On the Ways

CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY AT WORKBOAT YARDS Blount Boats delivers buoy tender/ icebreaker to Maryland

Blount Boats Inc., Warren, R.I., delivered the steelhulled 94'×27'×10' buoy tender/icebreaker Eddie Somers in May to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The boat, designed by BMT Designers & Planners Inc., Arlington, Va., has a 4'6" draft and a 157-LT displacement.

The boat will serve as the primary icebreaking asset for Crisfield Harbor and Smith Island, in addition to placing buoys and performing additional functions.

“As with the (J. Millard) Tawes, the Somers will also be a lifeline to Smith Island when the waters surrounding it freeze over, with the boat clearing a path for supply and shuttle boats,” said Julie Blount, the shipyard’s executive vice president. “By cooperative agreement with Virginia through the U.S. Coast Guard, the Somers will also provide the service to Tangier Island in Virginia when requested. During heavy ice seasons, all food, fuel, medicine, and emergency transport going to and from the islands are supplied by the vessel.”

Main propulsion comes from twin Cummins QSK19, Tier 3 diesel engines, producing 750 hp at 1,800 rpm, supplied by Cummins Northeast. The mains hook up with Michigan Wheel 42"×27", 5-bladed nibral props through Twin Disc MGX-5202SC marine gears with 2.48:1 reduction ratios. The propellers come from New England Propeller and the gears from North Atlantic Power Products. The propulsion package gives the new boat a running speed of 10 knots (loaded) at 1,650 rpm and a top speed of 12 knots.

Ship’s service power is the responsibility of two Cummins Onan gensets, producing 55 kW of electrical power each. The steering system is a Jastrom B2-76-400-1-35 and the controls are Twin Disc EC300s (three stations).

Tankage includes 1,987 gals. of fuel and 1,000 gals. fresh water.

The electronics suite was supplied by Cay Electronics, while on deck the boat is fitted with a MERCAL FL20T4 knuckle boom crane.

The Eddie Somers is built to ABS standards and is Coast Guard certified, Subchapter T. — Ken Hocke

The boat will serve as the primary icebreaking asset for Crisfield Harbor and Smith Island in Maryland.

45' research vessel for New Jersey built by Delaware Bay Ship Building

Delaware Bay Ship Building, Leesburg, N.J., recently delivered the 45'×15'6"×6'4" aluminum research vessel Explorer to Research Vessel Explorer LLC, Rustin Cassway, Cape May, N.J.

With a 58" draft and a deadweight tonnage of 50,000, the new shipwreck research and salvage vessel was designed, built, and commissioned to be the “best shipwreck exploration vessel for a private client ever made,” said Capt. Rustin Cassway, one of Research Vessel Explorer’s managing partners. The vessel lines were developed by Mike LeMole of LeMole Naval Engineering, Tuckahoe, N.J., and then put into 3-D by Stephen Pollard of Specmar Inc., St. Helens, Ore.

The Explorer went from initial welding to completion in under 12 months and is currently engaged in shipwreck exploration on a weekly basis, including working with families to give them

Research Vessel Explorer LLC, Rustin Cassway

45' aluminum research vessel.

closure on the sinking of a submarine in 1920 and working with the Air Force to nd a plane lost in 1962. “Next year, we will be working with some people from Italy on the Andrea Doria site.” (The Italian ocean liner sank in 1956, killing 46 passengers. More than 1,700 passengers were rescued.)

The Explorer’s main propulsion comes from twin Cummins QSM-11 diesel engines, producing 670 hp at 2,300 rpm each. The mains connect to Acme 32"×33" wheels through ZF VEE drives with 2.037:1 reduction ratios. The propulsion package gives the new research vessel a top speed of 27 knots.

For additional maneuverability, the Explorer was tted with a Kobelt KP10A-H-TH 10” thruster unit.

BOATBUILDING BITTS

In July, TOTE Services LLC and Philly Shipyard Inc. celebrated the cutting of steel for the third national security multimission vessel (NSMV) destined for the Maine Maritime Academy. The 524’×88.6’ NSMVs will have drafts of 24.6', speeds of 18 knots, and berths for 760 people. The Maritime Administration’s (Marad) NSMV program will provide purpose-built, state-of-the-art training platforms for state maritime academies in New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Texas and California. In addition to providing world-class training for future U.S. mariners, these fi ve NSMVs will be available to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions in times of need. The third NSMV is contracted for delivery to Maine Maritime, Castine, Maine, by the end of 2024.

Austal USA has been awarded a contract worth a potential $3.3 billion for the detail design and construction of up to 11 360’ off shore patrol cutters (OPC) for the Coast Guard. The award marks Austal USA’s fi rst Coast Guard acquisition program and follows the company’s recent award of their fi rst competitive steel shipbuilding contract, the Navy’s auxiliary fl oating drydock medium (AFDM).

The OPC program is the Coast Guard’s highest investment priority.

Philly Shipyard

524' multimission vessel for Maine Maritime.

It will recapitalize the aging endurance cutters and provide a capability bridge between the service’s national security cutters (NSC) which operate in the open ocean and the fast response cutters which operate closer to shore. Austal USA will build the OPC using its ship manufacturing processes and production methods that incorporate lean manufacturing principles, modular construction, and moving assembly lines in the company’s new enclosed steel production facility. The OPCs will provide a major off shore presence for the Coast Guard’s cutter

fl eet and will be capable of conducting a variety of missions including law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, and search and rescue. With a range of 10,200 nautical miles at 14 knots and a 60-day endurance period, each OPC will be capable of deploying independently or as part of task groups and serving as a mobile command and control platform for surge operations such as hurricane response, mass-migration incidents and other events. The cutters will also support Arctic objectives by helping regulate and protect commerce and energy exploration in Alaska.

