WorkBoat September 2018 by WorkBoat

Workforce Development • Ferries • LNG ConRo Ship ®

IN BUSINESS ON THE COASTAL AND INLAND WATERS

SEPTEMBER 2018

Crafty Bunch Small boat builders show off their wares at MACC.

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ON THE COVER

SEPTEMBER 2018 • VOLUME 75, NO. 9

Safe Boats’ 35 Multimission Interceptor at MACC. Photo by Ken Hocke

FEATURES 24 Focus: Breadwinners The offshore Gulf is down, but there is demand for skilled workers in several other workboat sectors.

28 Vessel Report: Ferry Fast Demand for ferries continues to grow.

36 Cover Story: Big MACC Small boats take center stage at government craft show.

BOATS & GEAR 32 On the Ways • Gulf Craft builds 600-passenger catamaran ferry for Seastreak • Main Iron Works to build 6,000-hp ASD tractor tug for Bisso Towboat • Gladding-Hearn delivers 55' pilot boat to Virginia • New 109' ATB tug for Kirby Offshore from Master Boat Builders • 6,000-hp tug from Conrad for Young Brothers in Honolulu • Vigor delivers third of four aluminum 400-passenger ferries to San Francisco • Midship Marine delivers second high-capacity 160' aluminum catamaran passenger ferry to Mexico • Eastern Shipbuilding completes final critical design review for Coast Guard’s 360' offshore patrol cutter

42 Sister Act New VT Halter-built ships for Crowley feature dual-fuel engines.

AT A GLANCE 8 8 9 10 12 12 14

On the Water: Modern technology — Part II. Captain’s Table: How to survive a Coast Guard inspection. Energy Level: Is there hope amid oil production increases? WB Stock Index: Stocks gain 4% in July. Inland Insider: Barges are left out of the energy production boom. Insurance Watch: Look into your liquor liability. Legal Talk: The duck boat sinking and admiralty jurisdiction.

NEWS LOG 16 16 18 20 22

Hearings held on 2017 Bouchard barge explosion. No affect on Puerto Rico consumer prices from Jones Act, report says. Calls for duck boat ban surface after deadly sinking. Two McAllister 6,700-hp tugs christened. More than half of U.S. locks and dams are past their 50-year design lives.

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

DEPARTMENTS 2 6 46 51 52

Editor’s Watch Mail Bag Port of Call Advertisers Index WB Looks Back

Editor'sWatch

Boat and people demand

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n this issue, two of our three feature stories discuss strong demand for boats. The third feature is also about demand — demand for people. Our cover story this month (see page 36) talks about the steady interest and need for small boats, especially from the Coast Guard and Navy. Senior Editor Ken Hocke attended the twoday Multi-Agency Craft Conference (MACC) in July and witnessed the enthusiasm for small craft, many of which were at the conference and available for attendees to ride on in Curtis Bay, Md. Several manufacturers were at the conference showing off boats that ranged from patrol/research vessels to fast interceptors to RIBs. With these small boats needing to be replaced every five-to-seven years, demand for them should stay strong in the foreseeable future. Another market that has been undergoing a boom in recent years is ferries. Kirk Moore writes about how demand for water transit continues to grow (see page 28), highlighting the much publicized ferry expansions in New York and San Francisco. Industry observers say ferry ridership is consistently growing across the board in New York and other metropolitan markets, driven by a growing economy, rising housing costs, and public transit and highways that are at their capacity limits. Finally, Dale DuPont writes about the demand for skilled people in several workboat sectors (see page 24). Scores of OSVs are still stacked in the Gulf so workers are looking for employment on the rivers, in ports and on land in places like the West Texas oil patch. Demand is high for engineers and chief mates with unlimited tonnage licenses.

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“There are more jobs right now than we have mariners,” said Z. David DeLoach, owner of DeLoach Marine Services LLC, a Port Allen, La.-based tug operator. “The inland sector is robust. There’s a lot more activity on the river,” said Capt. Patrick Senna, recruiter, Compass Marine Inc., a staffing agency in Theodore, Ala. And inland now pays a little better than offshore. If the Gulf comes back as strong as it was in 2013, “we’re going to have a hard time meeting the demand,” he said. Now that would be a good problem to have.

dkrapf@divcom.com

WORKBOAT® (ISSN 0043-8014) is published monthly by Diversified Business Communications and Diversified Publications, 121 Free St., P.O. Box 7438, Portland, ME 04112-7438. Editorial Office: P.O. Box 1348, Mandeville, LA 70470. Annual Subscription Rates: U.S. $39; Canada $55; International $103. When available, extra copies of current issue are $4, all other issues and special issues are $5. For subscription customer service call (978) 671-0444. The publisher reserves the right to sell subscriptions to those who have purchasing power in the industry this publication serves. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, ME, and additional mailing offices. Circulation Office: 121 Free St., P.O. Box 7438, Portland, ME 04112-7438. From time to time, we make your name and address available to other companies whose products and services may interest you. If you prefer not to receive such mailings, please send a copy of your mailing label to: WorkBoat’s Mailing Preference Service, P.O. Box 7438, Portland, ME 04112. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to WORKBOAT, P.O. Box 1792, Lowell, MA 01853. Copyright 20 18 by Diversified Business Communications. Printed in U.S.A.

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www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

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Last hurrah for Jeffboat?

hanks for the fine article on the closure of Jeffboat (WorkBoat, July 2018). It’s a sad day here in Jeffersonville, Ind., and for the inland marine community to see the closure of what at one time was southern Indiana’s largest employer. American Commercial Lines and Jeffboat have been above average corporate citizens and contributed greatly to our community. Besides the paucity of new barge orders, decreased riverine shipments of aggregate, grain and scrap metal, the downturn and closure of coal-fired utility plants, higher steel prices and excess barge capacity, other possible contributing factors to Jeffboat’s closure include: • An effort several years ago to decertify the Teamsters union at Jeffboat. Unfortunately, Teamsters local 89 has struggled to consistently represent their membership at Jeffboat while simultaneously representing a UPS bargaining unit

(nearly eight times the size of Jeffboat’s) at their North American distribution hub in Louisville, Ky. • A barge business that is extremely cyclical. (Jeffboat closed between 1986 and 1989.) The possibility of retaliatory tariff action by China and other nations, will likely depress demand for barges to support grain and coal exports. • Local closure and redevelopment of large Army ammunition plants, proving grounds and naval ordinance facilities, coupled to the proximity of the UPS North American distribution hub, have created significant growth in the nearby River Ridge and Clark Maritime industrial parks. This has created thousands of local distribution jobs that require multiple, transmodal facilities (air, rail, truck). Slow industry acceptance, limited waterfront facilities, managerial changes and a non-existent backlog at Jeffboat prevented diversification into containerized cargo shipment. • Riverfront and urban renewal efforts

in Louisville and Jeffersonville over the past five years have been tremendously successful, with big increases in tourism. This has resulted in rising prices and demand for commercial and residential riverfront real estate. Developers have long coveted Jeffboat’s riverfront acreage. The property is the largest, single contiguous plot of riverfront acreage in the five-county, greater Louisville area. Only time will tell if this is the last hurrah for Jeffboat. As your article noted, since its 1834 founding, Jeffboat has been through tough times in the past. Perhaps the greatest harbinger of the future for Jeffboat is the disposition of their large, rail mounted cranes. Originally used in the construction of the McAlpine locks and dam, loss of these cranes will forever change the commercial skyline and future along the Ohio River. Dave Thomas Midwest Marine Inc. Jeffersonville, Ind.

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On the Water

Modern technology — Part II

C By Joel Milton

Joel Milton works on towing vessels. He can be reached at joelmilton@ yahoo.com.

urrently, traffic flow is relatively placid in New York Harbor. There aren’t any major dredging or construction projects going on in the harbor that can affect the already-complicated traffic situation that is the norm here. Compared to other ports in North America, New York is 3-D and high-definition in nature. This requires some adjusting. Back in the pre-AIS days, there was often a non-stop game of Liar’s Poker that everyone took part in. VHF channel 13 was where the poker hands were played. You never knew for sure, unless you had direct visual contact, who was telling the truth and who wasn’t when it came to vessel location and speed. We essentially policed ourselves to manage the order of passage into, out of, and through the various interconnecting waterways and docks that make up New York Harbor. While this might sound nefarious, and it sometimes was, in many ways it was just mariners who

Captain’s Table

How to survive a Coast Guard annual inspection

By Capt. Alan Bernstein

Alan Bernstein, owner of BB Riverboats in Cincinnati, is a licensed master and a former president of the Passenger Vessel Association. He can be reached at 859-292-2449 or abernstein@ bbriverboats.com.

ach year, the Coast Guard and passenger vessel operators in many parts of the country go through annual inspections prior to seasonal start-ups. This can a very stressful time for operators that have pending charters and are under pressure to get vessels back up and running and generating revenue. In many cases these inspections go smoothly with just minor changes that the inspector and operator agree to. This is the way things should go. But this year (2015) I have been hearing far too many stories about overzealous inspectors who are writing CG-835s (Notice of Merchant Marine Inspection Requirements) that contain long lists of seemingly minor corrections that sometimes result in “no-sails.” Sometimes the 835s are the result of confusion between old and new regulations or sometimes Coast Guard inspectors misinterpret regulations due to inexperience. Regulations are often difficult, and your inspector may not always correctly interpret the rules. So, what is your recourse when

were trying to avoid getting caught in a predicament. With many docks requiring slack water, or nearly so, to safely approach and moor or depart from them can be really complicated, especially when traffic density is high. Traffic bound for Long Island Sound tries to time a slack-water passage of Hell Gate, a narrow tidal strait located in the East River. Add in the no-meeting/no-passing requirements that usually go with maintenance dredging or channel deepening projects, then the difficulty and tensions can ratchet up significantly. Anyone who has been around long enough to have experienced the reconstruction of Manhattan’s FDR Drive along the East River a decade ago understands what I’m referring to. Pushing a big load of alternating traffic through Hell Gate today involves AIS information displayed on an ECDIS or ECS plotter. It took away the ability to fib a little (or flat-out lie) about your exact location and speed when angling for an advantage in the necessary turn taking, which is how we manage ourselves. But is the information that you see so convincingly displayed on the plotter really what is happening out there? Or are you being lied to again? Ah, that Techno-Rapture. an inspector asks for corrections for items that had been approved by inspectors for many years? In many cases, it is an understanding or agreement between the operator and the inspector based on regulation. Do your research and ask for help whenever you have a question. I ask other operators for advice and seek guidance from the Passenger Vessel Association, who has experienced staff to help out. Communication is also important. Be sure that you know your Coast Guard chief of inspection, OCMI (Officer in Charge of Marine Inspection) and sector commander. If you are not successful solving your problem with the inspector, don’t hesitate to call the Coast Guard office to request an immediate meeting with the inspector and his or her commanders to discuss the issue. Offer a defense, give your position and know the facts. If you are unsuccessful at the local level, don’t be afraid to appeal the decision up the Coast Guard’s chain of command. (Editor’s note: This column first appeared in the August 2015 issue of WorkBoat. Recently, the Coast Guard developed a new form, CG-835V, Vessel Inspection Requirements, which was specifically tailored to capture more detailed deficiency data that is aligned with globally accepted Port State Control methodologies.) www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

