WorkBoat October 2017

Drones • Icebreakers • Welding ®

IN BUSINESS ON THE COASTAL AND INLAND WATERS

OCTOBER 2017

Players

Competition is fierce for newbuild projects.

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SAFETY | SERVICE | SOLUTIONS

8/30/17 9:04 AM

ON THE COVER

®

The tug Gladys B at VT Marine. Photo by Ken Hocke OCTOBER 2017 • VOLUME 74, NO. 10

FEATURES 28 Focus: High Flyers Marine drones are increasingly being used on the inland waterways, at shipyards and offshore.

34 Vessel Report: Thawed Out Support is building for a new U.S. icebreaker fleet.

44 Cover Story: Tug-of-War The battle for newbuild contracts among shipyards has become more and more competitive.

BOATS & GEAR 38 On the Ways

28

• Horizon Shipbuilding delivers 6,772-hp Z-drive tug to McAllister • Great Lakes Shipyard delivers first of 10 Damen 2,000-hp tugs • GladdingHearn delivers ninth St. John’s-class pilot boat to Louisiana pilots • St. Johns Ship Building launches landing craft for the Bahamas • Marine Group Boat Works builds new 38' yard tug for General Dynamics/ NAASCO • Superstructure for fourth Olympic-class ferry for Washington State Ferries arrives at Vigor Seattle • Austal christens 18th LCS at its Mobile, Ala., shipyard • The Shearer Group awarded design contract for a 500-passenger, 70-car ferry for Galveston, Texas

50 Imperfect Weld Shipyards continue to search for skilled welders.

AT A GLANCE 8 8 9 10 12 14 16

On the Water: Seat-of-the-pants piloting — Part II. Captain’s Table: An independent voice for small business.

Energy Level: The post-Harvey recovery.

WB Stock Index: Stocks increase 1% in August.

Inland Insider: Chemical production boosts barges.

Insurance Watch: The hull builders’ risk policy.

Legal Talk: The legal significance of a release.

NEWS LOG 18 18 20 20 24 26

Harvey closes Texas ports, affects offshore energy production.

Barge companies seek regulatory relief.

Oregon tour boat captain’s license suspended.

TOTE to launch new domestic shipping service to Hawaii.

Coast Guard clamps down on illegal charters in Chicago.

Tow sets record for tallest, heaviest on Hudson River.

www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

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50 DEPARTMENTS

2 Editor’s Watch

6 Mail Bag 54 Port of Call 59 Advertisers Index 60 WB Looks Back

1

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Challenging times

F

or shipyards navigating through the current choppy market, geography and diversification often dictate how well they are doing.

Yards in the Gulf with close ties to the offshore and inland markets are feeling the effects of sluggish demand from two sectors with equipment overhangs. Gulf yards have seen the supply of newbuild contracts from these sectors dry up in recent years. As a result, it’s a dogfight out there, with yards having to be more aggressive and flexible.

For some that may mean bidding for both government and commercial contracts, and building in both steel and aluminum.

In our annual cover story on shipyards that begins on page 44, Senior Editor Ken Hocke talked to shipyards from around the U.S. about the state of the market. All admit that it is a challenging time for the shipyard industry, with yards in the Gulf of Mexico, the heart of the offshore energy industry, facing the most challenges.

“To give you an example of how competitive it is in the Gulf, there’s an owner who wants to build five new small barges, and bids went out to 18 shipyards for that project,” Dan Conrad of Conrad Shipyard in Morgan City, La., told WorkBoat. While the company is doing OK, Conrad said that more than ever it’s “a waiting game.”

Out West, for the most part, yards are doing better than their Gulf peers, but that doesn’t mean everything is rosy.

At Vigor, CEO Frank Foti said it’s been a challenging market, one with “depressed opportunities.”

Conrad and Vigor are two of the lucky ones, boasting fairly strong

David Krapf, Editor in Chief

backlogs. Another yard with a diverse orderbook that has bucked the trend on the Gulf Coast is Eastern Shipbuilding Group.

The Florida Panhandle yard, which is currently wrapping up its final OSV contracts, was a big beneficiary of the post-Deepwater Horizon building boom offshore. The yard was diverse before, but now boasts contracts ranging from Coast Guard cutters to tugs to towboats.

Eastern said they learned their lesson back in 1986 and have since diversified. The hope now is that shipyards have followed Eastern’s lead.

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 17

by Diversified Business Communications.

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PUBLISHER

Jerry Fraser jfraser@divcom.com

EDITOR IN CHIEF

David Krapf dkrapf@divcom.com

SENIOR EDITOR

Ken Hocke khocke@divcom.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Kirk Moore kmoore@divcom.com Capt. Alan Bernstein • Bruce Buls • Michael Crowley • Dale K. DuPont • Pamela Glass • Max Hardberger • Kevin Horn • Joel Milton • Bill Pike • Kathy Bergren Smith

Dylan Andrews

ART DIRECTOR

PUBLISHING OFFICES

Main Office: 121 Free St., P.O. Box 7438 • Portland, ME 04112-7438 • (207) 842-5608 • Fax: (207) 842-5609

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PROJECT MANAGER Wendy Jalbert 121 Free St., P.O. Box 7438 • Portland, ME 04112-7438 (207) 842-5616 • Fax: (207) 842-5611

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EXPOSITIONS (207) 842-5508 • Fax: (207) 842-5509 Producers of The International WorkBoat Show, WorkBoat Maintenance & Repair Conference and Expo, and Pacific Marine Expo www.workboatshow.com

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Agrees with Bernstein column on life vests

I

am writing about Capt. Alan Bernstein’s column in the August issue of WorkBoat about racing shells and PFDs (“Life vests and racing shells”).

I operate an inspected passenger vessel and I’m also a recreational boater.

I don’t always agree with some of Capt. Bernstein’s positions about recreational boaters, as I have had my share of issues with commercial vessels as well, even while operating a commercial vessel. However, I totally agree with his August column on PFDs and rowing shells. How someone can say with a straight face that shells should be given an exemption for PFDs is mind-boggling.

If I go out on an inflatable toy raft just off the shore while swimming, I need to have a PFD (but if I get out of the raft I don’t need a PFD, go figure).

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Enjoyed cover story on Bay Shipbuilding

I

loved the cover story article about the former Bay Shipbuilding Company in the August issue (“Italian Stallion,” page 34).

I grew up in Green Bay and would bike up to Sturgeon Bay to see what was being built. It was a neat trip as a kid. One current family member works there now and a great uncle worked at the shipyard in Manitowoc during World War II. They built minesweepers for the Navy. It was one of the few places that could still build really large wood vessels. Keep up the great work.

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I see shells out on cold water and no requirement for a PFD? The small power boat that accompanies shells is not large enough to accommodate all the rowers in an incident, assuming they all stay above water long enough to be picked up.

A long time ago, in an organized racing practice on very cold water, I capsized the dinghy I was sailing. I had a PFD on the boat, but I was not wearing it. There was no way I was going to be able to get to it once I hit that cold water. The coach boat didn’t immediately notice that I was in the water and was quite a ways away with some other boats. A powerboat from another club saw me and came over and yanked me out of the water. If not for them, I’m not sure I would still be here.

Assuming that a chase boat is going to be able to save someone in the water who isn’t wearing a PFD, at least in cold water, is just not a good assumption.

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On the Water

Seat-of-the-pants piloting — Part II

I

By Joel Milton

Joel Milton works on towing vessels.

He can be reached at joelmilton@ yahoo.com.

closed last month’s column stating that the Inland Navigation Rules don’t adequately address all of the real-life situations that we face. The rules do not always provide a specific answer or specific directions to follow for each circumstance.

As an example, I cited a common scenario: A ferry crossing dense and varied recreational vessel traffic in Eastern Long Island, N.Y., under Inland Rules. Under such circumstances, ferry captains, or anyone else, do what they have to do to avoid collisions when confronted with the challenge of “safely” navigating through heavy, chaotic swarms of small pleasure craft.

As I wrote last month, this is easier said then done, especially at night.

Good luck with getting a legally acceptable definition of doing what you have to do. But that scenario is, in a general sense, addressed in the rules by the term “special circumstances,” tucked into the middle of COLREGS Rule 2(b). What, in

Captain’s Table

Advocating for small business

I

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.

8

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n August, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy held three public meetings in Ohio and Kentucky to hear about problems small businesses have with federal regulations.

The Office of Advocacy is an independent voice for small business within the federal government.

It is a rare example of a federal office that often “pushes back” when others seek to expand rules and regulations. The Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) and the Office of Advocacy have had a good relationship over the years. As a result, the SBA requested that PVA make a presentation at the Cincinnati meeting. My company, BB Riverboats, Newport, Ky., was chosen to participate.

We addressed the issues we have with the federal government, including: • Transportation Security Administration. TSA requires mariners and others on PVA vessels to hold a TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential). This is a waste of company time and money for our employees.

Rule 2(b), exactly qualifies as a special circumstance? That can be slippery. But depending on the exact circumstances, a situation where there is a risk of collision involving more than two vessels may qualify. Again, “may” should not to be confused with “will.”

Operators, and movements of recreational vessels, are unpredictable under the best of circumstances. A prudent mariner will, to the greatest extent possible, prepare for dangerous ignorance and actions that may result from it. Specifically, that maddening tendency to randomly and repeatedly alter course and/or speed for no logical reason, which often makes it impossible to follow the normal prudent steps of taking early action to eliminate the risk of collision.

Which is where the old tugboater’s adage of “Don’t turn ’til you see the whites of their eyes!” comes from. The sound practical logic being that despite the extremely close quarters, you’re much more likely to be able to avoid them when there’s little or no room left in which they can change their minds again.

This informal “rule” came from hawser tugs towing astern, but it can be used by almost anyone when needed.

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA). My company falls under the jurisdiction of the FDA because we occasionally sail across state lines.

This subjects us to unnecessary expensive mandates. We already comply with sanitation and food requirements of the Kentucky Board of Health.

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Vessel General Permit requires paperwork and duties that don’t really contribute to environmental protection.

• U.S. Coast Guard. Requiring non-tank vessel response plans for riverboats that carry limited amounts of fuel doesn’t make sense. It’s silly to impose the same requirements on smaller vessels that are placed on containerships or oil tankers.

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The lengthy process to obtain a permit to work on docks and other shore side installations discourages small businesses from expanding their operations.

• U.S. Department of Justice. Complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is difficult for older vessels.

The Office of Advocacy has no direct authority over other federal agencies, but can intervene with them on our behalf. With federal regulations, small businesses need all the allies they can get. www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

9/5/17 6:05 PM

WORKBOAT GOM INDICATORS

OSV Day Rates

The post-Harvey recovery

By Bill Pike

WTI Crude Oil (spot) Baker Hughes Rig Count IHS OSV Utilization U.S. Oil Production (millions bpd)

50.21 23 25.5% 9.4*

Aug. '17 Aug. '16 46.40 17 25.9% 9.5*

44.68 17 26.7% 8.7

*Estimated

GOM Rig Count 25 20 15

8/16 8/17

10 5 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

• Once safety concerns are addressed, operators will send assessment crews to offshore facilities to physically assess the facilities for damage.