Master Boat Builders Inc. will build a fourth new tugboat at its Coden, Ala., shipyard for Bay Houston Towing Co., Houston. Master Boat currently has three tugs under construction of a diff erent design for Bay Houston. Robert Allan Ltd. designed the tugboat, which will meet Coast Guard Subchapter M regulations and be classed through the American Bureau of Shipping. The 98’6”×42.6” tug will produce a bollard pull of over 52 metric tonnes. It will feature two Caterpillar main engines (3516E), EPA Tier 4 certifi ed and each producing 3,500 hp, along with two Schottel Z-drive thrusters (SRP 510FP), and a Markey Machinery bow winch (DEPCF-48). Master Boat will build an almost identical new tug for Houstonbased Suderman & Young Towing Co. The new tug was also designed by Robert Allan and will have the same bollard pull, meet the same Subchapter M regulatory demands, and feature the same Cat 3516Es, Schottel Z-drive thrusters, and Markey Machinery bow winch.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced recently that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been awarded a cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for engineering and design from the Navy for the next-generation guided-missile destroyer (DDG(X)) program. Ingalls Shipbuilding is a major contractor and shipbuilding partner in the Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) program that has been in production for three decades. Arleigh Burkeclass destroyers are multimission ships that can provide off ensive and defensive capabilities and can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection.

In May, Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corp., delivered a new 42'6" pilot boat, Huron Pride, to the Lakes Pilots Association, Port Huron, Mich. The Resilient-class high-speed launch is the Lake Pilots’ third boat built by the Somerset, Mass.-based shipyard since 1979. Designed by Ray Hunt Design, the jet-driven, all-aluminum launch measures 42’6”×13’ and has a 2’6” draft. The deep-V hull features a steep 24° deadrise at the transom that increases to a very fi ne entry forward. A fl at chine and multiple spray-rails provide an effi cient running surface and defl ect spray away from the collar to produce a dryer ride and reduce collar maintenance. The perimeter of the launch is fi tted with a large foam-collar fendering system. A heavy-duty pipe guard is installed across the transom, along with a platform above the launch’s waterjets.

Fincantieri Marine Group’s former general manager, Marco Galbiati, became its new CEO effective July 6. Former CEO Dario Deste will remain with the company as president.

Master Boat Builders

98'6" tugs will have a bollard pull of 52 metric tonnes.

Gladding-Hearn

42'6" pilot boat for the Lakes Pilots Association, Port Huron, Mich.

THEPACIFICNORTHWEST'S FULLSERVICESHIPYARD

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360.417.0709 www.platypusmarine.com

The steering system is made up of Burkhardt Welding rudders, two Vickers hydraulic pumps, Kobelt rams, and Char Lynn helm. Controls are the responsibility of Glen Denning.

Tankage includes 600 gals. of fuel, 100 gals. water, and 14 gals. hydraulic uid.

The electronics suite features three Garmin chart plotters, cameras, 48mile radar, auto pilot, and Zipwake trim tabs.

Ancillary equipment includes Coltri 5000 PSI scuba compressor, Pal nger PC-2300 crane and hydraulic bow winch.

The boat is USCG approved OUPV (six-pack license) and was delivered in June. — K. Hocke

AUT-TECH-AMS delivers new switch barge to Michigan

AUT-TECH-AMS has delivered a 28'×8'6"×3' switch/ transportable barge to Switch Barge LLC, Oxford, Mich. The new barge, Switch Barge, is expandable for easy deployment to lakes, rivers, or emergency services, and has an 18" draft and weighs 13,000 lbs.

Switch Barge was started, “to provide service capabilities of marine construction on inland lakes and sheltered coastal waters which include but are not limited to, seawall construction and maintenance, permanent dock building, rip rap and shoreline retention,” said one of the company’s owners, Dan Dendel.

The narrow design allows Switch Barge to access dif cult to reach areas. “With an initial beam of 8'6" and draft of 18" the switch barge is an ideal vessel for shallow workspaces and natural disaster recovery areas,” said Dendel. “Switch Barge can be brought into areas that other barges or emergency vehicles cannot reach because of varying water levels.”

Once stationed, Switch Barge can be deployed out to 20' in width, supplying adequate load space and stability for

Switch Barge LLC

Switch Barge can be deployed out to 20' in width for added stability.

crane operation.

Main propulsion comes from a single 115-hp Honda outboard, and the barge’s service power is the responsibility of a 37-hp Kohler genset. Switch Barge is also tted with Fassi controls and a hydraulic power steering system. The barge has a running speed of 17 knots.

The barge also features a 12'×20' rear cargo deck and accommodations for a crew of four. The Switch Barge was delivered in November. — K. Hocke

Offshore wind = jobs for American mariners

With 25 different vessels & 74 occupations needed to build a wind farm, offshore wind’s growth in America means job opportunities for America’s maritime industries.

Learn about these opportunities at ACP’s Offshore WINDPOWER Conference October 18 – 19 in Providence, RI

REGISTER AT: cleanpower.org/offshore