Eastern launches third new Staten Island ferry
Eastern Shipbuilding has launched the third and final Ollis-class ferry for the New York City Department of Transportation’s Staten Island Ferry Division.
Eastern launched the 4,500-passenger Dorothy Day from its Allanton facility in Panama City, Fla., on March 26. U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island broke a ceremonial bottle over the hull during the event.
“For more than 200 years, the Staten Island Ferry has been a symbol of New York City’s harbor and an integral part of our city’s transportation system,” Malliotakis said.
The 320-by-70-foot Ollis-class ferries will be powered by four EMD 12-710 Tier 4 engines generating a total of 9,980 horsepower. Two engines will drive a single Voith Schneider propeller at each end through Reintjes DUP 3000P combining reduction gears. Elliott Bay Design Group of Seattle provided plans for the vessels.
The lead vessel in the series, Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, is named for a Staten Island native serving in the U.S. Army who died heroically in Afghanistan in 2013. The second vessel is named Sandy Ground. The three passenger vessels will run roughly 5.2 miles in each direction between Staten Island and Manhattan.
Blount Boats delivers CTV for Virginia wind farm
Atlantic Wind Transfers has taken delivery of its second wind farm crew transfer vessel (CTV) built by Blount Boats.
The 65-foot Atlantic Endeavor is based in Virginia in support of Dominion Energy’s two-turbine Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind farm. The Chartwell 24 model catamaran operates with two to four crew and can carry up to 24 wind farm technicians to the turbines located 27 miles off Virginia Beach.
Propulsion comes from twin MAN engines powering HamiltonJet waterjets through ZF marine gears. Cummins gensets supply ship service power and Humphree interceptors improve ride quality for the passengers and crew. The boat’s service speed is 22 knots and its sprint speed is 29 knots. On deck, there is a Palfinger crane and NABRICO anchor winch.
The new vessel extends the partnership between Warren, R.I.-based Blount and Atlantic Wind Transfers in the burgeoning CTV market. Blount built the company’s first CTV, Atlantic Pioneer, five years ago to service the five turbines at the Block Island Wind Farm.
SAFE Boats wins Navy patrol boat order for Ukraine
SAFE Boats International has won a contract through the U.S. Navy to build Mark VI patrol boats for the government of Ukraine.
The boatbuilder, based in Bremerton, Wash., received a $20 million contract early this year to purchase components with long lead times. The yard expects a separate $80 million contract award in June, according to the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County.
The company plans to add 75 workers to build the 85-foot vessels at its facility in Tacoma.
“SAFE Boats is incredibly fortunate to have such a strong and engaged team supporting our efforts to bring production back to our Tacoma facility. We have been working toward this goal for more than three years and this project team has supported us every step of the way,” said Richard Schwarz, CEO of SAFE Boats.
Delivery of the first two patrol boats is expected in late 2022. The order could ultimately grow to 16 vessels, according to the development board.
Crowley, Danish firm partner on offshore wind vessels
Crowley has announced a partnership with the Danish shipper ESVAGT to develop Jones Act-compliant vessels for the offshore wind industry in the United States.
The companies will work to develop the first dedicated, U.S.-flagged service operation vessel (SOV) for use in offshore wind projects. ESVAGT was an early pioneer in the SOV concept in Europe, which has a robust offshore wind sector.
“This partnership will marry Crowley’s transferable engineering, vessel operations, project management and logistics experience in the U.S. offshore markets to ESVAGT’s global SOV design and operations capabilities,” said Crowley Chairman and CEO Tom Crowley. “This will enable the continued growth of sustainable, greener energy solutions by directly addressing the offshore wind service capacity challenge.”
In January, Crowley announced the formation of its New Energy division to focus on emerging energy projects in the United States.
MetalCraft delivers fireboat to Vietnamese province
MetalCraft Marine of Kingston, Ontario has delivered a Firestorm 36 MkII fireboat to Quang Ninh province in northern Vietnam. The vessel will be deployed to protect the island of Tuan Chau in Ha-Long Bay.
The high-speed aluminum monohull arrived in Vietnam late last year and entered service early this year, according to MetalCraft. The boatbuilder assisted with the commissioning using a local agent who provided multilingual translators.
The vessel is powered by twin 480-hp Cummins engines driving MJP waterjets for a maximum speed of 34 knots. The waterjets also allow the vessel to make a 180-degree turn within its own length at 34 knots, MetalCraft said.
Firefighting equipment consists of a Darley ZSM 3000 pump supplying water to Elkhart monitors at a rate of more than 3,200 gallons per minute. The vessel also has an AFFF foam dispensing system.