Energy Level

17-Dec 18-Jan 18-Feb GOM INDICATORS WORKBOAT Mar-18 MAY '18 Apr-18 WTI Crude Oil 72.26 May-18 Baker Hughes Rig Count 18 IHS Jun-18 OSV Utilization 26.1% U.S. 18-Jul Oil Production (millions bpd) 10.7

JUNE '18 69.91 18 26.6% 10.9*

Sources: Baker-Hughes; IHS Markit; U.S. EIA

*Estimated

Hope amid a potential domestic oil glut?

JULY '17 46.21 23 25.2% 9.4

GOM RIG COUNT

GOM Rig Count

By Bill Pike

n mid-July, domestic oil production hit 11 million bbls. a day for the first time ever, according to U.S. Department of Energy estimates. The increase in production, combined with a spike in U.S. crude oil inventories of 5.8 million bbls. due to rising imports and falling exports, should have had a negative effect on oil prices. When combined with a projected fall in global demand, that is exactly what happened. The international Brent crude oil benchmark finished just short of correction territory on July 16, underlining a sharp reversal for oil in recent weeks, according to Mark DeCambre at MarketWatch. Meanwhile, the U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, settled at $68.06 bbl., down 4.2%, close to correction territory. The mid-July slump for crude comes amid growing demand concerns. International Monetary Fund data predicts a slowdown in global economic growth, which could depress oil demand. Despite this, the U.S. is gearing up for dramatic increases in oil and gas production and exports. The latest estimate from Enterprise Products Partners, a provider of midstream energy services, calls for growth of nearly one third in U.S. production, to 13 million bbls. of oil per day by 2022. This is based primarily on increased production in the prolific Permian Basin. The vast majority this oil will be exported through the Texas Gulf Coast. That is where Enterprise is planning to build a new offshore terminal in an effort to overcome current VLCC loading restrictions. These restrictions were illustrated in Enterprise’s first loading of a VLCC at its Texas City, Texas, terminal. Due to draft restrictions, Enterprise could only load the twomillion-barrel-capacity vessel about halfway. Plans for the new terminal, to

18 16 17 12 JULY '18 18 67.90 18 15 18 28.3% 15 11.0*

20 15

7/17

7/18

10 5 0 1

be fed by pipelines from shore, call for a loading capability of 85,000 bbls. of oil per hour, making it possible to fill a two-million-barrel VLCC to capacity in just 24 hours.

10 11 12 13

Combined with a new wave of intrastate pipeline systems whose completions begin in 2019, the new export transport and loading systems should be smooth sailing.

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WorkBoat Composite Index Stocks gain 4% in July

fter losing almost 7% last month, the WorkBoat Composite Index rebounded in July, gaining 80 points or about 3.9%. For the month, winners topped losers by a 7-3 ratio. The big news in July was the merger agreement between Tidewater and GulfMark Offshore that will create the world’s largest global offshore service vessel operator. The combined company is valued at approximately $1.25 billion (based on Tidewater’s July 13 closing price of $30.62 a share.) The combined company will have the industry’s largest fleet and the broadest global operating footprint in the OSV sector. The financial strength and operating footprint of the combined company will also position it to STOCK CHART INDEX COMPARISONS Operators Suppliers Shipyards Workboat Composite PHLX Oil Service Index Dow Jones Industrials Standard & Poors 500

sustain through-cycle market leadership, Tidewater said. The combined company will be operated under the Tidewater brand and be led by its CEO, John Rynd. Tidewater’s board will be expanded to 10 seats by adding three directors selected by GulfMark. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018. “By combining our fleets and shorebased activities we will be better able to provide customers with access to modern, high-specification vessels while maintaining a strong commitment to safe operations and superior, cost-effective customer service,” Rynd said in a statement. “The transaction preserves Tidewater’s strong financial profile and allows the company to fund both organic growth and possible adSource: FinancialContent Inc. www.financialcontent.com

6/30/18 332.76 3314.40 3122.82 2073.72 154.87 24271.41 2718.37

7/31/18 337.04 3496.18 3125.78 2153.92 151.19 25415.19 2816.29

NET CHANGE 4.27 181.78 2.96 80.20 -3.68 1143.78 97.92

For the complete up-to-date WorkBoat Stock Index, go to: workboat.com/resources/tools/workboat-composite-index/

PERCENT CHANGE 1.28% 5.48% 0.09% 3.87% -2.38% 4.71% 3.60%

ditional acquisitions.” “At GulfMark, we have been longstanding advocates for consolidation of the OSV industry,” Quintin Kneen, GulfMark’s president and CEO said. “This transaction is an important first step in that process.” According to Tidewater, the combined company will have 245 vessels, making it the largest global OSV operator. The combined company has 173 total active vessels with an average vessel age of 9.2 years as of June 30. UK-based Vessel Value’s head of offshore, Charlie Hockless, said he was “quite surprised” by the merger announcement since both companies had effectively tackled the downturn by successfully restructuring. “Survival seemed to be a formality for Tidewater and Gulfmark,” he said. “Now that the merger is complete, I can certainly see the advantages. The new Tidewater will be the largest OSV owner on the planet by sheer number of OSVs owned. However the new combined fleet closes the gap between Tidewater and Edison Chouest Offshore, which remains in the pole position by fleet value. If this downturn has taught us anything, big companies survive. The new Tidewater will be a dominant player for years to come.” — David Krapf

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Inland Insider

No energy boom for barge

By Kevin Horn

Kevin Horn is a senior manager with GEC Inc., Delaplane, Va. He can be contacted at khorn@gecinc.com.

ifty years ago, many experts said that U.S. oil production had peaked. Today the U.S. is on the threshold of being the largest oil producer in the world, with daily production of 10.6 million bbls. per day (mbd) compared to Saudi Arabia’s 10 mbd and Russia’s 11 mbd. The Permian Basin, which stretches from west Texas to New Mexico, produces about one-third of U.S. daily oil output, about 3.1 mbd. Shale drilling in the Permian Basin has changed drastically with more concentrations of well clusters emphasizing efficiency and expanded production. The result is that Permian Basin wells are profitable in the high$30 to low-$40-bbl. range. West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices were around $69 bbl. on Aug 1. What do these developments mean? First, the U.S. is moving towards becoming a major world oil exporter rivaling Saudi Arabia. U.S. oil exports are approaching 2.5 mbd, rising rapidly since 2016. Second, lower U.S. production costs, as seen in the Permian Basin, suggest that competitive price reductions by other major oil exporters will have little

Insurance Watch Liquor liability

By Chris Richmond

Chris Richmond is a licensed mariner and marine insurance agent with Allen Insurance and Financial. He can be reached at 800-439-4311 or crichmond@ allenif.com.

e work with scores of commercial vessels in all types of operations. Passenger vessels often serve wine with a meal or sell beer during two-hour day cruises. Depending on your operation, you may want to look into getting a separate liquor liability policy to cover your business after passengers exit your boat or boats. Standard unendorsed protection and indemnity policies do not exclude liquor claims. This is something that I have heard often from underwriters. They tell me the policy remains silent on liquor, which means it is not expressly excluded. What we occasionally see is a sublimit on the liability. This all depends on what type of event you are selling. Is it a booze cruise that includes all you can drink for two hours? Chances are you will see either a sublimit or an all-out liquor exclusion. Is it a week-long cruise with wine served at dinner? Chances are your policy will not exclude it. But what about after passengers disembark your boat? You may have limited coverage while they

effect on domestic oil production and exports. These developments are game changers for the U.S. economy and foreign trade (oil). Unfortunately, barge lines are not usually major transporters of crude oil unless there are extenuating circumstances such as North Dakota’s inadequate pipeline capacity. Today there is a construction boom underway for energy pipelines, particularly natural gas. Railroads and barge lines may move the pipe and the fracking sand, but the bulk of the energy produced will be moved via pipeline. The increased energy production and exports of crude and LNG bode well for ports and pipelines. But rail and barge lines are largely left out of these sectors. So, while there are significant shifts in the rapidly growing U.S. oil and gas industries and markets, the effect on barge and rail are limited to such things as well byproducts such as propane (ignoring the loss of domestic coal from substitution by natural gas). The downstream refined products effect of low cost domestic oil and natural gas offer opportunities for barge and rail such as chemicals. This is the sector to watch to see how far the energy revolution reaches the traditional surface transporters of bulk refined products cargo. are on the gangway or dock. We add an extension on the P&I policy to include coverage for this area. You may be covered while passengers walk through a coastal village, exploring the town. We have added coverage in the past to extend liability to shore trips included in the normal activities of cruises. But what about when someone leaves your boat and jumps in a car and drives off? At that point, your P&I coverage ends. A liquor liability policy will fill this potential coverage gap. The scenario is all too familiar: A person consumes too much on a trip, drives off and commits vehicular manslaughter. If you are dragged into the claim your liquor liability policy will provide coverage not only for any liability placed on you but also the defense costs. When underwriting vessels where alcohol will be served, we try to find out what sort of alcohol awareness training the crew has received. Certifying your crew in TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures) alcohol training is a good start and may help prevent costly claims. Many boats we work with will often have an event catered by a third party. In this case we ask our client to obtain a certificate of insurance from the caterer showing liquor liability and being named as additional insured. www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

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Legal Talk

Duck boat tragedy and admiralty jurisdiction

he July 19 sinking of a duck boat on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Mo., that claimed 17 lives will likely result in years of litigation that could test the waters of admiralty jurisdiction. The liabilities and potential rights

and recoveries of those involved will be heavily influenced by whether any pending or future lawsuits are subject to the exclusive admiralty jurisdiction of the federal courts, or whether claims may be brought in state court. How the complex legal issues will be handled will also depend on whether the legal actions will be subject to maritime or state law. The most fundamental issue to be considered is whether they are subject to admiralty jurisdiction.