• If facilities are undamaged and ancillary facilities like pipelines are undamaged and ready to accept shipments, operators will begin restarting

www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

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July '17

46.02 21 22.3% 9.1

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

H

urricane Harvey unleashed its fury on the Texas coast in August, causing substantial damage to offshore and onshore oil and gas infrastructure.

Efforts by industry to better prepare for hurricanes led to the 2008 publication by the American Petroleum Institute (API) of an update to RP (Recommended Practice) 2SK, “Design and Analysis of Station-Keeping Systems for Floating Structures,” that provides guidance for design and operation of mobile offshore drilling unit mooring systems in the Gulf of Mexico during hurricane season. API RP 95J, “Gulf of Mexico Jackup Operations for Hurricane Season,” which recommends locating jackup rigs on more stable areas of the sea floor, and positioning platform decks higher above the sea surface (100'), was also updated.

In addition to these documents, API suggested steps for industry to take to prepare for hurricanes and return to operation after a storm. These include: • Days in advance of a tropical storm or hurricane, companies will evacuate all non-essential personnel and begin shutting down production.

• As the storm gets closer, all personnel will be evacuated from drilling rigs and platforms, and production shut down. Drillships may relocate to a safe location.

• After a storm has passed, operators will initiate flyovers of onshore and offshore facilities to evaluate damage. For onshore facilities, these flyovers can identify flooding, facility damage, road or other infrastructure problems, and spills. Offshore flyovers look for damaged drilling rigs, platform damage, spills, and possible pipeline damage.

• Many offshore drilling rigs are equipped with GPS locator systems.

If a rig is pulled offsite by the storm, locator systems allow crews to find and recover the rig as quickly and as safely as possible.

June '17

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production and drilling.

Complying with these recommendations takes weeks. Repairing the damage often takes months or years. While repairs may increase business for the workboat industry in the short term, the sooner we can get back to business as usual the better.

that Impress

9

9/5/17 6:28 PM

STOCK CHART For the complete up-to-date WorkBoat Stock Index, go to: www.workboat.com/ workboat-index.aspx INDEX NET PERCENT COMPARISONS 7/31/17 8/31/17 CHANGE CHANGE Operators 305.47 304.64 -0.82 -0.27 Suppliers 3202.37 3238.14 35.77 1.12 Shipyards 2583.23 2652.15 68.92 2.67 Workboat Composite 1933.38 1954.96 21.58 1.12 PHLX Oil Service Index 134.36 120.62 -13.74 -10.23 Dow Jones Industrials 21891.12 21948.10 56.98 0.26 Standard & Poors 500 2470.30 2471.65 1.35 0.05

WorkBoat Composite Index

Stocks up over 1%

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he WorkBoat Composite Index gained 21 points in August, or 1.1%. For the month, losers edged out winners 15-14.

Top percentage gainers included Hornbeck Offshore Services. Despite missing second-quarter earnings consensus of analysts by 4 cents a share, the Covington, La.-based offshore service operator saw shares rise by 10% in August. Hornbeck recorded a net loss of $19.5 million, or 53 cents per share, for the second quarter, compared to a loss of $20.6 million, or 57 cents per share for the same quarter in 2016.

During its second-quarter earnings call with analysts in August, Todd Hornbeck, chairman, president and CEO, led off discussing the company’s new six-year $300 million credit facility announced in June. He said he believes the company has “created at least one more year of additional runway for the company in order to reset the company’s debt capital structure, but we are still operating in a highly uncertain business environment.”

Hornbeck also discussed market conditions, which haven’t changed much. “... the fundamentals on the demand side of the equation are about the same as they have been and our second quarter results reflect that reality.”

There are about 20 deepwater drilling units working in the Gulf of Mexico, which Hornbeck called “anemic.”

“We see little on the horizon to suggest that these levels will change much in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico this year or next year. We hope we’re wrong and we’ll be the first to admit error if we are. But right now, other than signs of a possible stabilization in the price of oil, we just don’t see a catalyst for demand growth.” — David Krapf

www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat 4/5/2017 1:52:14 PM

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8/30/17 9:02 AM

Inland Insider Chemical revival is a boost for barges

R

ecently, a utility contractor slowly horizontally drilled through granite rock to bury the overhead power lines.

Twenty-five years ago we trench dug some of the most exposed endangered

overhead lines. We avoided blasting with dynamite what we could not trench because of hard rock.

Today, all the overhead lines are being buried because of horizontal drilling. The effect of horizontal drilling technology is flowing through our industrial sectors and is most evident in the sharp decline in energy prices for oil and natural gas.

Ten years ago the future of U.S. chemical production was bleak because

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of high energy prices. Production of basic chemicals was migrating overseas in search of cheaper raw materials and

By Kevin Horn domestic chemical plants were closing.

This has changed, with cheap energy fostering significant domestic investments in major new chemical production facilities. The investments reflect forecasts that prices of petrochemical feedstocks, the basic building blocks for refined products, will remain relatively low for the foreseeable future.

The result is that the U.S. is becoming a major exporter of petrochemical products such as plastics, fertilizers, adhesives and solvents. U.S. petrochemical exports are projected to grow from $17 billion annually in 2016 to $110 billion by 2027, according to IHS Markit.

The resurgence of basic chemical production is good news for the barge industry. Chemicals represent substantial tonnage for barges particularly on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW). Chemicals represent about 30% of total GIWW tonnage and are likely the best source of growth.

Current commodity statistics indicate that the barge chemicals sector has increased along with the increase in chemical production investments.

The biggest affect on the barge sector is the resurgence in the production of basic chemicals such as ethylene.

These basic chemicals that are used for the manufacturing of items such as plastics are moved by barge. Increased barge tonnages are expected from increased production. For example, the forecast calls for U.S. ethylene production capacity to increase 50% by the end of the decade.

Expect the barge industry’s core petrochemical markets to grow.

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

www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

9/5/17 6:06 PM

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Insurance Watch Hull builders’ risk

B

uilding a new vessel is a major financial undertaking with many decisions that must be made.

One is how you will structure your vessel’s insurance coverage during the

construction process.

A hull builders’ risk policy can be for a new vessel or one that will undergo a major refit. It can be extended to cover not only the hull but also material and equipment that have not yet been installed on the vessel. And it can be written for a single vessel under construction or as an open builders risk for a builder’s ongoing boatbuilding operations.

Valuation of the hull can be calculat-

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ed two ways. It can be written on the completed value of the vessel or, for larger vessels, the valuation can be a monthly

By Chris reporting schedule of Richmond the unfinished project that gradually reaches the completed value.

A big concern for underwriters is a boatyard fire and they take a close look at potential hazards at the yard.

In Maine, have a the full spectrum of builders, from one-man shops that heat their buildings with wood stoves to large shipbuilders who have welding and burning exposures. Of course, all need to be concerned with the risk of fire as well as proper storage of paints and solvents in appropriate storage lockers.

Additional coverage that can be added to the policy includes: • Delivery of the bare hull to yard to be finished off.

• Launching of the vessel.

• Sea trials of the vessel.

• Delivery of the completed vessel to end user.

Protection and indemnity limits are added to cover liability claims due to injury on or around the vessel during construction as well as after the vessel has been launched and undergoes sea trials or is being delivered. And if you are providing crew on board after the vessel has been launched, be sure to have the policy amended to reflect this additional risk.

Whether you are building a vessel for a customer or having one built for your own use, the day of the launch is always a memorable occasion and one to celebrate. Due diligence beforehand, to properly cover potential risks involved with your project, can help ensure a really great day.

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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 www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

9/5/17 6:06 PM

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Legal Talk The legal significance of a release

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any commercial vessels are equipped with quick-release towing hooks. These ingenious contraptions enable crews to part ways with taut towlines quickly with a lanyard or actuator. Since such lines can present a danger to personnel, the idea of releasing them in a swift and clean manner makes sense.

Releasing lines and parting ways in one fell swoop could also mirror how parties in a lawsuit feel when they’re finishing things up at the end. Whether the matter involves a shipyard dispute or injury, everyone wants to move on after a settlement has been reached. After long negotiations, settlement terms can be reduced to a single form called a release.

WWW.WORKBOAT.COM NEWS FOR THE COMMERCIAL MARINE INDUSTRY.

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Like the quick-release towing hook, the release form enables parties to conclude things in a clean, decisive manner. A release basically says that in exchange for this many dollars, the plaintiff releases the other side from all further claims. “Sign this, take the money, and we’re done here.”

A recent lawsuit in Seattle demonstrates that releases are taken seriously (Castro v. Tri Marine Fish Company).

The matter involved a crewmember on a commercial fishing vessel. It could just as well have been an OSV or passenger vessel. What’s important is that a release was signed and the court recognized its significance.

The crewmember had been hired in American Samoa as a deckhand.

His employment contract contained a clause calling for arbitration there.

About two weeks later, he was injured and was taken to the Philippines for surgery. While recovering, he expressed interest in settling his claim.

He and the vessel interests agreed upon a settlement figure. The deckhand signed a release that included the statement, “This is a release. I By Tim Akpinar am giving up every right I have.” Based on this, a maritime arbitrator sealed the deal with an arbitration award.

The deckhand then brought legal action against the vessel interests in Washington state. The vessel interests moved to enforce the arbitration award, which was based on the release signed by the deckhand. The court ruled in favor of the vessel interests. This showed the significance of a release and the weight given to them by courts.

Tim Akpinar is a Little Neck, N.Y.-based maritime attorney and former marine engineer. He can be reached at 718-2249824 or t.akpinar@verizon.net.

WWW.WORKBOAT.COM NEWS FOR THE COMMERCIAL MARINE INDUSTRY.

www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

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MEET THE HARVEST

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OCTOBER 2017

NEWS LOG

U.S. Coast Guard photos

HURRICANE HARVEY CLOSES PORTS, SWAMPS HOUSTON

The drillship Paragon DPDS1 grounded in the Port Aransas Channel during Hurricane Harvey.

R

ecord-shattering rains and flooding from Hurricane Harvey set the Gulf of Mexico energy industry on an uncertain course, as damage assessments began at Texas ports and refineries amid rising gasoline Crewmembers were rescued from the tug prices.

Signet Enterprise after it took on water at After the storm made first landfall on the night of Aug. 25, the Port Aransas during Hurricane Harvey.

Coast Guard rescued 15 people from three workboats at Port Aransas, Texas. One of them was Signet Maritime’s 105'x34', 4,400-hp tug Signet Enterprise, which was damaged and took on water while trying to secure the 449'x105'x26' drillship Paragon DPDS1.

The drillship, operated by Houston-based Paragon Offshore, grounded in the Aransas Channel, posing one of many obstacles to reopening the Port of Corpus Christi, the nation’s fourth biggest in cargo handled. Refineries that shut down along the Houston Ship Channel awaited damage assessments as the Coast Guard, authorities and civilian volunteers with boats rescued thousands from flooded neighborhoods.

Evacuations of 105 offshore production platforms resulted in the shut-in of up to 21.7% of Gulf oil production and 25.7% of natural gas by Aug. 27, according to the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

A continuing oversupply of U.S. crude oil outweighed the storm in markets, with West Texas Intermediate prices falling days after landfall. But the prospect of damage to refineries sent gasoline prices sharply higher. Analyst Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service foresaw a return to $2.50 gal. gasoline for the first time since late August 2015. — Kirk Moore

Barge industry seeks regulatory reform

S

even months into the Trump presidency, the barge industry is seeking a trifecta of regulatory reform, proposing wish lists for changing rules across three major federal agencies.

