(MYSTIC, Conn.) — JMS Naval Architects has designed a 500-ton lift capacity floating dry dock for Biblia Inc. Marine Towing and Transportation of Savannah, Ga. Biblia awarded construction of the dry dock to Conrad Shipyard of Morgan City, La., where it is under construction.
Biblia owns and operates a fleet of tugs and barges, providing marine transportation, bed-leveling, agitation dredging and dragging services on the East Coast, Gulf Coast and western rivers of the United States. Biblia will use the dry dock to service its own tugboats and offer similar repair and maintenance services to other vessel owners in the area from its Savannah River facilities.
The new dry dock, which will replace Biblia’s existing dry dock, is 120 feet long and 60 feet wide, with a 6-foot deep pontoon and 14-foot-tall wing walls. The dock will primarily be used for hauling tugboats with a maximum length of 120 feet and draft of 10 feet. The dry-dock design incorporates a shore power connection, onboard generator and individual pumps. One end of the dry dock is raked to facilitate towing the dock.
JMS developed a complete engineering and design package including all structural design, stability and outfitting meeting the requirements of the ABS Rules for Building and Classing Steel Floating Dry Docks. Systems include the ballast system, seachest arrangement, electrical system, and pump and discharge piping. JMS also designed the power system including generator arrangement, fuel tank arrangement, and electrical and piping system one-lines.
In 2019, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced $19.6 million in grants to support improvements at 28 small shipyards across the United States. Of that total, $1.3 million will help fund the design and construction of the dry dock that is scheduled to arrive at Biblia in the spring of 2021.
Since its inception in 2008, the Small Shipyard Grant Program has awarded more than $243 million through 268 grants. Applications for the next round of grants are due by Feb. 25, 2021. These grants, which are limited to no more than 75 percent of the estimated improvement costs, are available to U.S. shipyards with fewer than 1,200 production employees. The U.S. Maritime Administration intends to award grants by April 26, 2021.