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The Constitution grants exclusive jurisdiction to the federal courts for claims arising in admiralty. However, federal legislation, known as the “saving to suitors” clause, also preserves litigants’ By Dan Hoerner right to pursue remedies recognized under state law. These overlapping jurisdictional laws often present conflicts over whether a particular court can even litigate a suit and what laws are applied. The main factor in whether and to what extent admiralty or state law applies is the accident’s location. To fall under admiralty jurisdiction and/or trigger the unique remedies of maritime law, it must be established that the accident occurred on “navigable waters” and that the underlying operations have a significant relationship to traditional maritime activity that can possibly disrupt maritime commerce. Classifying a body of water as “navigable” has been disputed for decades. Over the years, courts have classified bodies of water as navigable if they are used or are susceptible to being used as “waterborne pathways for commerce and bear characteristics which would support trade and travel over water.” Typically, bodies of water that are used strictly for recreational watercraft will not be sufficient to establish it as “navigable” for jurisdictional purposes. Rather, more traditional maritime activity, such as the transport of goods and/or passengers, must exist. The second factor of the admiralty jurisdictional test is whether the underlying activities have the potential to disrupt maritime commerce. In most cases, a vessel sinking, rescue operation or similar event are found to meet that test. Daniel J. Hoerner is a maritime attorneywith Mouledoux, Bland, Legrand & Brackett LLC. He can be reached at 504595-3000 or dhoerner@mblb.com.

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat 6/14/17 11:50 PM

SEPTEMBER 2018

NEWS LOG Crowley

NEWS BITTS

REPORT: NO IMPACT ON PUERTO RICO PRICES FROM JONES ACT

The Bouchard Transportation barge B. No. 255 exploded and burned near Port Aransas, Texas, Oct. 20, 2017.

Coast Guard

ine days of Coast Guard hearings in July into a fatal 2017 barge explosion focused on the safety culture at Bouchard Transportation Co. Inc., with former employees testifying that they feared for their jobs if they reported problems or near-accidents. The Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board continue their investigation into the Oct. 20, 2017, explosion on the B. No. 255 barge that killed two tankermen near Port Aransas, Texas. Witnesses offered conflicting testimony about vapors that crewmembers detected inside that barge and the similar B. No. 275, and their assessments of how Bouchard handled reports of equipment dangers and near-accidents. “It was told to me numerous times there were negative consequences to using stop-work authority … you would be laid off or terminated,” said 16

Morgan Jackson, brother of victim Zachariah Jackson, and himself a former mate on the B. No. 275. The Melville, N.Y.-based company operated the ATB barges in the Gulf of Mexico petroleum trade. The B. No. 255, a 488' oceangoing tank barge and its 127'×37'×20', 6,140-hp tug Buster Bouchard, were getting underway from an anchorage with a cargo of crude oil bound for Corpus Christi, Texas, when it blew up and burned in the early morning on Oct. 20, 2017. Zach Jackson, 28, of Salt Lake City, and crewmate Du’Jour Vanterpool, 26, of Houston, were killed. In the first day of testimony on July 16, former tug first mate Lonnie Roberts described seeing blue flames surge over the barge deck, “like if you have a gas grill and hit the ignition,” seconds before the explosion. In its safety procedures Bouchard

SUNY Maritime

Barge explosion investigators focus on Bouchard safety culture

report commissioned by advocates for the U.S. maritime industry asserts that the Jones Act has no significant effect on consumer retail prices in Puerto Rico, where the aftermath of Hurricane Maria renewed calls to reform the shipping law. Economists with consulting firms Reeve & Associates, Boston, and Estudios Técnicos Inc., San Juan, Puerto Rico, concluded that the Jones Act “has no impact on either retail prices or the cost of living in Puerto Rico,” the American Maritime Partnership said in announcing the study. “In addition, the report found that the state of the art maritime technology, Puerto-Rico focused investments, and dedicated closed-loop service offered by Jones Act carriers provide a significant positive economic impact to the island, at freight rates lower or comparable to similar services to other Caribbean Islands,” AMP said. The paper is the latest in a longrunning duel of studies released by the maritime industry and Jones Act critics. The now nearly century-old law requires goods carried between U.S. ports to travel on U.S.-built, -owned and -crewed vessels. Proponents of reforming the law say it drives up the cost of living for residents in Puerto Rico, Alaska, and Hawaii. After Hurricane Maria’s onslaught in Puerto Rico in 2017, longtime Jones Act critics claimed the law was hobbling the sealift of relief supplies. — Kirk Moore

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

has a strongly worded stop-work policy, stating that employees can call an end to an unsafe procedure without repercussions. But Roberts said captains and crews preferred to deal with safety situations informally when they could, out of concern that reporting minor incidents could get workers in trouble with the company. “We try not to fill out paperwork for near misses on our boat,” because it might lead to disciplinary action, when “it could be a learning experience,” said Roberts. Morgan Jackson told investigators how in May 2017 he was nearly overcome by fumes in the aft peak of B. No. 275. When the crew checked the space with a multigas meter they found a lower explosive limit of 82%, indicating a danger of explosion or fire. Jackson testified that Jon Shaw, Bouchard’s former manager of main-

tenance and repair, advised them by telephone to ventilate the space with a fan. That went on for months as the problem recurred, former barge captain Adam Cowart testified. By October 2017 it smelled “almost like you popped the lid on a cargo tank,” he said. Shaw again suggested ventilating the space with a fan, while Cowart unsuccessfully advocated for a shipyard visit to find and repair the vapor source. On Nov. 7, 2017, Coast Guard officers in New Orleans, acting on a tip from a whistleblower, ordered the B. No. 275 to an anchorage for inspection. Cowart said Shaw told him ahead of time that there might be a boarding.

“Jon told me not to volunteer any information,” said Cowart. The inspection team did not find the problematic compartment “because we didn’t tell them,” he said. A hearing officer asked Cowart about barge logbook entries, including a line where it appeared previous lower explosive level readings had been scratched out. “That was part of not volunteering the information,” Cowart replied. The hearing testimony concluded July 26. Bruce Davies, the lead civilian investigator for the Coast Guard, said it would likely be months before the findings are reported. — Kirk Moore

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS The photo on the cover of the August 2018 issue of WorkBoat of the tugboat Rosemary McAllister was taken by Alex Lee. The original photo credit was incorrect.

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Duck boat deaths bring calls for ban he deaths of 17 people on an amphibious duck boat that sank in a Missouri lake has led Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz to convene a Marine Board of Inquiry, the highest level of scrutiny for maritime disasters. There were renewed calls to ban commercial use of the landing craft, including one from former National Transportation Safety Board chairman Jim Hall. “My feeling after seeing this one is that the only thing to do in the name of public safety is to ban them,” Hall told USA Today. The NTSB investigated a 1999 incident when 13 people drowned in a duck boat sinking near Hot Springs, Ark., previously the worst accident involving the World War IIera design.

Coast Guard

The tour boat Stretch Duck 7 was raised after sinking July 19 in Table Rock Lake, Mo.

The NTSB recommended safety and design changes, but few were adopted. Missouri authorities opened a criminal investigation into the July 19 sinking in Table Rock Lake near Branson, Mo., when a duck boat sent out on the lake by Ride the Ducks Branson was beset by a fast-moving storm. As it headed back to a boat ramp the vessel was swamped by winddriven waves, sending 29 passengers and two crewmembers into the water. One crewman and 17 passengers died, including nine members of an extended

family from Indiana, aged one to 70. NTSB investigators are studying video recordings recovered from the 31'×8' Stretch Duck 7. According to a preliminary narrative released by the agency, the boat captain and driver were instructed to take their passengers on the waterborne part of the tour first. The National Weather Service had issued a warning for severe storms as the tour departed around 6:30 p.m. The boat entered the lake just after 6:55 p.m., and within five minutes wind and whitecaps were rising, according to

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the NTSB. The video recorded sounds of the bilge alarm, the captain making two calls on his handheld VHF radio, and images of water sloshing into the passenger compartment before the video ended at 7:08 p.m. Relatives of the Indiana family are suing the operators, parent corporation Ripley Entertainment and others for $100 million. Previous judgments against Ride the Ducks Philadelphia, over a 2010 barge collision on the Delaware River that killed two passengers and a fatal pedestrian accident on a city street, led to massive insurance cost increases and the company ceasing operations. — K. Moore

Double christening for McAllister’s 6,700-hp tugs

ith their namesake tractor tugs nose-to-nose off Pier 16 at

South Street Seaport in New York’s East River on July 12, Capt. Brian A. McAllister, the octogenarian chairman of McAllister Towing and Transportation Co. Inc., and Rosemary McAllister, his wife of more than 50 years, stood on the bows of their respective boats. They each smashed champagne bottles to christen the newest and most powerful tugboats in the McAllister fleet. “A christening is a momentous occasion in the culture of my family,” their son Buckley McAllister, president of the 154-year-old company founded by his great-great-grandfather, told the crowd gathered for the celebration. “These two tugs embody the wish lists and lessons learned from our collective experience.” The 100'×40', 6,700-hp tugs “have the heft needed to help navigate the new ultra large container vessels call-

ing at America’s ports,” he said. The Capt. Brian A. McAllister, built by Horizon Shipbuilding Inc., Bayou La Batre, Ala., began working in New York Harbor in August 2017. The Rosemary McAllister, which steamed north for the event from her home base in Virginia, was completed by Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Panama City, Fla., after Horizon’s 2017 bankruptcy. Eastern is now building two additional nearly identical tractor tugs for McAllister, the Ava McAllister and the Capt. Jim McAllister, named for the company’s founder. Both are expected to be launched in spring 2019. The Ava will be stationed in Charleston, S.C., and the Capt. Jim is currently unassigned, Buckley said. The raising of the Bayonne Bridge to allow 1,200', 14,000-TEU neoPanamax ships to call at the container terminals in Port Newark and Port Elizabeth has been a game changer in

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

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McAllister Towing and Transportation chairman Brian McAllister swings the champagne bottle for the christening of his namesake tug, the Capt. Brian A. McAllister.