The American Waterways Operators acted fast in May, after the Environmental Protection Agency asked for public comments in response to an 18

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executive order from President Trump directing agencies to review regulations that “eliminate jobs, or inhibit job creation” or “impose costs that exceed benefits.”

AWO followed that up in July with a 12-page recommendation to the Coast Guard. A month later, the group solicited more ideas to present to the Corps

of Engineers.

AWO said it intends to take full advantage of the opportunity to reduce regulatory burdens for its members, and asked for their feedback.

While the Trump administration has yet to deliver on big promises like new waterway infrastructure spending, it is enthusiastic about regulatory reform.

www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

8/30/17 5:35 PM

Corps of Engineers/Henry Kevin Hall

AWO is already getting one of the top items on its list to the Coast Guard: establishing equivalency between electronic and paper charts. In late July, Coast Guard officials issued a revised Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular 01-16, offering guidance to allow electronic charting systems to satisfy legal requirements.

Other AWO recommendations range from amending requirements for reporting marine casualties to eliminating some ballast water reporting requirements. AWO has also urged the EPA and Coast Guard to seek uniform national standards for vessel discharge and ballast water regulation.

Inland operators need “clear and practical federal statues and regulations, consistently and uniformly applied and administered across the country,” Jennifer Carpenter, AWO executive vice president and chief operating officer, wrote to the EPA.

The 138’x44’ towboat Noble C. Parsonage moves a tow in the Cannelton Locks and Dam on the Ohio River.

In its pitches to the Coast Guard, AWO contends regulatory reform in the barge industry will have broad economic benefits. “Regulations that compromise the safety of towing vessels and

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the industry, but for the U.S. economy and marine environment as well.”

AWO also asked the EPA for a delay in implementing Tier 4 diesel emission standards for new marine engines between 800 hp and 1,300 hp, saying exhaust scrubber technologies are not readily available for vessels in the lower power range. AWO wants a review of the timeline for Tier 4 standards to re-examine whether the costs of lower power inland Tier 4 engines exceed the

environmental and economic benefits.

— K. Moore and Pamela Glass

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NEWS BITTS

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OTE Inc. announced plans for a new domestic shipping service to Hawaii by 2020, with four new liquefied natural gas-ready dual-fuel containerships to be built by Philly Shipyard Inc. The company is in negotiations to use the new deepwater Kapalama Container Terminal in Honolulu, a major step toward TOTE’s expansion beyond its longtime Alaska and Puerto Rico enterprises.

The Hawaii venture is also a further commitment to LNG fuel for TOTE, which has already invested more than $600 million for newbuild ships and conversions. The new ships will be a continuation of the two Alohaclass 3,600-TEU containerships that Philly Shipyard is currently building for Honolulu-based Matson Inc. The 853’x115’x38’ designs from Korea Maritime Consultants Co. Ltd. are the largest containerships to be built for Jones Act trade, with Matson deliveries scheduled for 2018 and 2019.

— K. Moore

the Willamette River channel during a chaotic 2015 summer festival.

Capt. Lowell Gillespie Jr. of the 150' tour vessel Portland Spirit was ordered to temporarily surrender his Merchant Mariner Credential by a Coast Guard administrative law judge. The ALJ ruled Gillespie had violated Rule 8 of the Inland Rules of Navigation by failing to take appropriate actions to avoid a collision. Gillespie must also complete a year’s probation to keep his license.

There was cosmetic damage to one boat and no reported injuries at the event, which drew hundreds more craft than anticipated, the Coast Guard said.

The Portland Red Bull Flugtag event, sponsored by the energy drink company, was shut down by the Coast Guard right after the Portland Spirit incident.

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so that’s been a significant net positive out of this.”

Coast Guard spokesman, Lt. Michael Tappan, said the permit called for about 100 boats and more than 500 The Portland Spirit tour boat edges showed up. “We through anchored recreational boats wouldn’t have in the Willamette River channel. [approved] an event that would shut down our navigable waterway,” he changed course because there were said. sailboats and other small boats behind The Spirit was aware of the event, him. So he crept through a space beand the Coast Guard let her know that tween two groups of anchored boats. they were trying to disperse the recre“I did my best and got around and ational vessels, Tappan said. “It could passed everybody,” he said. “While all have gone the other way.” this was going on, people on their boats Gillespie, who’s been with the comwere yelling and screaming at me,” and pany 18 years, said he couldn’t have things were being thrown at his boat.

YouTube/Kevin Harper

The conflict provoked uproar in the local boating community and on social media, reflecting the increasingly uneasy and potentially dangerous relationship between workboats and recreational craft on urban waterways.

Gillespie said he did nothing wrong.

Before he boarded the Portland Spirit for its regular scheduled cruise, he could see “there was a heckuva crowd,” so he called the Coast Guard.

“I said we’re going to need some help getting through that mess. They said, ‘We can do that,’ ” Gillespie told WorkBoat. “By the time I got under the Hawthorne Bridge, I could tell they didn’t have a plan.”

Dan Yates, president of Portland Spirit River Cruises, said he was “incredibly disappointed” with the judge’s ruling. “It was a political decision not a legal decision. On the plus side, the local Coast Guard is taking these in-water events much more seriously,

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A Coast Guard crew verifes proper documentation during a safety inspection in Chicago in August.

NEWS BITTS

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COAST GUARD CRACKDOWN NETS 22 ILLEGAL CHICAGO CHARTER BOATS

A Judge George Jordan found fault on all sides. Once the captain “placed his vessel at risk of collision with other vessels, he did the best he could to minimize the damage. … [he] showed significant skill in maneuvering with bare steerageway. However, he could have used that same level of seamanship in maneuvering away from the marine event,” the judge said in his order.

Red Bull event organizers “made

summer crackdown on illegal boat charters in the Chicago area snagged 22 operators who face Coast Guard citations totaling more than $50,000.

During two weeks in August, the Coast Guard and Illinois Department of Natural Resources boarded 39 boats. In addition to the Coast Guard citations, Illinois state officers issued 14 misdemeanor charges, including obstruction of justice. The illegal charters were stopped on Lake Michigan and the Illinois River.

Like some Florida cities, Chicago has been a hotbed of under-the-radar boats for hire, enabled by new technology like ride sharing applications for smartphones. That raised alarm among the Coast Guard and legitimate passenger operators, who see it as another risk on Chicago’s already congested waterways.

Coast Guard officials say ignorance of the law among boat owners is part of the problem.

“More boat owners are advertising their vessels for hire through boat sharing websites and mobile apps and are unaware of the risks and regulations for charter boats.” — K. Moore

little or no attempt to keep the event under control,” and the Coast Guard was initially unprepared and slow to react to the event, even as recreational

vessels blocked the channel and traffic on the river,” the judge wrote.

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Steam generator tow sets Hudson record for height, weight he two-day transit of a newly built 130' tall, 4,000-short-ton heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) from upstate New York to a New Jersey power plant site set a record for the tallest, heaviest object moved on the Hudson River.

“By barge, this would be the biggest by height and weight,” said Stephen Kelly, vice president of sales and business development at the Port of Coeymans Inc. marine terminal near Albany, N.Y., where the HRSG unit was fabricated. “When we planned it from the beginning, we had to reach out to the pilots and Hudson River shippers.”

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A 130’ tall, 4,000-ton steam generator is towed under the Goethals Bridge between New Jersey and Staten Island, bound for a new power plant.

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The tow had to navigate four bridges

with nominal vertical clearances of 135', so timing was everything.

“We were 21" lower than we originally anticipated. We thought we would be at 132' (height) but it came out to 130',” said Kelly. — K. Moore

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Drones

High Flyers Marine drones get ready for take off.

By Pamela Glass, Washington Correspondent

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rones, founded mostly for military applications years ago, are fast becoming the next big thing after the internet, and are considered a game-changer in how we do business or have fun.

Amazon wants to use them for deliveries.

Governments use them to spy, drop bombs, and perform search and rescues or track illegal aliens.

Farmers use them to check on their crops. The media sends them up for aerial footage of news events, traffic, weather and sports. Businesses use them to inspect bridges, cell towers and construction sites. Never before have such a variety of ready-made drones been so available and affordable to buy on the internet for business and recreational uses.

And now, these unmanned aerial vehicles

(UAVs) are beginning to be used in a big way on the inland waterways, at shipyards and offshore.

Last year, Houston-based Sky-Futures completed the first oil and gas inspection by drone in the Gulf of Mexico. The inspection of a drillship’s derrick, helideck and four cranes was completed in just two days.

Creative Commons/Pixabay

Maritime drones are in the early phase of development and usage.

DRONE ACCEPTANCE Maritime drones are in the early phase of development and usage. The concept, however, is exciting and chock full of opportunities to improve the bottom line of companies and make them more efficient and their work safer. The industry might be slower than other transportation modes to embrace innovation, but it is starting to accept drones as another key maritime technology like GPS and www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

8/30/17 2:32 PM

Blake Boyd/J. Russell Flowers Inc.

electronic charts.

“In the beginning, there was a lot of curiosity, because people hadn’t seen drones before,” said Blake Boyd, who built three drones for fleet surveying at Florida Marine Transporters (FMT) and now uses an “off the shelf” drone in his executive vice president position at J. Russell Flowers Inc., a barge leasing company based in Greenville, Miss. “But now, it’s hard to find someone who hasn’t seen one or heard about them. From the industry standpoint, we are excited by the technology and looking forward to what (drones) can do for us.”

At the annual meeting of the American Waterways Operators (AWO) in April, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao recognized their potential for the inland industry. She said that barge operators “face the challenge of how to integrate potentially transformative technologies such as drones and

A large line boat, photographed by a drone, breaks up its tow in Port Allen, La.

autonomous technology.”

No one is talking about replacing deckhands with drones or using a drone to transport cargo normally moved by barge or ship — at least not yet. And no maritime official interviewed for this story feared that drones could become a security risk on the waterways or interfere with navigation.

Instead, inland operators who have

considered drones see many positive aspects. “They don’t look at this as a problem, but as a help in their operations,” said Thomas Allegretti, AWO president and CEO. Some of the biggest advantages for inland companies will be using drones for surveying fleet inventory, condition and product volume, and for company marketing purposes, according to Boyd

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of J. Russell Flowers.

Drones equipped with high-resolution cameras can take high quality photographs of barges at work that can be used on company websites and for other marketing needs. “Before you had to charter a helicopter and pay a professional photographer, and that’s expensive,” he said.

Drone cameras can also assess the condition of barges that are fleeted a distance away from company headquarters. Controlled from shore and guided through a smartphone, a drone can hover above and snap pictures to assess the condition of a barge’s paint, hatches and piping. These barges are often fleeted together and difficult to board, and a company can take an inventory from real time photos and determine which ones need the most attention. This would lessen the need for potentially dangerous boardings by employees.

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Sky-Futures

Drones

Last year, Sky-Futures completed the first ever oil and gas inspection by drone in the Gulf of Mexico. A drillship was inspected in just two days.

