $254 million with owner-furnished equipment. Recent facility improvements, including the extension of the launch system, have enabled the VT Halter Marine to accommodate vessels up to Panamax in size. Dakota Creek will build the 16,320-hp J tugs in its Anacortes, Wash., shipyard. Once received, the three new Jones Act ATBs (Legacy/750-1, Legend/750-2 and Liberty/750-3) will be operated in the U.S. coastwise trade by Crowley’s petroleum services segment. These three new vessels will bring Crowley’s total ATB fleet to 17, including four 155,000 bbl and ten 185,000bbl ATB’s. “These ATBs are being constructed to be some of the largest and certainly the fastest in the trade,” said Steve Collar, senior vice president and general manager, Technical Services. “Not only will they be able to carry 330,000barrels of product safely, but we also expect them to do so quickly—to the tune of 15.1 knots.” The new 45,000 dwt ATB’s will feature the latest systems technology and double-hull construction for maximum safety and reliability. Not only will the units have the capability of transporting refined products, but they will also be able to carry heated cargoes. The tug will be one of the first of it's kind built to ABS R2 classification which provides a higher level of redundancy than found on a standard product tanker or ATB. The 750-Class barges will have a length of 600 ft, breadth of 105 ft, 6 in, depth of 54 ft 3 in and fully loaded draft of 35 ft. www.marinelog.com OCTOBER 2007 MARINE LOG 13 http://www.wqis.com http://www.wqis.com/newform http://www.marinelog.com
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