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New York Harbor. “We now have more tethered escort work,” Buckley McAllister said, explaining that for some of these new ships dead slow is seven or eight knots, which is too fast to make some of the tight turns in the harbor. The Brian can make up to the ship and act as a brake to slow it to four or five knots and still have navigational power, he said. For Brian McAllister, who grew up

said he watched in awe as the crew pivoted the boats around and round in the river “These are complicated boats, and those guys knew what they were doing,” said McAllister. “For the first time in my life, I was afraid to touch the wheel.” — Betsy Frawley Haggerty

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he inland waterway system needs more stable funding and shortened construction timelines to replace crumbling infrastructure, Pittsburgh port director Mary Ann Bucci told senators. “More than half of the locks and dams on the U.S. inland system are past their 50-year design life, with most locks and dams built in the 1930s and under the New Deal of President Roosevelt. In fact, Pittsburgh has some of the oldest locks and dams in the nation,” Bucci told the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness on July 19. Antiquated 600' locks on the rivers cannot accommodate standard 15-barge tows, said Bucci. “The problem is that the process to construct lock and dam projects in three to six years as it was in the 1930s, today takes decades,” she said. The Lower Monongahela project near Pittsburgh “is going on its 24th year of construction, a project that should have been completed in 10 years.” “For Pittsburgh and America to stay competitive in foreign markets, we must get back to constructing navigation projects in less than five years,” she said. — Pamela Glass

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Workforce Development

Breadwinners Offshore is down, but mariners are needed in other sectors.

David Krapf

Crowley Maritime receives about 3,000 job applications a year. But there are fewer openings for mariners now than a number of years ago when the company had several new vessels coming on line.

By Dale K. DuPont, Correspondent

rey Reiman had been with G&H Towing Company since 1991 when a few years ago he decided he’d try offshore work and got a job on a research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. That was 2014, when oil prices topped $100 bbl. Then oil tanked, and two years later he was laid off. Reiman looked around a bit but by that time the market was nearly saturated with offshore workers that had been let go earlier. So, the chief engineer went back to Galveston, Texas-based G&H. “They hired me on the spot because they knew my history,” said Reiman, a member of the Seafarers International Union (SIU). “It’s good here. I just wanted to stretch my legs a little bit.” While offshore is showing some faint signs of life, scores of OSVs are still stacked in the Gulf so workers are looking on the rivers, in ports and on land in places like the West Texas oil patch. Or they’ve left the industry to retire or drive a truck.

Demand is high for engineers and chief mates with unlimited tonnage licenses, but challenges persist. These include too few skills, too many drugs, tougher safety standards, and the reality that not all skills easily translate from one part of the industry to another. In addition, when offshore comes back, a lot of workers will have to get recertified. Louisiana alone lost 21,500 maritimerelated jobs — about a fifth of the total — from 2014 to 2016, according to a Louisiana State University study. “There are more jobs right now than we have mariners,” said Z. David DeLoach, owner of DeLoach Marine Services LLC, a Port Allen, La.-based tug operator. The landside drilling business “has probably siphoned off half of my upper level deck crew,” with higher rates and per diems, he said. So, if demand for mariners continues, “it wouldn’t surprise me to see pay going to the $800-$900-day range www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

combination to find. “Very few cadets are looking for long-term sailing careers. There’s a shortage of lifers,” Johnson said. To retain employees, “we provide training for all of our current mariners.” And Crowley has a “builda-mariner” program tailored mainly to people coming from the military. MARKET STRONGER, PAY LAGS While the job market is stronger this year than last, “the day rates have not rebounded as quickly as the openings,” said Capt. Patrick Senna, recruiter, Compass Marine Inc., a staffing agency in Theodore, Ala. The average starting day rate for 100-ton licensed crew is $250, above last year’s $200 to $220, but below the $300 rate of five years ago. Deck personnel rates are $130 to $140 compared to $110-$120 last year. “The certification requirements for the Gulf of Mexico have become a lot

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by the end of the year” for the wheelhouse, he said. That’s up from the current $500 to $600. “People are going to pay whatever it takes to hire somebody to crew a boat.” Jenny Johnson, supervisor of marine recruiting for Crowley Maritime Corp., Jacksonville, Fla., the largest employer of Jones Act mariners in the U.S., said they are inundated with applicants. Crowley, which has 3,600 mariners on 130 vessels, gets about 3,000 applications a year. But there are fewer openings now than five years ago when the company had a number of new vessels coming on line. Crowley has received a lot of queries from laid-off Gulf workers. “I have hundreds and hundreds of dynamic positioning applications,” she said. The downturn “definitely turned the tables.” One of the biggest challenges is filling jobs that require security clearances and experience — a difficult

It’s hard to find skilled people, so Vigor works with local colleges to recruit and train workers.

more complicated, too,” he said. “You need at least six safety certifications to work now. “The inland sector is robust. There’s a lot more activity on the river,” Senna continued, and it now pays a little

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Workforce Development better than offshore. If the Gulf comes back as strong as it was in 2013, “we’re going to have a hard time meeting the demand.” Senna said with the economy strong on land, “We’re having difficulty finding qualified applicants to go out to sea. If you have a clean background and can pass a drug test, you can find a job that pays as well on land.” Or close to it. Harbor ship assist work is very good along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Alabama, said Dean Corgey, SIU’s Gulf Coast vice president. “We’ve been breaking records every month at the port of Houston,” he said. Normally, they do 9,000 calls a year, but lately they’ve been averaging about 2,000 a month. “We’ve hired a lot of guys out of the oilfield to work on harbor tugs,” said Corgey, who’s also a Port of Houston Authority commissioner. And the ones he’s talked to like the job for its stabil-

ity and benefits. “A lot of the mariners have grown weary of the rollercoaster ride of the oilfield.” Word of mouth and social media have brought people to SIU halls in Houston, New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. They’ve also placed some oilfield workers in the coastal ATB and tanker markets and beefed up their apprentice program, recruiting offshore mariners as well as veterans. Vigor Industrial has developed relationships with local colleges to recruit and train workers for its nine Pacific Northwest shipyard locations whose salaried and hourly staff fluctuates from 2,000 to 2,400. “It’s harder to find skilled people in the workforce,” said Sue Haley, Portland, Ore.-based Vigor’s executive vice president of human resources. Fewer people are coming from trade schools. “Our training budget has quadrupled in the last few years. When you can’t

find exactly what you need, you need to grow what you need.” Over the past few years Vigor has maintained a relatively steady workforce. “We try to look across our companies and locations, so we can keep people more fully employed,” she said. At UnCruise Adventures, a Seattlebased company with seven U.S.-flag passenger vessels that cruise Alaska, the Northwest and other areas, the most challenging jobs to fill are engineers. Wages can’t compare to the oil rigs. But there may be some pay parity when tips are factored in for everyone who’s in a non-management position, said Monique LaFollette, human resources director. On the plus side, passenger vessels offer interesting destinations that offshore work doesn’t. The Alaska trips are a big lure as is the schedule of six weeks on with a two- or three-week break versus 18 weeks in a row. “So,

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they’re looking for quality of life,” she said. But cruise work has different challenges – mainly, the entire crew must interact with the passengers. “And that is a real turnoff for people who come from tankers or towing vessels,” LaFollette said. When things were really slow in the Gulf, DeLoach got offshore applicants who he hired for steering positions. And while offshore licenses may be acceptable inland, “you’ve got to have a special skill set to work on an inland towboat,” he said. But for hiring and retention, the biggest problem is drugs, he said. “It’s hard to find entry level crews.” States with loose marijuana laws, for instance, signal it’s OK to smoke dope. Then the federal government reminds employers that they can’t hire regular users for safety sensitive positions. “The number of people we’re terminating due to drug

issues is also up now,” DeLoach said. BROWNWATER DEMAND Brownwater is indeed where the jobs are, said Michelle Reina, assistant director of career planning and development, SUNY Maritime College, Throggs Neck, N.Y. When recent grads were freshmen, seniors were getting multiple offers for jobs on OSVs in the Gulf with great salaries and 28-on/28-off work schedules. “Now all those students have been laid off, and the Gulf’s not hiring” except for a few jobs here and there, she said. Non-licensed students with engineering degrees are doing fine working shoreside, so SUNY Maritime is trying make students aware of other opportunities with shipping companies. They still hold two career fairs every year that average 80 companies each, a number that’s held steady.

Endorsements in high demand are PICs (persons in charge of fuel transfers) and TOARs (towing officer assessment record), available only if students have done cadet shipping not just summer sea terms. David Schmidt went through a twoyear tug-and-barge program at SUNY. He finished classes last year and now works for McAllister Towing & Transportation in New York. He’s getting ready to take the test for a 1,600ton mate near coastal license. He’s sailed on training ships and worked for other tug companies, so he has enough sea time to sit for his license. “A lot of academy grads at these boat companies don’t stick around,” said Schmidt, whose ultimate goal is to be a pilot on the Delaware River. “Most everybody’s going to have to work their way up. You’re never going to get to steer a boat without working on the deck.”

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Ferries

Kirk Moore

Demand for water transit keeps growing.