“For the inland industry, [drones] are a tool to do different tasks that could be high risk for our employees. I’d

rather put a drone in harm’s way over a person,” Boyd said.

Before leaving FMT, Boyd trained

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Drones a colleague to control the drone and collect data. At J. Russell Flowers, he is the pilot with his smartphone as the drone surveys the fleet and snaps photos.

“You see things from different perspectives and can see equipment that’s not readily accessible,” he said.

“It is very portable, safe and easy to use.” Purchased on Amazon for $1,300, the drone fits into a suitcase and is equipped with a high definition camera.

The remote plugs into a phone and is ready to go in five minutes. Boyd can text images in lower resolution and then download off the hard drive onto his computer for high-resolution pictures.

“Two years ago, everything we did we had to build from scratch. It would take a month to build, was very large and costly. But since there’s been a lot of investment into technology for recreational use, the cost of these have come

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down and they can be bought on the internet and adapted to maritime uses.”

In the future, Boyd sees wider applications of drones to check vessel emissions and provide aerial views of waterways traffic.

MANY USES Boyd’s drone seems simple compared to others now in development.

The international drone manufacturing industry is designing a slew of sophisticated unmanned vehicles that can operate above, on or under water. Manufacturers consider maritime applications a new and potentially lucrative frontier in this area.

They are already in use in a variety of marine applications — ship hull inspections, ballast water tanks and offshore wind turbines. Crew, surveyors or independent inspectors, often under dangerous conditions, normally do such inspections. Remote inspections would reduce risks and cut costs, as maintenance would be monitored from afar, with data and photos available in real-time.

In addition, work is underway to design the first unmanned, autonomous ships that will operate without a captain or crew, and are serviced by drones that deliver cargoes to shore.

Drones have many other applications related to the marine environment of waterways, oceans and coastal areas.

The WasteShark cleans the water surface of floating trash, roaming with an open mouth and devouring waste before it returns to port. The Saildrone, an autonomous carbon fiber sailboat look-alike, collects data on fish and seals in the Pacific and can be used for weather prediction, oil and gas industry ocean operations, and data collection to understand global warming.

Duke University uses drones to study the behavior of sharks, while the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution studies humpback whales by having a drone collect samples of their breath.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is collaborating on the ROBOAT project in Amsterdam to create a fleet of autonomous boats that will

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Blake Boyd/J. Russell Flowers Inc.

transport goods and people along the Dutch waterways, and can also serve as temporary floating structures like bridges and concert stages.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration uses drones to measure depths for nautical charts and to access remote coastal and harbor areas for surveying. Over the July 4 holiday, New York City used underwater drones to search for potential threats.

Drones are also widely used to gather scientific data about water quality, fish stocks, invasive species, pollution and climate change, and to assess coastal damage after floods or hurricanes.

The Coast Guard is exploring whether small, unmanned aircraft systems are suitable for use in the Arctic and for law enforcement, search and rescue and oil spill response. It already believes drones can help navigate ships through ice in the Great Lakes.

For some mariners, however, drones

A drone photo of a southbound tow under the Greenville, Miss., bridge.

aren’t anything new, they are just making a comeback in a more modern way.

“In 1956, we had a drone on the USS New Jersey,” Ames Person told WorkBoat. “It was just a large radiocontrolled model airplane flown by a naval aviator with a control box from the deck. He would fly it by the ship and we would shoot our anti-aircraft

guns at it, with a slight offset to keep from destroying the thing. When it ran out of gas or when the controller pushed the right button on this control box, it would pop a parachute and drop in the ocean. We would pick it up, wash it off with fresh water, refuel it and make it ready to go again.”

Enjoy the Destination.

We’ll Worry About the Journey.

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highspeedcommercial-ya@yanmar.com www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

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www.yanmar.com/us 33

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Icebreakers

Thawed Out

Momentum builds for a new U.S. polar fleet.

By Kirk Moore, Associate Editor

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P

rogress toward building the first new U.S. heavy icebreaker in 40 years has been, well, glacial.

But after presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama both endorsed the idea, and with shipbuilders and a U.S.-Canada design team engaged, the prospects for a new polar fleet operating in the 2020s are looking much better.

Since February, designers have been testing conceptual models in an ice tank at the National Research Council Canada facility in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The goal is a hull and power combination that meets all the U.S. Coast Guard’s needs.

Meanwhile $20 million of fixed-price contracts for design studies went to Bollinger Shipyards LLC, Fincantieri Marine Group LLC, General

Dynamics/NASSCO, Huntington Ingalls Inc., and VT Halter Marine Inc. The design study approach was influenced by the Navy’s experience with acquiring amphibious transport ships and fleet oilers under accelerated schedules. Coast Guard and Navy staff in a new heavy polar icebreaker integrated program office will use the studies to refine specifications for the new icebreaker as a complete system, with the construction contract to be awarded in 2019.

“That timeline is 2023 for delivery,” Vice Adm. Sandra Stosz, the Coast Guard’s vice commandant for mission support, told members of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation in July.

It will be a tight turn for the Coast Guard, and fraught in the meantime with the possibility of a

U.S. Coast Guard

The Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star in McMurdo Sound near the U.S. Antarctica station.

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Royal Dutch Shell

MULTIMISSION Unlike other nations along the Arctic littoral, the Coast Guard needs icebreakers with global capability — able to transit from their base at Seattle to the Pacific to Antarctica, as well as to the closer ice north of Alaska.

Then there are multimission needs: navigational icebreaking, scientific research, search and rescue, and military

U.S. Coast Guard

major mechanical casualty with its two sole icebreakers: the 420' medium icebreaker Healy, commissioned in 1997, and the 399' Polar Star, now in its 41st year of service.

A sistership, the Polar Sea, has been tied up since suffering a major engine casualty in 2010, and is being used for spare parts to keep the Polar Star going.

It is a struggle. During its 2015-2016 deployment to Antarctica, the Polar Star was hit with fires, a major lube oil leak, and a potentially catastrophic propeller shaft thrust bearing bracket failure.

In Washington, D.C., growing acceptance of the need for a new icebreaker fleet — and the fact that climate change in the Arctic Ocean requires a U.S. presence — has finally moved the needle towards a $1 billion commitment for new ships.

Sistership icebreakers Polar Sea, left, and Polar Star moored at Seattle.

presence. Those requirements made Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft and other top leadership resistant to suggestions from Congress last year that the U.S. could lease icebreaking tugs or other civilian polar vessels to fill the gap.

Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, called for the Coast Guard to consider leasing the 360'8"×80'×34' Aiviq, an ice-capable Edison Chouest Offshore 22,000hp anchor-handling tug/supply vessel.

In response, vice commandant Adm. Charles Michel said Zunkunft himself had examined the Aiviq and determined it “not suitable for military service without substantial refit.”

The Edison Chouest Offshore tug Aiviq has been proposed as an interim icebreaker until the Coast Guard can build its next-generation vessels.

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But a year after that initial suggestion, Coast Guard officials now say they are interested in seeing ice trials with the Aiviq.

Best known for its role in Royal Dutch Shell’s ill-fated Arctic drilling attempts, the Aiviq was built at North American Shipbuilding, Larose, La., and delivered in 2012.

“We would be interested in sending Coast Guard folks to observe that,” Vice Adm. Charles Ray, deputy commandant for operations, said when he told members of the Coast Guard Subcommittee that Coast Guard officials are looking at a plan Chouest submitted.

The official Coast Guard thinking on new icebreakers is to build a fleet of three heavy and three medium icebreakers to meet all mission requirements. But that is far from a final plan.

In fact, the Coast Guard might be better served by going for a block buy program to build four heavy icebreakers, according to a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

A NASEM committee, chaired by retired Navy Rear Adm. Richard D. West, reported that mission requirements suggest that the future heavy icebreaker class should be a vessel of about 433'×89' in size.

The “all-in” cost of the first ship would be around $983 million, but savings through a block buy contract and reducing some mil-spec requirements 35

8/30/17 4:00 PM

Icebreakers may bring the average cost of all four vessels down to $791 million each, the committee said.

The report stresses that the design and construction timeline is cutting it close, with the aged Polar Star needing so much work and spare parts coming from its laid-up sistership, Polar Sea, to stay in service over the coming years until two new heavy icebreakers are complete in the mid-2020s.

The committee recommended an enhanced maintenance program (EMP), which it estimated will cost an average $5 million annually — compared to annual repairs to the icebreakers that now run between $2 million and $9 million.

The EMP must “include improvements in the ship’s operating systems, sanitary system, evaporators, main propulsion systems, and controllable pitch propellers,” the NASEM report concluded.

PRESIDENTIAL SUPPORT It took years of pressure from icebreaker advocates in Congress to get the executive branch on board.

President Obama stressed climate change in his 2015 commencement speech to Coast Guard Academy graduates in New London, Conn., saying the nation needs “to invest in an enduring Coast Guard icebreaking capacity.”

Two years later, President Trump stood at the graduation lectern in New London — two months after a 13% Coast Guard budget cut considered by the administration had been beaten back by Congress — and said the same, minus the climate change part.

“We will be building the first new heavy icebreakers the United States has seen in over 40 years,” Trump said in addressing the Coast Guard’s 2017 ensign class.

While the Coast Guard has broad support in Congress, getting more money for the icebreaker project has been a challenge.

Members of the Coast Guard and

SUMMER ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS

T

U.S. Coast Guard/PO2 Nate Littlejohn

he Coast Guard medium icebreaker Healy’s annual summer science voyage to the North Pole included an important milestone: the first Coast Guard dive team to operate under the ice in 11 years.

The exercise including Navy divers was the first since a 2006 accident cost two divers their lives and led to widespread review and reform on Coast Guard dive procedures.

An onboard memorial service was held for those Coast Guard divers, Lt. Jessica Hill and Petty Officer 2nd Class Stephen Duque. Then dry suited divers went deep under the ice, and swam alongside the Healy. Arctic dive operations capability for ship repair, scientific research and search and rescue will be critical for an expanded U.S. polar fleet.

Meanwhile, the cutter Maple, a 225’x46’x13’ Juniper-class seagoing buoy tender, departed her homeport of Sitka, Alaska, for the Coast Guard yard at Baltimore via the Northwest Passage. The Maple’s voy-

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age marked the 60th anniversary of the deep-draft charting of the Northwest Passage by U.S. and Canadian coast guard crews. The Maple entered the Northwest Passage region Aug. 3, and in the following days navigated the Bellot Strait.

In the preceding weeks, Finland’s state-owned 380'6"x85'4" multipurpose tug/icebreaker Nordica made a record setting earliest Northwest Passage transit, departing July 2 from Vancouver, British Columbia, and arriving at Nuuk, Greenland on July 29.

A commercial milestone was also realized when Russian fleet operator Sovcomflot made the first Arctic transit of a liquefied natural gas tanker without icebreaker escort.

The 980'x164' Christophe de Margerie made the 19-day trip from Norway to South Korea without the usual assistance from Russian icebreakers like the nuclear-powered Yamal. Launched in 2016, the tanker can operate independently through ice as thick as 7' according to Sovcomflot. The ship easily handled ice of 4' and the voyage “demonstrates the economic potential of using the Northern Sea Route for large-capacity vessel transits,” the company said.

