The hopper dredge Stuyvesant being launched at Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans.
Largest U.S.-Built Hopper Dredge
Launched At Avondale Shipyards
The largest hopper dredge ever
built in the United States — the
Stuyvesant — was launched at
Avondale Shipyards recently.
The oceangoing dredge is owned
by Stuyvesant Dredging Co., a
partnership formed by the sub-
sidiaries of Zapata Corp. and
Boskalis Westminster Inc. The
Stuyvesant will be operated and
crewed by Williams-McWilliams
Co. Inc. of New Orleans, a Zapata
subsidiary.
The dredge is 372 feet long
with a beam of 72 feet. It has a
loaded draft of 29 feet and a
cargo capacity of 8,800 cubic
yards. The Stuyvesant has a total
installed horsepower of 15,000
and can move at a speed of 12
knots. The dredge is equipped
with twin 35-inch-diameter trail-
ing suction pipes operated by hy-
draulic swell compensators, en-
abling the dredge to remove, load,
and transport to sea substantial
amounts of dredged material. The
hull has 40 hinged doors fitted in
the bottom which are activated
by hydraulic rams.
The seagoing Stuyvesant is
completely self-contained. It is
capable of working in busy wa-
terways without delaying normal
shipping traffic, and can also op-
erate in heavy sea and swell
conditions.
The dredge was christened by
Mrs. John B. Breaux, wife of
Congressman John B. Breaux of
Louisiana, and Senator J. Bennett
Johnston of Louisiana was the
main speaker.
The Stuyvesant was designed
specifically for the development
and maintenance of U.S. water-
ways. After completion, antici-
pated for early 1982, the vessel
will be available for work under
contract to the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers and other custom-
ers.
Houston-based Zapata Corp. is
a diversified natural resources
company primarily engaged in
energy-related work. Boskalis
Westminster, Inc., is the U.S.
holding company of the Royal
Boskalis Westminster N.V. of the
Netherlands-—a major interna-
tional dredging, pipeline, and con-
struction company. The dredge is
being built to American Bureau
of Shipping classification.
STUYVESANT
Major Suppliers
Main Propulsion (2) Stork
Werkspoor
Diesels B.V.
Reduction Gear . . . Philadelphia Gear
HP 15,000
Speed 12 knots
Propellers Bird-Johnson Co.
Shaft Bird-Johnson Co.
Bearings ACIPCO Steel
Products
Generators Holec Machines
Generator
Engines Boyce Machinery
Steering Sperry Marine
Systems
Separators Facet Enterprises
Pumps Allweiler Pump Co.,
Machine Fabriek
GJ NIJHUIS BV
Fire-Fighting Herbert S. Hiller
Air Compressors Compai
Industrial, Inc.
Sanitation
Equipment Pott Industries
Cranes Marine Crane
Winches Marine Safety
Equipment Co.
Anchor Windlass
Capstan CVD Giessen
Werktuigenfabrie
Cargo Gear .... Cranes of Houston
Cathodic Protection Engelhard
Industries
Principals of the Stuyvesant christening were, left to right: Albert L. Bossier Jr.,
president of Avondale Shipyards, Inc.; Congressman John B. Breaux, Louisiana;
P. van Lunteren, Royal Boskalis Westminster; William L. Rose Jr., president of
Williams-McWilliams Co., Inc.; Mrs. John B. Breaux, sponsor; J. Kraaijeveld van
Hemert, chairman of the board of Royal Boskalis Westminster; Congresswoman
Lindy Boggs, Louisiana; Ronald Lassiter, president of Zapata Corporation; Senator
J. Bennett Johnston, Louisiana; Dr. J.H. Lubbers, Dutch ambassador to the U.S.;
Ian Anderson, president of Stuyvesant Dredging, Inc.; Ken Waldorf, president of
Zapata Marine Services; and, in the forefront center, Miss Karen Marie Poole.
ASNE Flagship Section Hears
Paper On Engineering Costs And Risks
Principals shown during the ASNE Flagship Section meeting are, left to right: Capt.
Barry Roberts, moderator; authors Jan Hope, Lt. Comdrs. James Baskerville,
Michael Reed, and Comdr. Clark Graham (section chairman).
The second meeting for the
1981 82 season of the Flagship
Section of The American Society
of Naval Engineers had a unique
format. It was held at a location
close to the working place of
many members, the Crystal City
Marriott, which was also near a
metro subway stop for the con-
venience of other members, and
at a convenient time — immedi-
ately after normal working hours.
The meeting consisted of a
cocktail hour and technical ses-
sion only, enabling the partici-
pants to be on their way or free
to attend other activities by 7:30
p.m. The technical session en-
tailed examination of the "Costs
and Risks of Engineering Prog-
ress—An Update," a topic first
broached by Adm. Nathan Sonen-
shein some 22 years ago, when
he was a captain in the Bureau
of Ships.
The authors, Comdr. Clark
Graham. Lt. Comdrs. James Bask-
erville and Michael Reed, and Jan
Hope used the common parame-
ters of "Goal," "Risk," "Appli-
cation," "Performance," "Evalu-
ation," "Correction," and "Les-
sons Learned," to examine six
major programs conducted by
NAVSEA in the last two dec-
ades. These programs, "Waste
Heat Boiler," "Pressure Fired
Boiler," "Digital Combat Sys-
tem," "AO 177 Highly Skewed
Propeller," "Drone Antisubma-
rine Helicopter (DASH)," and
the "Marine Gas Turbine" were
analyzed as to how they contrib-
uted to engineering progress.
The conclusion reached was
that while not all programs will
be highly successful nor even
slightly successful, to obtain any
success at all, a bold engineering
outlook taking into consideration
past experience and the accept-
ance of calculated risks must be
the approach taken by NAVSEA
in the future.
22 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
Digital Wave Publishing