The Seastreak Commodore heads up New York’s East River. By Kirk Moore, Associate Editor

t 8:45 a.m. on a midweek morning, the Seastreak — the 150' Seastreak Commodore, with East River around Pier 11 in Lower accommodations for 600 riders that will make it Manhattan is swarming with ferries, the highest capacity Subchapter K fast passenger old and new. ferry ever built in the U.S. NY Waterway’s 87'4"×24' Thomas JefferIndustry observers say ferry ridership is consisson-class boats, ubiquitous in the harbor for tently growing across the board in New York and three decades now, bring commuters from the other metropolitan markets, driven by a growing New Jersey side, as the company’s 109'×31' economy, rising housing costs, and public transit The Seastreak the terminal at Highlands, MollyCommodore Pitcher, itsapproaches first 400-passenger boat that andN.J. highways that are at their capacity limits. arrived in 2015, thunders away after dropping “The pressures increase on the other forms of off Wall Street workers. transit as more people move to the area,” said Brett The public NYC Ferry fleet shuttles riders Chamberlain, marketing director for Atlantic Highfrom Brooklyn on its 150-passenger catalands, N.J.-based Seastreak. marans, which carried nearly three million passengers during their first seven months of FERRIES RETURN operation during 2017 — some 34% more Private passenger ferry service in the New York people than city planners anticipated. region was widespread up to the early 20th cenPulling away from Pier 11 is their big sister tury. In the 1980s, it began to revive as the city’s ship, the Ocean Queen Rockstar, the first financial industry boomed. Now Seastreak is also of six 97'1"×27'10', 350-passenger vessels benefiting from some outward migration from the that NYC Ferry ordered from Metal Shark, city, as workers move their households to be close Franklin, La., to meet escalating demand. City to the Jersey Shore, said Chamberlain. officials now project ridership on the public Aging public rail transit and mounting reliability system could approach nine million by 2023, problems are sending more commuters to the water and they are preparing to sink another $300 too. million into the project. For its New Jersey customers, Seastreak has Looming over all is the newest arrival for become more attractive as problems afflict New

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

OLD TRAINS, NEW BOATS Seastreak played a key role in keeping New York’s mass transit going after Hurricane Sandy knocked out part of the subway system in 2012. With money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, city officials

Kirk Moore

Jersey Transit’s Coast Line commuter rail. Those train treks each way from northern Monmouth County and the city can take 90 minutes. “We figure on average we save our customers an hour and a half a day,” said Chamberlain. Meanwhile train delays have increased along with ticket prices. The difference between NJ Transit’s and the ferry’s $675 monthly ferry pass is now only around $200, said Jack Bevins, Seastreak’s vice president for operations. “It comes down to ‘What’s your time worth?’ ” The demand growth led Seastreak to Australia-based designer Incat Crowther and boatbuilder Gulf Craft, located in Franklin, La., next to the Metal Shark yard that builds NYC Ferry vessels. Bevins said his company’s commuter lines and summer service to southern New England shaped the requirements for the Commodore. “One of the big things was seakeeping ability. That’s very important with the distances we cover, on the New York-New Jersey routes and to Martha’s Vineyard,” said Bevins. “That and passenger capacity.” The Commodore typically runs its loops at peak commuter hours, twice in the morning and three times late in the day between the Monmouth County bayshore, Pier 11, and the East 35th Street terminal. The big boat also serves the Martha’s Vineyard route when passenger numbers swell on peak summer days. The ferry cruises at 34 knots and features a “wall of windows,” Chamberlain said. “This boat is in high demand, with 8 a.m. the busiest run,” he said, as the Commodore prepared for departure with 447 passengers on board. The vessel features a full-service bar, seven restrooms, 525 cabin seats, and an additional 240 seats outside.

The original 150-passenger ferries built for NYC Ferry proved to be too small on some popular routes.

enlisted Seastreak for emergency ferry duty to Rockaway, the far-flung seaside enclave in Queens where rail service had broken down. The service ended when the FEMA money ran out. But the experience of a 45-minute boat commute to Manhattan — compared to 90 minutes by subway or bus, on a good day — whetted Rockaway residents’ appetite, and played a role in Mayor Bill de Blasio making NYC Ferry his administration’s marquee project. Hornblower was selected as the ferry operator, and designed a total package including 16 Incat Crowther-designed 86'×23'3" aluminum catamarans. Six weeks after NYC Ferry’s May 2017 startup, complaints about overcrowding and delays led city officials to promise bigger boats. The first of those six 350-passenger vessels, the Ocean Queen Rockstar, arrived in early July and is operating on the Rockaway run. By that time, after just over 14 months of start-up operation, the system had carried five million riders. Judging by trends in ridership it could double by 2023, according to city officials. A 2013 city study had predicted around 4.6 million riders a year. Thus, the city needs to increase the passenger capacity of the fleet in order to serve double the ridership that was initially projected. The number of vessels the city will purchase will depend on the exact mix of 150-capacity versus 350-capacity vessels, New York City Economic Development Corp. president James Patchett said at a May press conference. “We’re still in negotiations with the shipyards so we don’t want to show our hand too much, but the bottom line is

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

we’re going to be more than doubling the capacity,” he said. “We’re going to be adding a lot more vessels including those larger vessels to serve more passengers during busy times.” WEST COAST EXPANSION Similar dynamics are playing out on the West Coast around San Francisco and Seattle, where people chasing job opportunities offered by the growing tech market run headlong into escalating housing costs and commuting challenges.

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Ferries

The Argo is third in a series of 400-passenger high speed catamarans for San Francisco.

Transit planning in northern California and Washington state has long had a strong waterborne component, and limitations to expanding rail and highway capacity are pushing more investment in ferries. In early July Seattle-based Vigor delivered the Argo, third of four 135'×38'×6.75' high-speed catamaran ferries for the Water Emergency Transportation Authority in San Francisco. The 400-passenger vessels, with service speeds of 27 knots, are the first in a long-term capital plan to expand ferry service throughout the San Francisco Bay region. Another Incat Crowther design, the Argo was the first vessel

to come out of Vigor’s new aluminum fabrication bay at its Harbor Island yard in Seattle. The new facility “significantly expands” Vigor’s production capacity for aluminum workboats including ferries like Argo, Tim Kolb, Vigor’s Puget Sound general manager, said in announcing the delivery. As in its preceding sisterships Hydrus and Cetus, Argo features a floating house superstructure with 180 independent mounts to reduce vibration and improve passenger comfort on long runs. The WETA boats claim to be the cleanest-running ferries in the U.S., by using a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) aftertreatment system with twin MTU 12V4000 M64 engines of 1,950 hp each. The design achieves Tier 4 emission standards without using diesel particulate filters, reducing maintenance time and costs. The engines are also capable of burning biodiesel B5 for reduced emissions, as is being used in some San Francisco buses. The fourth vessel of the class, the Carina, is under construction at Vigor with delivery planned for the end of 2018. Another Vigor customer, Washington State Ferries, took delivery in late July of the Suquamish, the system’s first Tier 4 ferry with capacity for 1,500 passengers and 144 vehicles. It is the last of the four 362'×83'×18' Olympic-class ferries and will go to work this fall.

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www.yanmar.com/us www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

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ON THE WAYS Gulf Craft-built 600-passenger catamaran for Seastreak

he 600-passenger Seastreak Commodore, the highest capacity Subchapter K fast passenger vessel ever built in the U.S., entered service in June, making five commuter runs daily between New Jersey and New York City. The 150'×40' catamaran was designed by Incat Crowther and delivered in May to Seastreak by Gulf Craft, Franklin, La. Design considerations included good seakeeping ability for 35-knot runs up New York Harbor and summer service to southern New England islands. The vessel’s big capacity — there are more than 700 seats between the main cabins and outdoor decks — is Seastreak’s response to sustained growth in the New York commuter market. Accommodations include a full-service bar and seven restrooms. Already the aluminum catamaran is the most popular ride between the city and northern Monmouth County, N.J., company officials say. “It has a little more windage, and you’ve got to be careful because it’s so powerful,” Capt. Dave Clapp said just before the vessel departed the terminal at Highlands, N.J., in July with 447 passengers on board. Applying 28% power through the four Rolls-Royce S63 waterjets, Clapp held the Commodore close on spring lines as boarding was completed and could easily see his deckhands working fore and aft from the expanse of the wheelhouse windows — a safety feature that captains appreciate on recent

Incat Crowther designs, including the new 400-passenger vessels that Vigor built for the San Francisco Water Emergency Transportation Authority. On the bridge there is a Furuno navigation suite, a FLIR camera for night vision and days when visibility is restricted, and video monitors connected to closed circuit cameras monitoring 27 areas on the boat. “When you’re up on top (plane) at 35 knots you don’t throw much wake,” said Clapper. The four MTU Tier 3 12V4000M64 diesels together deliver up to 7,274 hp at 1,740 rpm at the top end. That achieved 39 knots in sea trials. On New York-New Jersey runs, Clapper favors 1,680 rpm. “Saves 200 gallons of fuel a day. Six days a week, it starts to add up,” he said. The $14 million Commodore project is part of a $30 million capital program that includes midlife upgrades and repowering of its 505-passenger vessels. There are plans for a second Commodore-class vessel. The company has committed to buying engines, but a construction timeline has yet to be decided, said Jack Bevins, vice president for operations. Based in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., Seastreak operates eight boats with more than 200 employees. The company has commuter routes to New York City and offers seasonal tourist and excursion service to southern New England, including the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket off Massachusetts, and up New York’s Hudson River. — Kirk Moore www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

Kirk Moore

New 600-passenger catamaran ferry runs between New Jersey and New York.

Master Boat Builders

Master Boat Builders, Bayou La Batre, Ala., has delivered the 109'×36'×18'3" ATB tug Cape Ann to Kirby Offshore Marine, Houston. Designed by Guarino & Cox, Covington, La., the steel-hulled Cape Ann has an aluminum tower and is powered by a pair of Tier 4 Caterpillar 3516E diesel engines, each producing 2,501 hp at 1,600 rpm. The Cats connect to 120"×78", 5-bladed stainless-steel Hung Shin wheels through Reintjes WAF 1173 marine gears with 7.429:1 reduction ratios. The propulsion package gives the new tug a running speed of 13 knots and a bollard pull of 48.19 metric tons. The tug has a 15' draft. Ship’s service power is the responsibility of three John Deere-powered 6068AFM85 gensets, sparking 150 kW of electrical power each. Rio Controls & Hydraulics provided the five-station propulsion controls and full follow-up steering system featuring two 40-hp hydraulic units and two 7"×4" cylinders. Conrad Shipyard, Morgan City, La., has delivered the 123'×36'6" tug Kapena Jack Young, to Young Brothers, Honolulu, an independent subsidiary of Seattlebased Foss Maritime. Designed by Damen USA, Kapena Jack Young is the first of four new oceangoing tugs that will soon enter service for the interisland freight handling and transportation company. The new tugs are the first new Kapena-class tugs built for Young Brothers. Main propulsion for the Kapena Jack Young comes from GE 8L250MDC, Tier 4 exhaust gas re-circulation engines, producing a total of 6,000 hp. Seattle-based Vigor recently delivered the Argo, the third of four aluminum, 400-passenger ferries, to the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) in San Francisco. The hull was constructed at Vigor Ballard and the superstructure at the company’s new aluminum

New 109' ATB tug for Kirby.

