Crowley Maritime Corporation chris-
tened the first of six new 185,000-barrel
Articulated Tug-Barge (ATB) tank vessels
that the company will take delivery of
over the next two and half years. The ves-
sels christened were the 9,280 hp-tug
Pacific Reliance and barge 650-1.
At ceremonies held at the Mobile Con-
vention Center on South Water Street,
Constance Crowley Peabody, aunt of Tom
Crowley Jr., company chairman, president
and CEO, christened the Pacific Reliance,
while Janet Bishop from ConocoPhillips,
christened barge 650-1.
Crowley's Petroleum Services group
will charter the VT Halter Marine-built
ATB from Crowley's vessel construction
and naval architecture subsidiary, Vessel
Management Services, and operate it for
ConocoPhillips under a three-year agree-
ment. Crowley already has four, 155,000-
barrel ATBs operating on the U.S. West
Coast.
"We are thrilled to be expanding our
ATB fleet with these new, larger, state-of-
the-art vessels," said Crowley. "Our exist-
ing ATBs have performed extremely well
for our petroleum customers and we're
confident that this new ATB will provide
ConocoPhillips with many years of safe,
reliable and efficient transportation for
their products."
Crowley and VT Halter Marine jointly
designed the ATB tank vessel. The barge
650-1 was built at Halter's shipyard in
Pascagoula, Miss., and the Pacific
Reliance at its shipyard, in Moss Point,
Miss.
Boyd E. King, VT Halter Marine's CEO
said "VT Halter Marine's order book is
growing thanks to multi-year projects like
Crowley's six-unit ATB order. This pro-
ject highlights VT Halter Marine's ability
to utilize the joint capabilities of its spe-
cialized facilities that work in concert to
produce a diverse product line of com-
mercial and defense related vessels."
The new ATBs feature the latest sys-
tems technology and double-hull con-
struction for maximum safety and reliabil-
ity. Not only does the unit have the capa-
bility of transporting refined products, but
it can also carry heated cargoes and easy
chemicals, which require special arrange-
ments of vents, stripping systems, pump
components and tank coatings above that
normally required for product carriers.
All of Crowley's ATBs are built under
the ABS SafeHull program for environ-
mental protection. This program puts the
vessel design through an exhaustive
review to identify structural loads and
strengthen the vessel structure. The 650-
Class barges will be 27,000 dwt, 587 x 74
x 40 ft. The fully loaded draft will be 30
ft. There is an electric cargo pump in each
of the 14 cargo tanks to assure maximum
cargo integrity and segregation flexibility;
two anchor windlasses and associated
equipment to enable the vessel to accom-
modate offshore mooring operations; and
a vacuum system with three retention
tanks to easily handle cargo changes.
There is also a dual mode inert gas system
and vapor collection system for maximum
safety. A layer of inert gas covers products
in the tanks to make the atmosphere too
lean for combustion. An enhanced moor-
ing system features 1,000-ft. Spectra-type
lines on split drums with a high-speed
recovery rate of 100 ft. per minute.
The tugs meet all SOLAS and ABS cri-
teria, and have a foam capable fire moni-
tor; twin fuel-efficient diesel engines; a
noise reduction package; and other
upgrades to increase crew comfort. The
communication and navigation equipment
is among the most technologically
advanced in the industry today.
These six new ATBs will join a fleet of
four, 155,000-barrel Crowley ATBs
already in service. The Sea Reliance/550-
1, Sound Reliance/550-2, Ocean Reliance
/550-3 and Coastal Reliance/550-4 have
each made over 100 successful voyages.
The ATB fleet has moved over 65 million
barrels of product with zero spills and
only two Lost Time Incidents (LTI) in
three and a half years, averaging approxi-
mately 20 million barrels moved a year.
4• MarineNews • April, 2006
NEWS
Crowley Christens First in Series ATB
Directory of companies given editorial coverage in this edition of MarineNews.
Aker Kvaerner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
American Commercial Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Art Anderson Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Bahamas Ferries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Boyd E. King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
BP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Bruce Doughty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Bruce Washburn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Burger Shipyard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Caterpillar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
CDS Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Constance Crowley Peabody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
C-Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Crescent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Crowley Maritime Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Cummins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Damen Shipyards Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Detroit Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Doron Zilbershtein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Edison Chouest Offshore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Evan Berns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Fincantieri Marine Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
FMC Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Gary Chouest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Gems Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Globalstar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Glosten Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Halliburton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Harvard University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Harvey Gulf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Horizon Offshore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
INMARSAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Iridium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Irving Shipbuilding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Isotta Frashini Motori . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Ivan Reiff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
James W. Parks II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Janet Bishop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Juergen Boehme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
kamewa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Maine Maritime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
MAN B&W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Matthew Veluto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
McAllister Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Michael J. Olivier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Moran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Motor-Services Hugo Stamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Nordane Shipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Pietra Ligure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
PowerWell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Precision Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Ribcraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Rodriguez Cantieri Navali . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Rolls-Royce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Sander van Oord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Smart Intervention System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Statoil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10, 41
SUNY Maritime College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Ted Tregurtha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Tom Crowley Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Tom Marstin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
UNITECH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
VT Halter Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Washburn & Doughty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Weatherford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
The Index
APRIL MN2006 1(1-8).qxd 4/10/2006 3:13 PM Page 4
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