Ross Candies from Dakota Creek Industries
Quite a few multipurpose support vessels (MPSV) or inspection, maintenance and repair boats have been built in the last few months. The newest is Ross Candies from Otto Candies LLC, of Des Allemands, La. As with its 1-year-old sister, Grant Candies, Dakota Creek Industries Inc., of Anacortes, Wash., built all but the topside of the vessel. The topside of Ross was finished in Galveston, Texas.
"The Grant Candies has yet to have her topside installed," said Brett Candies, traffic and sales manger of Otto Candies. "We were able to contract her out as a floatel for a platform being built 100 miles off the Texas coast. Within a month I expect the vessel will return to our shipyard in Houma, La., for topside outfitting."
Ross Candies is a 309-by-66-foot vessel with a full complement of construction and repair equipment, including a 150-ton knuckle boom crane, a moon pool and a mast that works in conjunction with the 100-ton, below-deck, deep-sea winch. It also has a heliport and uses diesel electric propulsion with three bow thrusters and two stern thrusters and it is rated for DP-2 operations.
Candies also reports the building of two 285-foot supply boats, one completely in its yard. The second is having its hull and deckhouse built by VT Halter Marine and towed to Candies Shipbuilding for completion. Other construction includes a 300-foot MPSV vessel that is a sister ship to the 2007 newbuild Chloe Candies. Dakota Creek Industries is building a third MPSV, a sister ship to Ross Candies, to be called Cade Candies.
Shipbuilders face deadline on Marpol Annex II
Any ships built after Aug. 31, 2010, will have to be of "clean hull" design, according to Marpol Annex II. That means flammable cargo such as fuel oil, methanol, liquid mud and a host of other liquids carried in hull tanks of offshore vessels cannot use the hull as one of the sides of the tank. "In effect, Marpol wants us to double hull those portions of the hull," said Brett Candies, traffic and sales manager of Otto Candies LLC, Des Allemands, La. "That's why we are trying to get as many vessels out of our yard as possible in July," Candies added.
"We may use other tankage arrangements to comply with Marpol," Candies remarked.
Bollinger builds oceangoing tugs
Bollinger Shipyards, of Lockport, La., has entered into a contract to build a pair of oceangoing tugs for Crowley Maritime. The 10,880-hp tugs will be delivered in the third quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012.
To be named Ocean Wind and Ocean Wave, the vessels will be built at Bollinger Marine Fabricators in Amelia, La., and will meet SOLAS and ABS criteria including ABS Fi-Fi firefighting standards.
The vessels will each be 146 feet long with a 44-foot beam and a draft of 21 feet. The boats will have a bollard pull of at least 150 metric tons and have a range of 12,600 nautical miles for long-range, high-capacity ocean towing.
Aker Philadelphia struggles with tanker program
Aker Philadelphia Shipyard has delivered the eighth tanker in a series of 12 to American Shipping Co. (AMSC) and Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG), but it hasn't been easy. Aker's revenues for 2009 declined by $58.3 million over the 2008 level of $285.1 million. Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization was $13.4 million in 2009 compared with $16.2 million for 2008.
To ensure that Aker could finish the remaining tankers, the parties modified certain aspects of their contract and settled all outstanding disputes. Aker will be able to maintain near term liquidity during the balance of the tanker build program and AMSC and OSG agreed to terminate the exclusivity agreements, thereby giving Aker the ability to build tankers for other parties.
Davie Yards in bankruptcy again
Davie Yards, of Levis, Quebec, Canada, has filed for creditor protection under the Companies' Creditor Arrangement Act (CCAA). Citing accumulated losses due to currency fluctuations and project cost increases related to payment delays by Davie clients, new CEO Gustav Johan Nydal said, "This is a very unfortunate situation, but we must realign our operations in order to get the time necessary to move ahead on solid footing."
Approximately 1,590 employees were laid off March 1. According to blogger Tim Colton, this is the seventh time Davie has sought bankruptcy protection.
Washburn & Doughty delivers two z-drive tugs
Washburn & Doughty Associates, of East Boothbay, Maine, has delivered a pair of 98-foot, 6,600-hp z-drive tugs to Moran Towing. Catherine C. Moran was delivered Nov. 10, 2009, while Loretta B. Moran joined the Moran fleet Feb. 9, 2010.
Work on both vessels commenced shortly after a fire in the shipyard's main construction building. The vessels were built outdoors in spite of the Maine winters.
Power for the vessels comes from a pair of EMD 12-710G7C-T2, each rated at 3,300 hp.
VT Halter Marine Continues NOAA building program
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has taken delivery of its fourth fisheries research vessel, all from VT Halter Marine. The 208-foot Bell M. Shimada has three sister ships stationed in Alaskan, Gulf and Atlantic waters to study, monitor and collect data on a wide range of sea life and ocean conditions.
VT Halter launched the vessel in September 2008 from its Moss Point, Miss., yard, one of three Halter operates in the northern Mississippi area.
These vessels are known for their extremely quiet operation that allows them to study fish and marine mammals with highly sensitive acoustic devices. The vessels have a drop-down section of the keel to further eliminate the noise associated with the ship moving through the water.
Bell M. Shimada will work the West Coast of the United States from Washington to Southern California.
Halter is also building NOAA's first SWATH vessel, Ferdinand R. Hassler. The vessel will conduct hydrographic surveys of the sea floor using side scan and multibeam radars. Delivery is anticipated this summer.
About the author:
Larry Pearson has been covering the maritime industry since 1981. His work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including Marine Log, Diesel Progress, WorkBoat, Professional Mariner and American Ship Review. He published his own magazine, Passenger Vessel News, from 1991 to 1998. A graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in journalism and a minor in mechanical engineering, he lives in the New Orleans area.