Implications of climate change in the Arctic have focused the most attention on the top of the world since the Cold War. Russia is expanding its icebreaker fleet to 40 vessels — to include two icebreaking corvettes with cruise missile capability — claiming its extended continental shelf to nearly the North Pole, and The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Maple follows the Canadian “militarizing search and rescue stacoast guard icebreaker Terry Fox through the Franklin tions,” said Zukunft. — K. Moore Strait at Nunavut, Canada on Aug. 11.

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U.S. Coast Guard

Maritime Transportation Subcommittee — all advocates for the service — tried convincing their colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee to insert $1 billion for icebreakers into defense appropriations, without success.

Icebreaker advocates have trouble convincing other lawmakers that the U.S. has serious military and national sovereignty interests in the warming Arctic, said Rep. John Garamendi, DCalif., a ranking member on the Coast Guard subcommittee, who said two icebreakers could be built for around the same price as three of the Navy’s littoral combat ships.

There are budget pitfalls in the Coast Guard’s plans to expedite both the first heavy icebreaker and its new class of offshore patrol cutters, the Government Accountability Office cautioned in a July report.

“The Coast Guard has not articulated how it will prioritize its acquisition needs given its offshore patrol cutter is

The Russian nuclear icebreaker Yamal with the Coast Guard icebreakers Healy, center background, and Polar Star.

expected to absorb half to two-thirds of its annual acquisition funding requests” starting in 2018 when Eastern Shipbuilding Group builds the first 360'×54'×17' OPC, the GAO noted.

The office is recommending the Coast

Guard come back with a complete, 20year fleet modernization and acquisition plan that accounts for funding both the icebreakers and the $12 billion OPC program.

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CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY AT WORKBOAT YARDS

On TheWays

ON THE WAYS

The Capt. Brian A. McAllister works a containership in New York Harbor.

T

he Capt. Brian A. McAllister arrived in New York Harbor in early August, a week after steaming out of the Gulf of Mexico and up the East Coast. The next day McAllister Towing and Transportation’s new 6,772-hp tractor tug was busy at its first job, working a containership in the harbor.

The 104'×40'×18' tractor tug was built at Horizon Shipbuilding Inc., Bayou La Batre, Ala., and designed by Jensen Maritime Consultants in Seattle. With a 40’ beam it’s one of the widest boats in the McAllister fleet and the largest tractor tug.

“Most of the other boats are in the 38' range,” said Craig Rising, director of media and public relations for McAllister Towing. “The extra two feet of width just makes it more stable. The captain said it was one of the nicest rides he’s ever had, especially on a tractor tug.”

The Capt. Brian A. McAllister is also noteworthy for its engines, a pair of Tier 4-rated 3516E Caterpillar engines (3,386 hp each at 1,800 rpm), making it the first EPA-rated Tier 4 tug on the East Coast.

Beyond that, the two Cats generate a lot of power, 6,772 hp. “On average, our Z-drives are 5,000 hp,” said Rising.

“It’s a big jump up from other Z-drive boats.” Match the 38

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McAllister Towing and Transportation

Horizon delivers Z-drive tug to McAllister Towing

Cats up with Schottel SRP4000FP Z-drives and the Capt.

Brian pulled 81.5 metric tons on a bollard pull test at Horizon.

The beamier hull design and hefty power package quickly proved its worth in New York Harbor. One of the Capt.

Brian A. McAllister’s first jobs was on a super ultra-large container vessel. “They put a line up to the stern and went into indirect mode,” said Rising. “The mate said the rate of turn was unbelievable. The pilot onboard said ‘whoa, you can go half now’ because it was already turning. The Brian was designed because of that need here in New York. It will make it more efficient and safer for everybody.”

The winches for ship handling are from Markey Machinery. A Markey DESF-48-100 escort winch is on the bow with 800' of 10" line. At the stern is a Markey TES-40-75 towing winch that carries 2,500' of 2 1/4" wire.

Add the two remote-controlled Fire Fighting Systems 1200LB fire monitors rated at 5,284 gpm each and a 1,100gpm deluge system to the Capt. Brian’s towing and escorting abilities, and you have a vessel that “has a lot more capabilities than the standard tractor tug,” said Rising.

The monitors are fed by two FFS SFP 250×350 fire pumps, rated at 5,980 gpm each, driven by two Cat C18 Tier www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

8/31/17 6:55 PM

4 diesel engines, rated at 831 hp each.

Two more tugs built to the same design at Horizon will follow the Capt.

Brian A. McAllister. The Rosemary McAllister is scheduled to be launched by early October, and the Eva McAllister should hit the water in spring 2018.

T

he first of 10 2,000-hp Damen Shipyards Stan Tug 1907 ICE tugs has been delivered by Great Lakes Shipyard to its sister company Great Lakes Towing Co. Both companies are based in Cleveland. All 10 tugs are being built to Subchapter M standards.

Named for Great Lakes’ hometown, the 63'×24'×11' Cleveland is a significant milestone in a licensing agreement between Damen and Great Lakes Shipyard signed at the International WorkBoat Show in 2015. While the initial agreement is for 10 tugs for Great Lakes Towing, the vessels will also be available to third party buyers.

With a draft of 10' and under 100 GT, the Stan Tug 1907 ICE is a compact design capable of 30 tons of bollard pull. Its relatively small size and high maneuverability design make it a good fit for narrow waterways with their many low bridges that characterize the Great Lakes region. The ability to operate safely in icy waters is also essential given the very cold temperatures that occur there in the winter.

Main propulsion comes from two MTU 8V4000 M54R diesels, producing 1,000 hp at 1,600 rpm each. The mains connect to 3-bladed, 71"-dia.

Kaplan-style wheels through Twin Disc MG-5321 quick shift marine gears with 5.45:1 reduction ratios.

The Cleveland got off to a good start, working two ship assists. The first was for Fednav International Ltd., Montreal, and the second was for Rand Corp., based in New Jersey.

“Both tows went without a hitch and the feedback then and since has been very positive,” Joe Starck, president of

New 2,000-hp tug is first of 10.

Great Lakes Shipyard and Great Lakes Towing, said in a statement announcing the delivery. “One of the pilots on the first day even commented that the new tug made maneuvering much easier.

The boat has performed even better than we expected, without the need for the typical ‘tweaks’ that are normally required after completion of a new tug.”

Building the Cleveland was something of a learning experience. Several European working practices had to be translated into their U.S. equivalents, and numerous adaptations had to be made to meet U.S. regulations. However, with these achieved for the Cleveland and the production process now fully optimized, the follow-on hulls will be completed more quickly and

Gladding-Hearn building pilot boat for Louisiana

G

ladding-Hearn Shipbuilding is scheduled to deliver its ninth St. John’s-class pilot boat early next year.

The 52'6"×16'11"×4'8" vessel, hull number 422 at the Somerset, Mass., boatyard, is the fifth St. John’s-class pilot boat built for Delta Launch Services, Metairie, La., the operating company for the Associated Branch Pilots.

The pilots guide oceangoing vessels from the Gulf of Mexico through the narrow channels of Southwest Pass and

52’ pilot boat will work mouth of the Mississippi River.

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efficiently, Great Lakes said. “Damen was always there when we needed them,” Starck said. — Ken Hocke

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding

Great Lakes Shipyard completes Subchapter M tug for sister company

Damen Shipyards Group

— Michael Crowley

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On TheWays

BOATBUILDING BITTS

C

Cummins

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Jesse Co.

The 144-car ferry is scheduled for delivery in July 2018.

the Port of Tacoma, Wash., built the 1,600-ST top half of the 362' Suquamish. The 144-car ferry is scheduled for delivery in July 2018. It will be the last of the Olympic class, preceded by the Tokitae in 2014, Samish in 2015 and the Chimacum earlier this year.

Austal USA christened the 18th littoral combat ship (LCS), the USS Charleston, at its Mobile, Ala., shipyard in August. The 419'×99' Charleston (LCS 18) is the seventh of 12 LCSes Austal has under contract with the Navy. The total order value is over $3.5 billion.

Seven LCSes are currently under construction at Austal.

Omaha (LCS 12) will be delivered in the coming weeks, Manchester (LCS 14) is preparing for trials, and Tulsa (LCS 16) will begin trials at the end of the year. Final assembly is underway on Cincinnati (LCS 20). Modules for Kansas City (LCS 22) and Oakland (LCS 24) are under construcSeventh 419' LCS from Austal USA. tion.

The Shearer Group Inc. (TSGI), Houston, was recently awarded a five-year contract from the Texas Department of Transportation for design, engineering and construction oversight services for a new 500-passenger, 70-car ferry that will provide service from Galveston Island to Bolivar Peninsula.

Hard Drive Marine, Bellingham, Wash., is building another landing craft with its uniquely designed beach crawling feature, which has now been patented as the Maxgate Landing System. When the landing ramp drops down, 3,000-psi hydraulically operated spikes dig into the shore, pull the boat forward, reach forward again and so on. It’s the reverse for going back to the water. The 36'×11'×20" landing craft (model HLC36) is being built on spec. Power will come from a pair of 300-hp Suzuki outboards. — M. Crowley Austal USA

Breezeswept

edarville, Mich.-based Breezeswept and Kozma Welding are nearing completion on a new 64'×26' aluminum barge, La Nina II. The barge will be used for installing boat docks, building boathouses, and island transportation along the Straits of Mackinaw between the upper and lower peninsula of Michigan. The dry hull weight will be 32 tons, with an estimated 8" to 10" draft (without payload). An internal radio controlled 3-cylinder Yanmar Tier 3, 40-hp diesel power pack will operate hydraulic winches on drop spuds and the 20' bow ramp. Design payload is 150 tons. The new barge will have a 36'×22' cargo deck, compressed air system for impact tools and a water system. Capacities include 400 gals. of fuel and 100-ton dredge spoils limit. — K. Hocke Marine Group Boat Works has completed the new 38'×15'×5'6" yard tug Blue Fin for General Dynamics NASSCO, San Diego.

Aluminum barge will go to The tug will work work in Michigan. at its solar-powered construction facility in National City, Calif. In addition to moving other vessels, the new tug is responsible for deploying pollution containment booms. For pulling power, the tug has a pair of Cummins QSL9M Tier 3 engines each producing 410 hp. The engines turn 38"×26" 4-bladed, bronze, workhorse-style props on 3” Aquamet 22 shafts. The engines are linked to the shafts with ZF 325-1 gears with 2.97:1 ratios. The propulsion system gives the tug a speed of up to 11 knots. It also delivers between 18,000 and 20,000-lbs. of bollard pull. — K. Hocke The superstructure for Washington State Ferries’ fourth Olympic-class vessel was moved by barge in August up Puget Sound to Vigor’s Harbor Island Shipyard in Seattle, where it is being lifted onto the hull of the Suquamish. Jesse Co.’s fabrication facility near

38' yard tug for General Dynamics.

www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

8/31/17 6:55 PM

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On TheWays the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.

The first C. Raymond Hunt-designed St. John’s-class pilot boat built

by Gladding-Hearn for Delta Launch Services was in 2004. The design hasn’t changed much in the past 13 years, said Peter Duclos, GladdingHearn’s president. In fact, “it’s pretty similar to the original St. John’s hull built in 1999 that is still operating in Jacksonville (Fla.).”