Foss Maritime

First of four new tugs for Hawaii.

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

Vigor

BOATBUILDING BITTS

Third of four 400-passenger vessels for WETA.

fabrication bay at its 27-acre Harbor Island facility in Seattle. Like its sisterships the Hydrus and Cetus, Argo is an environmentally friendly design by Incat Crowther. The ferry has a service speed of 27 knots and a smooth, quiet ride. The superstructure has 180 independent mounts. The engines and wheelhouse sit on isolation mounts while the gears are hard mounted. The Argo features a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) aftertreatment system developed by Pacific Power Group and is powered by two MTU 12V4000 M64 engines, each putting out 1,950 hp. The Hydrus-class ferries’ mechanical packages from Pacific Power feature emission controls that achieve Tier 4 standards without using diesel particulate filters. Argo’s engines are able to burn biodiesel B5 and thereby further reducing emissions, a high priority for the city of San Francisco. The biggest containership ever built in a U.S. shipyard, the Daniel K. Inouye, was delivered recently to Matson Inc., Honolulu. The company is betting that the ship, the first of four dual-fuel vessels for its Hawaii trade, is the future of U.S. container shipping. Christened June 30 in Philadelphia, the 854', 50,794-dwt vessel has a capacity of 3,600 TEUs and 408 reefer slots. The new containership was built at Philly Shipyard ASA. It is the first of two Aloha-class diesel and liquified natural gas (LNG)-fueled ships being built for Matson at cost of around $418 million for both ships. It will be followed by the second ship and then two of the 870' Kanaloa class, with similar container capacity plus roll-on/roll-off for up to 800 vehicles, by 2020. All will have speeds close to 34 knots. All four ships are part of Matson’s $1 billion investment in its West Coast-Hawaii service. Midship Marine, Harvey, La., has delivered the Ultramar II, the second in a series of high-capacity 160'2"×36'2"×13'2" aluminum catamaran passenger ferries for Mexican operator Ultramar. Designed by Incat Crowther, Ultramar II is specifically designed for the operator’s Playa del Carmen-Cozumel run, offering high capacity, high durability, and a world-class passenger experience for up to 844. The vessel’s fit-out is yachtlike in keeping with Ultramar’s “experience innovation” motto and includes aquarium-themed feature walls and glass pieces, decorative ceilings, multicolor underwater lighting, polished stainless-steel handrails, and high-end entertainment system.

On TheWays Main Iron to build 6,000-hp tractor tug for Bisso

New Bisso tractor tug will feature larger engines, Z-drives and bow winch than the company’s last newbuild, the Liz Healy.

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding

ain Iron Works, Houma, La., has been awarded a contract to build a new 100', 6,008-hp Tier 4-compliant ASD tractor tug for New Orleansbased Bisso Towboat. Construction is scheduled to begin in late summer, with delivery in the fall of 2019. “It will be very similar structurally and from a profile to our last newbuild, Liz Healy, as the vast majority of the changes will be in the engine room for the SCR system and larger Zdrives and a larger bow winch and bow staple to accommodate the increased horsepower/bollard pull,” Scott Slatten, Bisso’s president, said in an email. “Beyond that, we were able to pretty much use our existing design with some minor changes in tankage and the hull.” Main propulsion will come from twin Caterpillar 3516E, Tier 4 diesels, producing 3,004 hp at 1,800 rpm each. The Cats will drive Rolls-Royce US 255FP azimuthing thrusters with 98.4"×94.3" 4-bladed stainless steel props in stainless steel nozzles, giving the new tug a bollard pull of 80 tons. Auxiliary equipment will include a JonRie 240 escort winch, John Deere-powered 99-kw gensets, and a full complement of safety, monitoring and electric equipment. Slatten said upon delivery the new vessel will be the most powerful shipassist tug on the Mississippi River and

New 55' pilot boat is operating in Virginia.

Bisso Towboat

further enhance Bisso’s position as having the largest fleet of ASD tractor tugs serving the Lower Miss ship-assist trade. Capacities for the new tug will include 30,162 gals. of diesel fuel; 1,442 gals. lube oil; 1,442 gals. hydraulic oil; 3,000 gals. urea; and 9,538 gals. potable water. — Ken Hocke

Gladding-Hearn delivers pilot boat to Virginia Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding delivered the Hampton Roads, a 55'×17' pilot boat with a 4.11' draft, to the Virginia Pilots Association in June. C. Raymond Hunt & Associates, New Bedford, Mass., designed the Chesapeake-class MKII pilot boat. Somerset, Mass., based Gladding-

Hearn has built eight pilot boats for the Virginia Pilots since 1983. Two are Chesapeake-class pilot boats. The Hampton Roads is operating out of Virginia Beach, Va., servicing vessels entering and leaving Norfolk, Va., with a power package that gives it “very high propulsion efficiency,” said Peter Duclos, Gladding-Hearn’s president. “This boat uses 25 percent less fuel than propeller boats.” A pair of 700-hp Volvo Penta D13 engines is matched up with Volvo Penta IPS 3 pods. That eliminates the conventional prop, shaft and rudder arrangement in favor of integrating the engine, shafting, exhaust and drive unit into one system with steerable pods having forward facing counter-rotating propellers. Then add the Humphree Interceptor automatic trim tab system that’s integrated into the IPS 3’s control system. The Interceptor trim tabs automatically optimize a boat’s trim at a given speed, though it can be overridden for manual control. In addition, the system’s coordinated turn control adjusts a boat’s heeling angle in a turn. That controls the tightness of a turn. It “makes a better pilot boat,” said Duclos. “It improves how it comes away from a ship. A high-performance boat like this, I wouldn’t buy it without it.” He added that the Humphree system can be matched up with a conventional prop and rudder boat. When making runs out to a vessel

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

Eastern Shipbuilding to construct 5,100-hp tugs for Bisso Offshore

astern Shipbuilding Group, Panama City, Fla., has been awarded a contract from New Orleans-based Bisso Offshore LLC for the construction of a pair of Robert Allan Ltd.-designed RApport 2400 shiphandling tugs. The 80'×38'×13'2" tugs will be designed and built to ABS class and be Coast Guard- certified Subchapter M. Bisso Offshore’s parent, E.N. Bisso & Son Inc., is a longtime customer of Eastern’s. The two new RApport 2400 tugs have been customized by the designer and owner to provide specific operational features while also meeting

Eastern Shipbuilding Group

or back to port, there are five NorSap shock-mitigating reclining seats to accommodate pilots. A crewman staying overnight while the Hampton Roads is in port has a bunk down below, a small refrigerator, microwave, TV and head. Shortly after the Hampton Roads left Somerset, Gladding-Hearn was preparing to deliver a 52' pilot boat for Louisiana’s Associated Branch Pilots on the Mississippi River. Also, a 75' pilot boat is scheduled for delivery to Southeast Alaska in the fall. It will be the first Gladding-Hearn boat for Alaska. Work was just starting on a 70' pilot boat for Louisiana’s Lake Charles Pilots, and a contract was recently signed with New York’s Saint Lawrence Seaway Pilots for a Chesapeake-class pilot boat. The only non-pilot boat in the shipyard’s backlog is a 34-meter high-speed catamaran ferry going to Rhode Island. Another recent delivery from the shipyard was the 88' Glory, a 150-passenger high-speed catamaran ferry for the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. It replaces a ferry built by GladdingHearn in 1997. Behind twin 1,450-hp Caterpillar C-32 main engines, the new passenger vessel has a top speed of 29 knots when fully loaded. The Glory provides commuter service in Boston Harbor. — Michael Crowley

80' tugs will meet Subchapter M requirements.

new Tier 4 and Subchapter M requirements. Main propulsion for the tugs will be provided by two Caterpillar 3512E Tier 4 diesel engines from Louisiana Cat, Reserve, La., producing 2,549 hp at 1,800 rpm each. The Cats will connect to Rolls-Royce US205 P20 Z-drives. Estimated bollard pull for the new tugs is 63 metric tons. Deck equipment will include a Markey Machinery DEPCF-42 HS single-drum 40-hp, render/recovery, line tension display, electric escort hawser winch; Markey CEPB-40 SHP bitt capstan; Washington Chain & Supply 90-ton SWL electric air remote control, manual or remote release tow hook; and Counterfire ES-125-

400, 1,500-gpm at 100 psi. pump and 4" Stang remote controlled fire monitor. Capacities will include 28,000 gals. of fuel; 8,750 gals. water; and 1,700 gals of DEF/urea. Ship’s service power will come from twin John Deere 4045AFM85, Tier 3-powered gensets striking 99-kW of electrical power each. Bisso Offshore currently has a fleet of 18 vessels featuring a mix of seven modern tractor-class/equivalent tugs along with conventional twin-screw tugs. Bisso has taken delivery of four previous Z-drive tugs from Eastern since 2006 — the Josephine Anne, Beverly B., Elizabeth B and Archie T. Higgins. — K. Hocke

BOATBUILDING BITTS Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG), Panama City, Fla., has completed its final critical design review with the Coast Guard for the 360'×54'×17' offshore patrol cutter (OPC) program. The contract includes options for production of up to nine vessels with a potential total value of $2.4 billion. The review between the ESG team and the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security was concluded on June 29. It verified that “the detail design is integrated and internally consistent with the USCG requirements and points towards the exercise of the contract option for construction of the first hull,” ESG said. To be delivered in 2021, the first OPC will be named Argus, company officials said. The new cutter will have a top speed in excess of 22 knots, with a range up to 10,200 nautical miles at 14 knots. The cutters will have endurance for 60-day patrols, carrying an MH-60R or MH65 helicopter and three over-the-horizon cutter boats for high seas interdiction and search and rescue missions. The Ocean Queen Rockstar, the first of six 350-passenger vessels to help NYC Ferry meet ridership demands, arrived in New York City in July. The 97'1"×27'10" Incat Crowther-designed aluminum catamaran was built by Metal Shark at its Franklin, La., shipyard.