The pilot boat currently under construction has twin 671-hp Caterpillar C-18 Tier 3 engines matched up with Twin Disc MGX-5136A marine gears with 2:1 ratios turning 5-bladed 30" Bruton bronze propellers. The power package should give the pilot boat a top speed of about 24 knots. A 12-kW Northern Lights genset will provide ship’s service power.

Some pilot boats built at GladdingHearn have the Humphree Interceptor automatic trim optimization system, but not this one. “Those guys don’t

want any moving parts back there,” said Duclos. “It’s a tough environment down there, among the toughest.

They’ve got debris, it’s rough, and they run them hard.”

If someone has to be pulled from the water, there’s a winch-operated rotating davit that can be outfitted with a life sling that’s over a recessed platform.

Boarding vessels will be done from the top of the wheelhouse or the large foredeck.

Accommodations are simple, consisting of four bunks down below, along with a head and a small settee. There’s no galley. In the wheelhouse will be a helmsman chair and six Llebroc pilot seats.

“What is perhaps unique about this pilot boat is that it will be Coast Guard certified for 12 passengers,” said Duclos.

Delta Launch Services needs that certification because, as the name suggests, it sometimes operates as a launch

service carrying passengers for hire.

“They work for other people, transporting pilots not in their organization,” said Duclos. — M. Crowley

St. Johns launches landing craft for the Bahamas

S

t. Johns Ship Building Inc., Palatka, Fla., launched a 190"×38'×10' steel-hulled landing craft vessel, the Grand Master II, in August.

The 1,011-dwt vessel for Sea Venture Holdings Ltd. will feature a 180'×37' cargo deck for carrying freight in the Bahamas. With its forward, hydraulic bow ramp and 6,400 sq. ft. of cargo space, the boat will be outfitted for Caribbean transport. The Grand Master II will have a 6'8" draft.

“I think the challenge of this build was the integration of the first of its kind Z-drive and propulsion system along with the components required for efficient operations required by the cli-

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St. Johns Ship Building

ent,” said Steve Ganoe, the shipyard’s president.

Main propulsion will come from twin 700-hp Cummings QSK19 diesel engines connected to Schottel SRP 330, 4-bladed rudder propellers in azimuth drives. The propulsion package will give the Grand Master II a running speed of 10 knots.

Designed by Entech Designs LLC, Kenner, La., the Grand Master II will feature a 22" electric Westmar V22ONS bowthruster for added maneuverability.

“Between the Schottel rudder propellers and the bowthruster, this is by far the most versatile and maneuverable landing craft we have built,” said St. Johns Ship Building vice president of operations Bobby Barfield.

Ship’s service power will come from two 99-kW John Deere-powered 4045AFM85 gensets.

A raised two-story deckhouse on the aft of the vessel will allow for un-

190’ landing craft will work in the Caribbean.

impeded cargo room from the bow to stern. The first tier of the deckhouse will support the crew quarters, galley, and passenger lounge. The second tier will contain the pilothouse and captain’s quarters. The boat will have a crew of 11 and a passenger capacity of 12.

Capacities will include 45,421 gals. of fuel; 11,140 gals. water; and 300 gals. clean lube oil.

The Grand Master II will be Pana-

manian flagged and is scheduled to be delivered in September.

This is the first of three landing crafts St. Johns plans on delivering to Caribbean transportation operators in the near future.

Other projects nearing conclusion at St. Johns are a series of eight 100' tugs for Vane Brothers, a 130' barge, a house barge, and another 190' landing craft. — K. Hocke

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Tug-of-War

The competition for newbuild contracts in the Gulf is fierce.

WB_CoverStory_LINO.indd 44

Ken Hocke

Shipyards have become more proactive to land contracts.

8/30/17 4:57 PM

By Ken Hocke, Senior Editor

The new 4,400-hp Assateague-class ATB (articulated tug/barge unit) tugs will feature raised forecastles and will admeasure under 500 gt.

Conrad is also busy building a wicket crane barge for the Corps of Engineers.

The 110'6"×60'×8'6" barge will be used to raise and lower the steel dam wickets and perform maintenance functions at the Olmsted Locks and Dam on the Ohio River. “We have a good relationship with the Corps,” said Conrad.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Panama City, Fla., is another Gulf shipyard that is defying the odds with multiple, diverse contracts. One of the more interesting projects is the construction of nine offshore patrol cutters for the Coast Guard. The 360'×54'×17' cutters will feature a 17’ draft and a speed in excess of 22 knots. Construction won’t begin until next year, but Eastern successfully completed its initial critical design review in July.

Eastern is finishing up a multipurpose supply vessel for Harvey Gulf International Marine. “After that, that’s just about it for us” in the OSV market for the foreseeable future, Steve Berthold, vice president of sales and marketing at Eastern, told WorkBoat earlier this year. “Unless they’re specialized vessels, it’s going to be a tough business. It’s very, very competitive.

I

MEETING THE CHALLENGE Conrad and Vigor are among the shipyards that currently have strong order books. “We’re diversified enough and have really good customers that have kept us going through this tough period,” said Conrad.

Conrad is constructing four Damen Stan 3711 123'×36'6" tugs for Young Brothers Ltd., Honolulu.

The four new 6,000-hp tugs will each be powered by pairs of GE 8L250 engines. The tugs will have a maximum bollard pull of 80-metric tons and a top speed of 12.5 knots.

Another tug contract at Conrad involves three 110'×38’×17' vessels for Baltimore-based Vane Brothers.

Ken Hocke

n some areas of the country, the days when shipyards could be choosy about what projects to tackle — commercial versus military, steel versus aluminum — may be fading into the past. Some yards are more diverse than others, but those that want to survive must be more aggressive and open to change, and, paradoxically, more patient.

With equipment surpluses in the offshore and inland markets, the newbuild contracts pool has dried up considerably. For shipyards in the Gulf that have been suffering from the oil and gas industry collapse, this is expected to continue.

“To give you an example of how competitive it is in the Gulf, there’s an owner who wants to build five new small barges, and bids went out to 18 shipyards for that project,” said Dan Conrad, senior vice president, Conrad Shipyard, Morgan City, La. Conrad’s five boatbuilding facilities are currently doing OK, but Conrad said more than ever it’s “a waiting game.”

On the West Coast, shipyards are fairing better overall than many Gulf yards, but Frank Foti, Vigor’s CEO, said geography doesn’t tell the whole story. “This has been a challenging time in the shipbuilding business,” he said. “There are depressed opportunities throughout the industry.”

“Being a diverse shipyard here at Eastern, we learned our lesson back in ’86” and have since diversified, he added.

The company now has plenty of work in other workboat sectors, Berthold said.

Out west, Vigor has numerous offices and construction facilities in Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Its diversified order book is currently heavy on ferry projects: 362'3"×83'×24'6" passenger/ vehicle ferries for Washington State Ferries, 280'×67'×12'6" ferries for the Alaska Marine Highway System, and 135'×38'×6'8" 400-passenger ferries for San Francisco’s Water Emergency Transportation Authority.

Diversified shipyards have more options.

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“To give you an example of how competitive it is in the Gulf, there’s an owner who wants to build five new small barges, and bids went out to 18 shipyards for that project.”

Dan Conrad Senior Vice President Conrad Shipyard

45

8/30/17 4:57 PM

VT SYSTEMS PURCHASES FORMER SIGNAL YARD

I

World Marine LLC

n mid-August, World Marine LLC (WMM) sold its Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard to VT Systems, parent company of VT Halter Marine, for $25 million.

VT Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd. (ST Engineering) World Marine purchased the assets of Signal International in

World Marine has kept its drydocking and ship repair facility in Mobile, Ala.

One of the shipyard’s more unusual projects was the recently delivered 508'×96'×51' Harvest, the first complex liquefied ammonia transport barge built in the U.S. for the Jones Act trade since 1982. The Harvest, built for The Mosaic Co., is part of an articulated tug-barge (ATB) unit that includes the 139'×44' tug S-182 Vision from Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Freeland, Wash.

“In this [current shipbuilding] situation you look for targeted opportunities within a diverse business,” said Foti.

“You can’t do just one thing and expect

December 2015, which included assets in Pascagoula and the former Bender Shipbuilding & Repair in Mobile, Ala. World Marine’s Pascagoula shipyard had mainly focused on offshore rig repair and conversion. The sale will allow WMM to focus exclusively on activities at its Mobile facility, World Marine of Alabama (WMA).

“With the tightened cash flow low oil prices have brought to all businesses supporting the offshore oil industry, it is important for our company to focus on the business at hand, and most importantly, continue to safely complete the on-time and cost-competitive drydocking and marine repair and fabrication work” at the Mobile facility, Robert Beckmann of WMA said in a statement.

Since the downturn of the offshore and marine industry, ST Engineering said it had been looking to acquire assets that represent long-term value and could enhance its capabilities while offering scale advantages in the marine repair segment. The acquired assets are located in close proximity to VT Halter’s Pascagoula yard.

— K. Hocke

to survive.”

BIGGER IS BETTER Conrad, Eastern and Vigor aren’t the only boatbuilders that see expansion as a key to the future.

All American Marine moved into a new $10 million, 57,000-sq.-ft. facility at the port of Bellingham, Wash., earlier this year. A major reason for the move was to increase the boatyard’s ability to build larger vessels.

Early this year, All American inked a deal for the construction of the 128'×30' hybrid-electric 600-passenger

Enhydra for Red and White Fleet in San Francisco. The new ferry will be the first aluminum-hulled, lithium-ion battery-electric hybrid vessel built from the keel up under Coast Guard Subchapter K passenger vessel regulations and the latest guidelines for structural fire protection.

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www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

8/30/17 5:01 PM

Corps wicket barge being built at Conrad will work at the Olmsted Locks and Dam project.

Ken Hocke

Express.

“We couldn’t take on half of what we have now without the expansion,” said Joe Hudspeth, AAM’s vice president of business development. “It’s our biggest year ever. We’re slammed.”

Brunswick Commercial & Government Products (BCGP) broke ground in April on an expansion at the company’s Edgewater, Fla., headquarters.

The addition includes a new large boat building with added manufacturing space and other facility improvements.

The new 10,500-sq.-ft. building will increase the company’s manufacturing capacity by 50%.

“Many of the company’s large, multiunit contracts as well as all boats over 27-feet will now be assembled in the new large boat building,” said Kelsey Nemeth, Brunswick’s marketing coordinator. “The addition will also include improvements to the existing 23,000-square-foot main assembly building, which will be streamlined for smaller boat production and accommodate the company’s refurbishment and warranty departments.” The project is nearly 70% complete and will open in October.

Brunswick recently introduced a new model, the 31' Vigilant, the newest offering in the Boston Whaler commercial line-up. The first boat will be delivered to the Port Jefferson (N.Y.) Fire Department. “This top of the line fireboat features a 135-horsepower fire pump capable of pumping 1,150 gallons per minute at 130 PSI,” said Nemeth. “The boat is equipped to handle fire suppression, search and rescue as well as EMS missions.”

Safe Boats International expanded its Tacoma, Wash., facility several years ago to build larger vessels. It helped the company land a $36.5 million contract to build six 85'×20' Navy Mark VI high-speed patrol boats in 2012. The Navy ordered four more Mk VIs in 2014, and then added another two. The 12th Mk VI is scheduled for delivery in mid-2018.

“We’ve substantially improved the production process on that boat,” said Hartwell Champagne, the yard’s senior

vice president, operations. “Improved the production process and labor costs.”

Another Safe contract is the 41' coastal interceptor vessel (CIV) for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

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ber. “It’s an IDIQ (indefinite delivery indefinite quantity) contract, so after the first one is delivered, a boat will be delivered every 30 days,” said Champagne.

Another IDIQ contract for Safe is the Coast Guard’s over-the-horizon-IV cutter boats. The Coast Guard plans to use 71 of the boats for its larger cutters, including the national security cutter and the offshore patrol cutter. The Coast Guard ordered 11 OTH-IV boats, worth approximately $4.76 million, with Safe in June 2016.

“Things are pretty stable right now,” Champagne said. “We don’t see any significant trends.”

Louisiana boatbuilder Metal Shark is close to completing an expansion of its Franklin, La., facility. The changes include a new 200'×80' large vessel assembly building, and a new 8,000-sq.ft. office building.

“Perhaps the biggest news at Franklin is the beginning of construction on multiple 85' near coastal patrol vessels (NCPVs) for the Navy, as part of a contract awarded to Metal Shark earlier this year,” said Josh Stickles, Metal Shark’s marketing vice president.

The NCPVs are based on a Damen Shipyards Stan Patrol design. Metal Shark will build up to 13 NCPVs for U.S. partner nations through the For-

Metal Shark’s Franklin, La., boatyard features a new 200’x80’ large vessel assembly building.

eign Military Sales (FMS) program.

The project is a result of a multiyear partnership between Metal Shark and Damen.

It’s not just government-military vessels being manufactured at Metal Shark. Construction of passenger vessels is also prevalent at Franklin. Between April and June of this year, the yard delivered six 88' Incat Crowtherdesigned 150-passenger ferries, all on-time or ahead of schedule, for New York’s NYC Ferry service.

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Additionally, work will begin soon on two 105' high-speed passenger vessels for the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA), with delivery scheduled for 2018.

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Welding

Imperfect Weld A skilled welder shortage continues to dog shipyards.

By Michael Crowley, Correspondent

50

WB_BG_Welding_LINO.indd 50

F

or many boatyards, finding skilled welders continues to be an issue. As the workforce ages, this is something that probably won’t go away soon for yards such as Blount Boats and Vigor Industrial.

“We are still looking for qualified welders,” said Julie Blount, vice president of Blount in Warren, R.I. Out West in Portland, Ore., Sue Haley, executive vice president of human resources with Vigor, said the company “is still having issues getting qualified welders.”

But the two builders are good examples of shipyards that are taking a proactive approach by developing programs to improve the availability of qualified welders.

There are exceptions to the qualified welder

shortage, especially at Gulf Coast shipyards.

“The shipbuilding industry has been hit hard with the fall of oil prices and are all downsizing their workforces,” said Steve Berthold, vice president sales and marketing at Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Panama City, Fla. That means Gulf yards like Eastern are better able to retain as many qualified welders and shipfitters as needed, both for immediate work and in the future when vessel construction ramps up.

Berthold said Eastern was at peak production from 2006 to 2016, delivering an average of 13-plus vessels per year. In 2017 nine vessels are scheduled to be completed and three in 2018.

After that, Berthold foresees a significant increase in construction. “Then we will start ramping up our workforce again,” he said.

Vigor

Vigor has partnered with community colleges to develop training centers that are located at its shipyards.

www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

8/30/17 1:41 PM

SCHOOLS, TRAINING Blount Boats, Vigor and Eastern, all take advantage of technical facilities at nearby vocational schools. Eastern also offers in-house welding and shipfitting training with certification criteria.

A graduate of a Rhode Island vocational school comes away with basic welding fundamentals. Once at Blount Boats, this person “gets put into an apprentice position and works with someone who is a second- or first-class welder,” said Blount. She notes that in the last 20 years there wasn’t much

David Krapf

Blount has a strong New England boatbuilding pedigree. Her father, Luther Blount, started Blount Marine Corp. in 1949 and by 1964 had built more than 100 vessels. She describes the dilemma and reward of building boats in New England. “It’s hard finding people who want to work outside in the cold. It’s dirty work. You’ve got to really love boats, love the water.

There’s really a lot of gratification that comes from building a boat and seeing it from start to finish.” But, she said, finding people who appreciate that experience is very difficult today.

For shipyards, finding and retaining skilled welders remains a big challenge.

attention paid to vocational schools, but now they are “starting to be viable avenues for a student to get a job.”

Rhode Island also has state incentive programs “where a manufacturer can receive up to a 50 percent wage subsidy,” said Blount, which can be used for training welders for specialized work.

Vigor has partnered with community colleges in Seattle, Portland and Ketchikan, Alaska, to develop training centers that take place at its boatyards.

“It’s a specific shipyard marine training program that lasts six months,” said Haley.

Most of the training involves structural welding with a small portion devoted to pipe welding. In addition to basic welding skills, students come out of the program with math and blueprint reading knowledge that relates to welding, as well as being OSHA certified.

“When they come out they are ready to come into a shipyard environment,” said Haley. “They come in as an as-

COUPLINGS, A WELDING ALTERNATIVE

Victaulic

T

here are basically two types of welding — structural and pipe welding. “They are really two different skill sets,” said Dennis Love, government and OEM sales manager with Victaulic, a producer of mechanical pipe joining systems in Easton, Pa. Whereas welding pipe ends together requires someone with a fair amount of training and precautions taken for things such as fire watch and welding fumes, installing the Victaulic grooved coupling, requires only “simple mechanical skills and not the years of acquired artistry of welders,” said Love.

Victaulic says its flexible grooved coupling is faster, less expensive and safer to install than welding pipe ends together for new construction and repair work.

Victaulic’s grooved couplings are used mostly with waterbased systems, such as ballast and bilge water, engine cooling water, firefighting and comfort Victaulic’s grooved couplings piping, as well as deck are used mostly with waterdrains and vents. based systems.

“The groove is the

www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

WB_BG_Welding_LINO.indd 51

heart of the entire system,” said Love. It’s either rolled or cut into a pipe, about 3/4" from the end. “That’s where the key segment of our coupling engages into the pipe, making it a restrained joint” along with the bolts and nuts to lock it in place.

The most important component of the coupling is the gasket, said Love. “It provides a pressure responsive seal inside the coupling.” It works under high pressure as well as a vacuum. There are gaskets for water systems as well as fuel and oil-based systems.

Other advantages to the flexible grooved coupling are that it can take up pipe misalignments and absorb vibration, and stress isn’t built into the piping system. “You would have stress built in on a welded pipe system,” said Love. The grooved coupling is available for pipes from 2" to 24".

Victaulic also offers a mechanical coupling that doesn’t require a grooved pipe end. That’s the Style 99 Roust-A-Bout coupling. It has the pressure responsive gasket. However, instead of a grooved pipe end, the coupling has hardened steel teeth that when the coupling is bolted together, the steel teeth grip the pipe, creating a secure, reliable joint. “For emergency repairs it’s perfect,” said Love.

Love has faced a couple of objections, one from a small New England shipyard. “They were concerned about their people using it because they would never want to weld pipe again.” — M. Crowley 51

8/30/17 1:41 PM

Welding

Vigor’s training programs last six months.

Vigor

sociate four and are paired with other people doing the same work to get their skills up.”

The training doesn’t stop just because an apprentice welder starts working at Vigor. Most of Vigor’s work involves steel welding. But when it appeared that aluminum welding would be required, after-hour classes were added for apprentice welders who work during the day to come in after work for aluminum training.

Vigor, taking advantage of its size (it operates several boatyards), recently developed a program called Beacon. It keeps track of all employees at three of Vigor’s nine boatyards by project, supervisor and skill set. So when “projects are slowing down,” said Haley, “rather than laying off a bunch of people, we can look not just at one site but across our sites. We can take people from Portland and have them go up and help in Seattle.”

Vigor is currently trying to link

employee training and certification into those records. Thus if TIG welders are needed, “we’ll be able to bring up all the welders who have these skills,” said

Haley. “It allowed us to take out some of the inherent ups and downs on the ship repair side, allowed us to smooth that out and keep people in place.”

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WorkBoat magazine/ WorkBoat.com is seeking a correspondent to report on the commercial marine industry in the Northwest. Previous commercial marine industry writing experience and familiarity with the Northwest workboat industry is a plus.

Please send your resume and clips to: workboat@cox.net

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WWW.WORKBOAT.COM NEWS FOR THE COMMERCIAL MARINE INDUSTRY.

Push button in and hold, pump slowly.

Do not test with deck fill pipe full.

Pressure over red line may damage gauge.

™

HART SYSTEMS, INC. Gig Harbor, Washington

TENDER monitors

up to ten fuel and HART SYSTEMS, INC. 24/7 access to important water tanks.

253-858-8481 FAXReliable 253-858-8486 industry resources. nonwww.TheTankTender.com electric and easy Become a member today. to install.

HART SYSTEMS, INC.

253-858-8481 FAX 253-858-8486 www.TheTankTender.com

TANK 1 TANK 2 TANK 3 TANK 4 PUMP

Push button in and hold, pump slowly.

Do not test with deck fill pipe full.

Pressure over red line may damage gauge.

™

HART SYSTEMS, INC. Gig Harbor, Washington

HART SYSTEMS, INC. 253-858-8481 FAX 253-858-8486 www.TheTankTender.com

www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

8/30/17 8:53 AM

To advertise please contact Jeff Powell • 207-842-5573 • jpowell@divcom.com MARINE GEAR

Have you thought about the accomplishment you have made by obtaining a Captain’s License? The many hours of study and time at sea?

1-800-584-0242

BARGE PUMPS

IMO ROTARY SCREW ASPHALT PUMPS BYRON JACKSON TURBINE PUMPS BLACKMER ROTARY GEAR PUMPS OUR 110TH YEAR

DUVIC’S PUMPS “Greater Downtown” HARVEY, LA 70059 Box 1237 • 504-341-1654 PH/FX

Keel Coolers Trouble free marine engine cooling since 1927!

THE WALTER MACHINE CO, INC Tel: 201-656-5654 • Fax: 201-656-0318 www.waltergear.com

Now Manufacturing and Installing Fire Retardant Bunk Curtains

We are a Custom Manufacturer of Wheelhouse Tinted Shades & Crew Quarter Blackout Shades

We custom build every shade to fit each window in our facility.

They are Incredibly durable, driven by over-sized clutches and operated by a stainless steel pull chain.

We offer measurement and installation services in Southern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. We carry $5,000,000 workers’ compensation, and liability insurance policies with U.S.L.&H. and the Jones Act.

Download our order form to purchase your shades today.