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

Big MACC Small boats make big impression at government craft conference.

By Ken Hocke, Senior Editor

he two-day Multi-Agency Craft Conference (MACC) is unlike most workboat industry trade shows. First of all, it’s specifically designed for those who build, design and supply equipment for small craft used by government agencies, especially the Coast Guard and Navy. Secondly, it’s held at the Coast Guard yard in Baltimore. Third, the exhibitor’s floor and conference sessions are all held in a giant, white tent. The first keynote address at the mid-July conference, sponsored by the American Society of Naval Engineers, was delivered by Coast Guard Rear Adm. Michael Haycock, assistant commandant for acquisition and chief acquisition officer. He had some good news for small-boat builders, designers and companies that make the equipment that goes into these boats. “These small boats have to be replaced every five to seven years,” he said. “We literally run them hard and put them up wet.” That means boatyards, naval architects and marine engineers and vendors have a shot at the next round of boats that the Coast Guard is going to need — and the round after that and so on. That demand, which is very strong right now, will continue as long as there is a Coast Guard. Haycock reminded attendees to keep up with all the Coast Guard’s vessel needs by using the following websites: Acquisition Directorate (CG-9) (http://www.dcms.uscg.mil/acquisition), and the Department of Homeland Security’s Procurement Forecast System (http://apfs.dhs.gov), and by contacting the Acquisition Directorate (acquisitionweb@uscg.mil). The Navy needs new boats too. Members of the Navy Boats and Combatant Craft Program Office spoke to packed crowds, with attendance at all conference sessions solid on both days. While the conference program was strong, the most unique feature of MACC is the number of small craft available for attendees to hop onboard and ride on in Curtis Bay. Here are some of the boats that were at this year’s MACC:

AUTONOMOUS PATROL BOAT One of the most popular topics at the conference was the development of autonomous vessels. Government agencies seem to be all in on the new technology that will allow them to complete some of their missions while keeping their most important assets — personnel — out of harm’s way. Reduced personnel also mean reduced costs. Louisiana boatbuilder Metal Shark and autonomous vessel technology developer ASV Global brought one of their Sharktech-equipped 38 Defiant patrol boats to the waterfront. Metal Shark offers Sharktech autonomous technology on its full portfolio of vessels, which range from 16' to over 300' aluminum, steel and composite boats. The autonomous vessels can be custom configured for military, law enforcement, fire rescue, and other commercial markets. www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

Ken Hocke

Metal Shark had the only autonomous vessel at this year’s MACC.

Ken Hocke

The system allows for autonomous or remote operation of navigation and safety lighting, hailers and sirens, pumps, and other components. The system also supports the integration and autonomous or remote operation of a near-infinite range of specialized equipment, including fire pumps, monitors, and other firefighting equipment; hydrographic survey equipment; equipment for acoustic, oceanographic, or meteorological monitoring; and the full spectrum of FLIRs and other specialty cameras. Metal Craft had two of its high-speed Interceptor models on hand.

Beyond simple waypoint navigation or the execution of pre-programmed mission routes, Sharktech’s AS-

View onboard digital control system features dynamic collision avoidance with decision-making capability.

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

ALUMINUM INTERCEPTORS MetalCraft Marine Inc., Kingstown, Ontario, Canada, brought two of its Interceptor patrol/search and rescue boats to MACC — a 10M stealth de37

RESEARCH RIB A 7-meter (22'9") Navy research RIB from Willard Marine, Anaheim, Calif., and Compsys Inc., Melbourne, Fla., is the first boat that uses Prisma preforms. These are lightweight structural components laminated into fiberglass composite structures and advanced single skin designs for the transom and decks to

Ken Hocke

signed (32'10"×9'8") and a 12M wide body (39'×11'6"). Features of both boats include wheelhouses with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning options; center console and T-top configuration availability; foam, air or hybrid D-shaped or full round collar configurations; 6'4" standing headroom

Designers cut the weight of the RIB for the Navy to 3,500 lbs.

help reduce the weight of the vessel. “We reduced the weight to 3,500 pounds, including the engines,” said Mike Canfield, Compsys’s managing director and the RIB’s pilot. “This is the fastest accelerating boat I’ve ever been on.” The lightweight boat is powered by twin 150-hp Evinrude outboards. “These engines are running on Jet A (jet fuel),” Canfield said as he punched

Ken Hocke

in cuddy with optional head, galley and berth; ABYC sightlines and optimized visibility through spotter windows, sound dampened cabin — 76 dB at cruise; removable or hinged dive doors for ease of ingress/egress; rapid deployable platform — from trailer to underway; unrestricted over the road transport availability; and ballistics package with armament foundations availability. “Things have really picked up,” said Christopher Toller, project manager, MetalCraft Marine, from the wheelhouse of the 10M Interceptor. “We’re happy with the way things are going.” The 10M boat at MACC featured twin Evinrude 300-hp outboards, giving the boat a top speed 45 to 58 knots, and the 12M Interceptor had a pair of Mercury 350 outboards on its tail, giving the patrol boat a top speed of 40 to 50 knots. “There’s a level of confidence that you can run them hard, but you know you’ll get home,” said Toller.

the boat up on plane. “Of course, the Navy wants everything to run on diesel going forward, so we’ll do that.” Earlier models of a similar boat used an inboard engine. “The outboards are better for a number of reasons, primarily if one engine goes down you have another one to get home on. If the inboard goes down, you’re stuck,” he said. “That’s really important if you’re on a mission in dangerous surroundings.” In addition, if an outboard engine fails, it can be replaced inside an hour. “If an inboard fails, replacing it takes hours,” said Canfield. MULTIMISSION INTERCEPTOR Safe Boats International’s 35 Multimission Interceptor (MMI) looks like a boat one might see in a James Bond movie. The boat at MACC was black and carried a 3HD Seakeeper stabilization unit. It was very popular with MACC attendees. There was often a group waiting on the dock to board while the boat was going through its paces in the bay with another group. The aluminum boat measures 35'×10' and is powered by three Mercury Verado 350 outboards that give it a top speed of 55 knots and a cruising speed of 35 knots. Several attendees commented about how smoothly the boat’s tail swings around in a high-speed turn. The MMI, which weighs 5,961 lbs. with people, fuel and cargo, is designed to handle high velocity maneuvers and cornering performance challenges

Safe Boats' Interceptor model has a top speed of over 55 knots.

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

POWER FORWARD

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SEA RIB As a stand-alone group headquartered in Paris, Zodiac Milpro says it makes sea RIBs “for those who work on the water.” The company sent its SRR-750 7.4 m (24'3")×2.9 m (9'6") RIB to MACC, powered by a pair of 150-hp Mercury

Ken Hocke

in close proximity to other vessels in addition to high-speed, open ocean transits. It features an aft-mounted SHOXS TRAXS system that allows the operator to configure the boat in several different ways depending on the mission. Other noticeable features include an ergonomically designed helm with navigation suite, optional gun mount foundations, secure gun storage, foam collar system, raised debarking platform, and open T-top design with 360° view. The Zodiac model at MACC was powered by twin 150-hp outboards.

outboards. The SRR is fitted with a slide-on collar, integrated fuel tank, steering, fuel and electric cable paths and storage lockers. Most of the SRRs have a self-draining deck and can be arranged in a number of different con-

figurations. Zodiac says it has more than 20,000 boats in daily use around the world. It has a wide range of off-the-shelf boats available but can also custom-build for the client.

TOWED SENSOR MAST PLATFORM EXPANDS NAVY’S LINE OF SIGHT here was a lot of talk about unmanned vessels and artificial intelligence at the recent Multi-Agency Craft Conference (MACC) in Baltimore. The Navy has an unmanned ship it calls an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) continuous trail unmanned vessel (ACTUV) that tracks quiet diesel electric-powered submarines. Two years ago, the Maritime Applied Physics Corp. (MAPC), working under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract, developed, fabricated and tested a Towed Airborne Lift of Naval Systems (TALONS) platform. TALONS is capable of towing payload systems to altitudes of 1,000' or more while maintaining wired bidirectional communications with the ship and powering the payload via the tether. The TALONS platform was installed on the stern of the ACTUV for testing. In effect, the system is a stabilized 1,000' tall ship mast, capable of performing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), communications relay, and more from large or small vessels. It looks similar to those parasails that are pulled behind a boat at the beach, only that TALONS haul line-of-sight radio equipment, instead of beachgoers. The TALONS prototype started out from its “nest.” After expanding its parachute, it climbed to an altitude of 1,000', where it tested its onboard sensors and communications equipment. Once the test was complete, the prototype reeled itself back in to the nest. The entire process took place as the ACTUV vehicle maneuvered at operationally realistic speeds. The demonstration took place over two days with 90

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

DARPA’s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) continuous trail unmanned vessel (ACTUV) towing a prototype of a low-cost, elevated sensor mast developed through the agency’s Towed Airborne Lift of Naval Systems (TALONS) research effort. minutes of flight each day. “This platform delivers line of sight expansion to maritime assets,” Justin Klag, assistant department manager, naval architecture, Gibbs & Cox, Arlington, Va., told an audience at MACC. “We’re trying to find out how to look beyond the horizon.” Towed behind boats or ships, TALONS could persistently carry ISR and communications payloads of up to 150 lbs. between 500' and 1,500' in altitude — many times higher than current ships’ masts — and greatly extend the equipment’s range and effectiveness, said Klag, adding that whatever the altitude, the parachute is not an impediment to the vessel. Testing of the TALONS platform continues on other Navy ships. — K. Hocke

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LNG ConRo Ships

El Coquí at the Isla Grande Terminal in San Juan.