Contact: Edward Kass III | 504-615-5833 | ekass@solarboatshades.com | www.solarboatshades.com

www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

WB17_Classifieds_Oct.indd 55

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PortofCall

Your Source For Employment, Equipment & Services MARINE GEAR & SUPPLIES Lake Superior Cabs, Inc. Building Pilot Houses, Equipment Cabs and Control Houses since 1992

8-500kW Marine Generators // Pull harder in the harshest marine environments // More copper and premium corrosion resistance // Superior motor starting and low operating temps // Better fuel economy and longer engine life // Easy to service and worldwide dealer support // Proudly made in America

www.lakesuperiorcabs.com 121 W. Harney Rd Esko, MN Toll Free: 800-328-1823 Fax: 218-879-4640 Dean Myers LSCABS@aol.com

1.800.777.0714 toll free www.merequipment.com

SERVICES

Subchapter M

Our Goal is to Exceed Your Expectations

OceanMedix The Source For Medical, Emergency & Safety Equipment - Since 2006 http://www.OceanMedix.com 1-866-788-2642

Commercial Vessel Medical Kits Coastal & Offshore Configurations Available in three sizes to accommodate the number of POB, duration of trip and distance away from professional medical care

THE MOST POWERFUL TOOL

for removing coatings and rust

Rustibus® is designed to de-scale and power brush ship decks, hatch covers, tank tops, etc. free from paint and rust!

USA OFFICE Ph: 832-203-7170 houston@rustibus.com

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www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

8/30/17 8:53 AM

To advertise please contact Jeff Powell • 207-842-5573 • jpowell@divcom.com SERVICES

2021 Dauphine Street

•

New Orleans, LA 70116

(800) 823-1324

(504) 945-8917

We Build the Ship First.

Production Lofting Detail Design 3D Modeling St. John’s, NL | Vancouver, BC | New Orleans, LA 709.368.0669 | 504.287.4310 | www.genoadesign.com

USCG License Software Affordable–Merchant Marine Exam Training

http://hawsepipe.net Freelance Software, 39 Peckham Place, Bristol RI 02809

401-556-1955 sales@hawsepipe.net

Is your old 401k working as hard as you do?

Annuities are tax deferred investment products that may be used to help you increase & protect your savings and generate a stream of income at retirement.

Call me... I can help!

Lannum Insurance Services 530-350-8121 Office/ 530-556-0111 Cell klannum@comcast.net “Life Happens... Are You Protected?”

FromBOATS sunrise toTUGS/BARGES sunset, FOR RENT

the news and information BARGES SIZED FROM 8’x18’ TO 45’x120’ you need,ALSO when“SHUGART” SECTIONAL BARGES you need it.

“TRUCKABLE TUGS” HERE Smith Brothers I nc.,

G alesville, MD 20765 24/7 access to important (410) 867-1818 industry resources. w w w.smithbarge.com Become a member today.

Coast Guard & State Pilotage License Insurance Available Coverages; Legal Defense for CG, NTSB and State Pilot Hearings; Federal and State Civil Actions Reimbursement for Loss of Wages Group Coverage Also Available

BAYFRONT MARINE, INC.

R.J. Mellusi & Co., 29 Broadway, Suite 2311 New York, N.Y. 10006 Tel. 1(800)280-1590, Fax. 1(212)385-0920, rjmellusi@sealawyers.com www.marinelicenseinsurance.com

WORLDWIDE VESSEL DELIVERY SERVICE EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONALS Licensed Masters, Engineers and Crews Call Mel or Diane Longo (904) 824-8970 www.bayfrontmarineinc.com

Become a Certified and Accredited Marine Surveyor

Fishing Vessel Qualified. Complete course and examination for all vessel types and uses.

1-800-245-4425 or navsurvey.com

Classified Advertising Contact:

Jeff Powell (207) 842-5573 • jpowell@divcom.com

www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

WB17_Classifieds_Oct.indd 57

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Photo: Chris Miller/csmphotos.com

Be a part of the largest and longest running commercial fishing and commercial marine tradeshow on the West Coast. Source new products, catch up with old friends, and stay up-to-date on the latest industry news.

NOV 16 - 18, 2017 CenturyLink Field Event Center

Seattle, WA

Register before the show & admission is FREE* with this promotion code: WBMAG

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WB_FULLS.indd 58 PME_Aug_FullPage.indd 1

www.pacificmarineexpo.com *Registration discount applies for qualified registrants only, through Nov. 15, 2017. Day of show price: $30. Non-exhibiting suppliers fee: $50

8/30/17 6/9/17 9:04 9:21 AM AM

PortofCall

Your Source For Employment, Equipment & Services

ADVERTISERS INDEX Advertiser Page

TRAINING

Mari2me Ins2tute of Technology

850-387-1829

925 Cherry Street

Panama City, FL 32401

www.mitnavschool.com

facebook.com/mitnavschool

USCG Approved Courses Basic First Aid, CPR & AED

Leadership & Managerial Skills

STCW (Basic Safety Training)

Radar Renewal

Able Seaman / Lifeboatman Limited

Exam Prep (500 / 1600 / 3rd Mate)

100 Ton Master (Upgrade)

T O A R (Towing Operator Assessment Record)

200 Ton Master (Upgrade)

Visual Communications (Flashing Lights)

Celestial Navigation

OUPV (Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vehicles)

www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

WB17_Classifieds_Oct.indd 59

ABS....................................................... CV2 Advanced Mechanical Enterprises........... 32 AdvanTec Marine...................................... 16 Ahead Sanitation Systems Inc.................. 30 All American Marine................................... 9 Alphatron Marine USA, Inc....................... 25 Aventics Corporation................................ 19 Baier Universal Motion Components "UMC"................................. 47 Blount Boats Inc....................................... 30 Bostrom, H.O. Co Inc.................................10 Brunswick Commercial & Gov't Products.. 13 Clean Gulf................................................... 4 CLS America............................................ 37 Coast Guard Foundation.......................... 53 Duramax Marine LLC............................ CV3 Eastern Shipbuilding Group...................... 41 ExxonMobil Marine Fuels & Lubricants...... 7 Farmer's Copper Ltd................................. 26 Force Control Industries Inc...................... 43 Fraser Shipyards......................................... 5 Friend Ships............................................... 4 Furuno USA.............................................. 27 Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding.................... 43 Hamilton Marine Inc.................................... 2 Hougen Mfg., Inc...................................... 53 Imtra Corp............................................ 6, 53 International WorkBoat Show................... 49 Karl Senner, LLC................................... CV4 Louisiana Cat.............................................11 Marine Machining & Mfg........................... 19 Marine Travelift Inc.................................... 15 Metal Shark Aluminum Boats................... 24 Metals USA - Plates & Shapes................. 46 Motor-Services Hugo Stamp Inc............... 21 MTU............................................................ 3 Nautican Research & Development Ltd.... 53 Ocean Charting Services......................... 48 Omnithruster Inc....................................... 37 Pacific Marine Expo.................................. 58 Power Panels, LLC....................................10 Research Products/Blankenship............... 52 RIBCRAFT USA....................................... 53 R M Young Company................................ 22 R W Fernstrum & Company...................... 12 Seakeeper................................................ 23 TEUFELBERGER Fiber Rope Corporation..................................... 29 Thrustmaster of Texas.............................. 53 TMS - LevelCom....................................... 26 Victaulic Company.................................... 24 Vigor Industrial......................................... 17 Wilkes & McLean, Ltd............................... 22 Worldwide Electric Corporation................ 31 Xtaero Boats............................................. 42 Yank Marine Inc........................................ 20 Yanmar America....................................... 33 ZF Marine................................................. 14

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LOOKS BACK OCTOBER 1947

• On the cover is the 69'×20'×7'6" Sambo, a steel single-screw hawser tug built in 1942 by Levingston Shipbuilding Corp., Orange, Texas, and owned

by River Terminals Corp., Harvey, La. The tug is powered by a 400-hp Atlas diesel.

• Capitol Hill is still waiting for reports from the Army Engineers on the proposed 12'

control depths on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Authorization for the surveys have been on the books for years, but wartime activities and the size of the proposed survey work have delayed completion from year to year. The Army Engineers say they have made considerable progress but still have not set a date for release of the reports to Congress.

• Transportation of OCTOBER 1957 liquid chlo• The latest addition to the Chesapeake Bay ferry fleet is the 326' Old Point Comfort. The 1,000-passenger former Navy vessel was converted recently for service on the Norfolk, Va., to Kiptopeke, Va., run at a cost of over $1.33 million.

• Pentagon officials say a decision on the long dormant cross-Florida barge canal should come soon from the Board of Army Engineers for OCTOBER 1967 Rivers and

• VHF on the rivers got its start when the FCC cracked down on the use of channels 9 and 4 by moored vessels.

Towboat operators and others met to discuss what to do and the decision was made to use VHF. Very little was available on the VHF market. The big manufacturers were only building single channel equipment for taxis, police cars, etc. Multichannel equipment 60

WB_LooksBack_LINO.indd 60

rine by a fleet of new tank barges — the first ever specifically designed and built for such service — is being launched by the Columbia Chemical division of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. and its affiliate, Southern Alkali Corp.

Harbors. On paper, the project looks vital to the completion of the Intracoastal Canal system which the U.S. has been developing for decades. A 12' depth already exists along the Gulf Coast from Brownsville, Texas, to Carabelle, Fla.

was restricted to six or less channels.

There should be more than one receiver to monitor the multichannel unit, the public correspondence channels, and the bridge-to-bridge channel 13. One VHF radio manufacturer came through with a complete unit that monitors the calling channel (16), one of two public channels, and channel 13 all in one package. www.workboat.com • OCTOBER 2017 • WorkBoat

8/30/17 9:47 AM

DURAMAX®

SHAFT SEAL SYSTEMS

Engineered for Optimum Sealing Performance.

The DryMax™ seal is a robust, environmentally friendly, water-lubricated stern tube seal system. Engineered to accommodate the most axial and radial shaft movement of any seal design while eliminating wear on the shaft.

Reversible DuraChrome™ mating ring gives 2X the life extending drydock intervals

Keeps seawater out of your vessel and your bilge dry. The DryMax™ engineered nitrile rubber ring rotates with the shaft and creates a hydrodynamic seal with the DuraChrome™ mating ring.

Superior sealing and wear life. The proprietary rubber polymer seal ring and the DuraChrome™ alloy mating ring have been engineered to provide optimal sealing and long wear life.

Virtually maintenance free. An inflatable seal is built into the housing allowing seal inspection and primary sealing ring replacement at sea without dry docking.

MADE IN U.S.A.

DryMax™ is ideal for vessels operating in both brown and blue water. It accommodates shaft sizes and stern tubes up to 36".

MADE IN U.S.A.

The DryMax™ seal is also available as a rudder stock seal.

For more information on DryMax™ Shaft Seal or to purchase contact: Duramax Marine at 440-834-5400 or go to DuramaxMarine.com

Duramax Marine® is an ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

Products And Knowledge You Trust 2016WORKBOATAd_8.125x10.875.indd 1 WB_CVRS.indd 3

p: 440.834.5400 f: 800.497.9283 11/4/16 8/30/17 9:33 9:05 AM AM

PROPELLING

EXCELLENCE

Shipyard: Foss Rainier, OR Owner/Operator: Foss Maritime

Karl Senner, LLC congratulates Foss Maritime on the delivery of the M/V Nicole Foss. This is the final of three vessels in the Arctic Tug fleet. Karl Senner, LLC supplied two Reintjes WAF 3455 reverse reduction gearboxes.

Karl Senner, LLC proudly represents:

(504)469-4000 WWW.KARLSENNER.COM WB_CVRS.indd 4

8/30/17 9:05 AM