Sister Act By Ken Hocke, Senior Editor

rowley Maritime Corp.’s new 720'×105'×59' container/roll on-roll off (ConRo) ship El Coquí delivered its first cargo in late July, shortly after its delivery from VT Halter Marine. Besides a full load of dry cargo containers, the inaugural cargo from Jacksonville, Fla., to Crowley’s upgraded Isla Grande Terminal in San Juan, Puerto Rico, also included automobiles, trucks and SUVs, as well as refrigerated (reefer) containers for produce. The El Coquí was designed by Wärtsilä Ship Design with project management from Crowley’s solutions group, which includes naval architects and engineers from subsidiary Jensen Maritime, Seattle. Its sistership, the Taíno, is currently undergoing final topside construction and testing

at VT Halter in Pascagoula, Miss., before it enters service in the Jones Act trade later this year. “The initial ro-ro model and equipment had served the route admirably during their tenure since the 1970s, and it was time to look at recapitalizing the service,” said Cole Cosgrove, vice president, Crowley global ship management. “Crowley also wanted to meet or exceed current and future emissions and environmental requirements.” “The ship’s reduced transit time complements major investments in technology and other infrastructure upgrades to our terminals that make it easier and quicker for our trucking partners to access our terminals for cargo moves,” Frank Larkin, a senior vice president and general manager with Crowley, said in a statement. www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

Crowley Maritime

New ConRo ships upgrade Jones Act trade to Puerto Rico.

Crowley Maritime

LNG FUEL The El Coquí and Taíno feature dualfuel engines that use liquefied natural gas (LNG). Crowley acquired Carib Energy five years ago and began to establish business relationships throughout the Caribbean for its soon to be approved DOE license for LNG export. “After a joint meeting of Carib Energy and our marine operations group with a potential client, the conversation shifted to the new ships and the idea that we could utilize LNG as a primary fuel was developed,” said Cosgrove. Soon after, Crowley gave the go ahead to develop the first combination container/roll-on roll-off vessel in the world. Each of the ships is powered by a single MAN 8S70ME-GI marine engine, producing 35,054 hp at 91 rpm. Running speed is 22 knots. Fueling the ships with LNG reduces emissions significantly, including a 100% reduction

Taíno being launched at VT Halter in Pascagoula, Miss.

in sulphur oxide (SOx) and particulate matter (PM), and a 92% cut in nitrogen oxide (NOx). Also, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will be cut by more than 35% per container, compared with current fossil fuels, Crowley said. The initial design concept did not

call for the least expensive option, but instead what met current and known future emissions requirements while providing the most environmentally friendly operation, Cosgrove said. “Dual fuel engines were new to say the least. There were really only two

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LNG ConRo Ships

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manufacturers capable of providing dual fuel engines with the necessary horsepower we needed for the service speed we required,” he said. “We studied the proposals from both very carefully looking at each element of the total cost of ownership.” Crowley considered several factors such as the complexity of the engine install, purchase price, warranty, design

concept, maintenance and repair, parts and service support, emissions control, fuel consumption and more. “This process took several weeks during the design stage. That effort paid off, and ultimately we have delivered one of the most technically advanced vessels in the world with cutting edge automation and LNG control systems,” said Cosgrove. “A pure diesel solution

Fueling the ships with LNG will reduce emissions significantly, Crowley officials say.

may have been less upfront cost in terms of design and initial build, but long-term costs associated with additional emissions hardware needed to make diesel vessels compliant for 2020 and beyond, we felt justified [in going with] the higher initial investment in LNG.” In April, Crowley loaded about 410,000 gals. of LNG onto 41 trailers and drove them to VT Halter. Each trailer load took about an hour to empty into El Coquí’s fuel tanks. Once the loading was complete, the ship’s cryogenic, vacuum-insulated system kept the LNG at a temperature of approximately -260°F until it was needed. Now Crowley gets its LNG trucked to its bunkering facility at Jaxport, Florida’s largest container port complex. CAPABILITIES El Coquí and Taíno are able to transport up to 2,400 TEUs (20-footequivalent units) and a mix of nearly

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www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

EL COQUÍ, TAÍNO

Crowley Maritime

SPECIFICATIONS

A Man 8S70ME-GI marine engine being installed in the El Coquí at VT Halter.

Crowley Maritime

400 cars and larger vehicles in the enclosed, ventilated and weather-tight ro-ro decks. The container sizes and types the ships can handle range from 20' standard, to 53'×102" high-capacity units, as well as up to 300 refrigerated containers. “The diverse cargo carrying capabilities, as well as the ability to carry in-demand 53-foot containers, means that these high-performing ships will greatly benefit customers shipping goods between the mainland and the island,” said John Hourihan, senior vice president and general manager, Puerto Rico services. “Cargo for businesses and consumers will be able to dependably reach markets at peak time, whether it is dry, refrigerated or breakbulk, such as vehicles and other rolling stock.” The ships are specifically designed for the Puerto Rico service providing some of the fastest delivery times available in the market on the types of cargo Crowley’s customers demand, said Cosgrove.

“The legacy service provided for movement of 53' by 102" intermodal trailers that later were replaced by container on chassis of the same size,” he said. “This is the standard intermodal container unit for the U.S. market, and the carriage of these units above and below deck is a must for the [Puerto Rico] service. In addition, the vessel carries a mix of 20-, 40-, and 45-foot equipment in addition to handling power for over 300 refrigerated containers.” Also, with the ships’ completely enclosed and ventilated vehicle decks, the company has a unique feature in the trade — a capacity to transport 400 vehicles and equipment, Cosgrove added. El Coquí’s first run in July is part of an overall upgrade of Crowley’s Puerto Rico service. In San Juan, Crowley is utilizing three new, ship-to-shore gantry cranes at its Isla Grande Terminal that speeds up vessel unloading. The cranes are the first new, specialized gantry cranes in San Juan Harbor in more than five decades. The cranes

One of the first container loads being placed in the El Coquí at Jaxport.

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

Builder: VT Halter Marine Designer: Jensen Maritime Owner: Crowley Maritime Corp. Mission: Container/ro-ro service between Jacksonville, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico Length: 720' Beam: 105' Depth: 59' Draft: 31' Deadweight Tonnage: 26,500 Main Propulsion: MAN 8S70ME-GI, 26,160 kW (35,054 hp) at 91 rpm Speed: 22 knots Thruster: Wärtsilä tunnel, 2,000 hp Ship’s Service Power: (3) MAN 9L28/32DF, 1,800 kW Propeller: 328"x291", 5-bladed Controls: Siemens Steering System: Rolls-Royce RV26003, Becker flap rudder Crew: 30 Capacities: 2,400 TEUs; 400 vehicles (approx..); 300 reefer plugs; 2,288 M3 LNG; 2,003 M3 ultra low sulfur marine gas oil; 128 M3 lube oil; and 310 M3 fresh water Classification/Certification: Det Norske Veritas (DNV) classed Maltese Cross A1 General Cargo Carrier, CONTAINER, RO/RO, NAUTICUS (Newbuilding), GAS FUELED, DG-P, BIS, TMON, BWM-T, EO, NAUT-OC, CLEAN Delivery Date: El Coquí, July 2018; Taíno, 2018

complement a new 900'×114' concrete pier at Isla Grande. The ConRo ships were among the largest and most sophisticated ships ever built by VT Halter and are the first two vessels to be built to this particular arrangement and hull form. For Halter, the ships continue a relationship with Crowley that began in the late 1990s with the construction of a pair of ATB units. In addition to the El Coquí, Halter has delivered 12 tugs and 15 barges to Crowley, and performed repair and conversion services. 45

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Wendy Jalbert (207) 842-5616 wjalbert@divcom.com 51

LOOKS BACK SEPTEMBER 1948

• Shipyards and boatbuilders that build vessels for the inland waterways transport industry were credited this month with selling their steel requirements to the Commerce Department’s Office of Industry Cooperation, coming away with an allocation of 20,000 tons a month for the fourth quarter of 1948. The shipyards presented their recommendations at a

Washington hearing on Aug. 5. Chester C. Thompson of the American Waterways Operators said they were pleased with the results. It was significant, he said, that inland water carriers now have official government recognition as an essential industry, entitled to share fully in the voluntary scheme of allocating steel and steel products. During the war, Thompson said, the industry never

SEPTEMBER 1958

• The Star and Crescent Boat Co., San Diego, expects to take delivery this fall of a new 110', oceangoing tugboat from San Diego Marine Construction Co. Powered by a pair of Detroit GM quad engines, the vessel will have an estimated cruising range of over 4,400 miles. Each quad engine consists of four 6-71E diesels coupled to a single output shaft. Each shaft will turn a 70"×40" propeller, SEPTEMBER 1968 giving the • A bill to unify and consolidate the rules for navigation on U.S. waters has been introduced by U.S. Rep. Edward A. Garmatz, D-Md. The companion bill in the Senate was introduced by Sen. Warren Magnuson, D-Wash., in midJuly. The proposed legislation would consolidate the three sets of Rules of the Road: Western Rivers, Inland Waters and the Great Lakes. 52

achieved this goal and boatbuilders had to scramble for steel plates, shapes and other gear. Voluntary steel allocations and a few other basic materials was authorized under the Taft anti-inflation law of November 1947.

tug a cruising speed of 13 knots. • Peterson Builders Inc., Sturgeon Bay, Wis., was awarded a $3.6 million contract from the Navy to build a 171' non-magnetic ocean minesweeper. Construction is expected to begin in the fall.

• At the recent meeting of the National Waterways Conference, C.H. Vescelius, NWC’s chairman, said that proposed legislation on taxing fuel for shallow-draft vessels is “inflationary.” The tax, he said, could eventually add 25% to 50% to the cost of water transportation. The proposed tax would reportedly start at 2 cents a gallon and increase to 10 cents over five years. www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2018 • WorkBoat

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Duramax® Plate Heat Exchanger

It is available in a one-piece braised or two-piece modular design

In-hull system can be easily expanded to re-power or cool multiple heat sources.

for easier handling.

www.DuramaxMarine.com Duramax Marine® is an ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

Products And Knowledge You Trust

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PROPELLING

EXCELLENCE

“Karl Senner’s products and services are unmatched in meeting the rigorous demands of our vessels and operation. Reliability is key.” – Jim Barker, President | Seastreak, LLC

The M/V Seastreak Commodore is now servicing New Jersey, New York City, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

Owner: Seastreak Shipyard: Gulf Craft, LLC Naval Architect: Incat Crowther

Karl Senner, LLC supplied 4x REINTJES WVS 730 reverse reduction gearboxes that allow for back-flushing the waterjets. These gearboxes utilize light-weight aluminum housings, diagonal offsets, and robust gearing ideal for a high speed catamaran with high operating hours.

Karl Senner, LLC proudly represents: