Maritime Reporter, November 1992

<BODY> <div> Tidewater To Provide $65.5 Million In Marine Services To Alyeska Tidewater, Inc., New Orleans, La., has announced that it has renewed and extended long-term contracts with Alyeska Pipeline Service Com- pany of Anchorage, Alaska, with a total value of $65.5 million. The contracts cover the chartering of six Tidewater emergency response ves- sels through July 1998. Tidewater's specially modified vessels are part of the Ship Escort Response Vessel System (SERVS) created by Alyeska to prevent and respond to oil tanker spills in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The five tug/supply vessels and one large tugboat escort tankers from the Port of Valdez through Prince William Sound to the Gulf of Alaska. They also assist laden tankers during emergencies by providing support and towing services and are equipped to handle initial oil spill response. Tidewater owns and operates one of the largest fleets of vessels serving the international offshore energy in- dustry and owns and operates one of the largest fleets of natural gas and air compressors in the United States. The company is in the container ship- ping business, owns a shipyard and has modest interests in domestic oil and gas operations, real estate and insurance. For complete information on the services provided by Tidewater, Circle 85 on Reader Service Card MarAd Awards Over $ 15 Million In Contracts For Deactivation Work The Maritime Administration has awarded over $15 million in con- tracts to various companies for de- activation work on Ready Reserve Force (RRF) vessels. Service Engineering Co., San Francisco, Calif., received two con- tracts worth about $6,086 million. Both contracts involve deactivation and repair aboard the SS Meteor and the SS Comet. West State, Inc., Portland, Ore., also received two contracts totaling $6,574,879 for deactivation and re- pairs aboard the Northern Light and the SS Cape Blanco. Southwest Marine, Inc., San Pedro Division, Seaside, Calif., re- ceived a contract worth $2,682,273 for deactivation, hull damage re- pairs and various other repairs aboard the SS Cape Girardeau. All work includes repairs neces- sary to meet classification specifica- tions and regulations. Demand For LNG Ships To Double World Fleet A recent study by Ocean Ship- ping Consultants (OSC) forecasts an 87 percent increase in global de- mand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers by the year 2005. If this November, 1992 prediction is realized, the corre- sponding rise in new construction orders would double the size of the world LNG fleet. As a result of growing world de- mand, the LNG shipping and ship building industries will enjoy a cor- responding boost. OSC reports that international LNG tanker employ- ment will increase by 101 percent. The study foresees a requirement for an additional 233 million cubic feet of LNG ship capacity beyond current orderbooks. This equates to an additional three to four LNG car- riers of 4,414,312 cubic feet being built by 1995, a further 19 tankers in the late 1990s and 30 more ves- sels by 2005. Bremer Vulkan Makes Takeover Bid For Stralsund Yard The number of groups interested in acquiring the eastern German shipyard of Volkswerft Stralsund, once the world's largest producer of fishery vessels, has risen to four after a recent bid from Bremer Vulkan. Also announcing their interests in Stralsund were two Norwegian groups and a management buy-out (MBO) proposal from Stralsund's management and Deutsche Maschinen-und Schiffbau, the par- ent of the east German shipyard. Stralsund's orderbook includes four containerships for German own- ers, three cargo/passenger ships for the Hurtigruten line of Norway, 15 trawlers for British and Russian in- terests and four dredgers for Indo- nesia. The yard's workforce now stands at 3,139, compared to the 8,000 workers Stralsund once em- ployed at its height. Bremer Vulkan has stated its in- terest in acquiring additional ship- building capacity in the east and has recently taken over the Meeres- Technik-Werft (MTW) shipyard. Norway Awards Additional $200 Million Contract For Tankers To AESA Knutsen OAS Shipping, Haugesund, Norway, has aug- mented its original order of three North Sea crude oil tankers from Astilleros Espanoles (AESA), Spain's leading shipbuilding orga- nization, with a $200 million con- tract for two more 125,000-dwt ships. The first deliveries are scheduled for 1994. If Knutsen exercises the options for a sixth and seventh tanker, the value of the entire program would increase to $700 million. The new double-hulled vessels will be among the most sophisti- cated in the North Sea shuttle car- rier fleet. While the first three tank- ers will be fitted with MAN B&W low-speed diesel engines coupled to a controllable pitch propeller, the remaining vessels will incorporate a unique bank of generators deliver- ing power to a single 16MW propul- sion motor turning a fixed-blade propeller at 90 rev/min. This cycloconverter-based diesel-electric system is considered a flexible and economic solution to the rigorous demands of North Sea shuttle tanker operations. The fourth and fifth tankers will also be among the first equipped to load crude oil by means of a sub- merged turret loading (STL) sys- tem, in addition to a standard bow loading station. For additional free information on the services and facilities available from Astilleros Espanoles' shipyards, Circle 6 on Reader Service Card GAO Predicts Growth In Navy's Shipbuilding Costs A General Accounting Office (GAO) report stated that their were more than $6 billion in Navy ship- building cost overruns during fiscal year 1991, and that future ship- building costs are likely to increase. According to the GAO, the 54 ship construction contracts evaluated in the report had initial target costs of $27.1 billion. Of the $6 billion addi- tional cost, the Navy's share is ap- proximately $4 billion, with the ship- yards picking up the remainder. To make up for funding short- falls, the Navy has previously trans- ferred funds to ship construction accounts from other shipbuilding and procurement programs that were lower in priority, reduced or canceled. However, for fiscal year 1992, the Navy was provided with over $463 million in additional funding by Con- gress, and given permission to trans- fer $1.5 billion among programs to make up funding shortages. The GAO and Navy report that future ship construction costs will continue to rise as the number of vessels under construction falls and as the Navy loses its ability to ac- commodate cost fluctuations. the owners of these vessels know., it's time you knew.. FERNSTRUM ENGINEERED KEEL COOLING 'The FERNSTRUM ©H©©@@ILIHIHI® is the simplest and most dependable form of fresh water cooling available." Ask any of our thousands of customers; they'll say the same thing. You can't find a better fresh water cooling system anywhere. Call us... we'll let you know which of our over 8000 different Gridcoolers is right for you. OVER 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN KEEL COOLING CHECK THESE UNIQUE QUALITIES ONLY FOUND IN THE GRIDCOOLER: Completely assembled and factory tested to assure reliability. No complicated, time consuming assembly before installation. Silver brazed and welded joints form a rugged keel cooler, no slip joints or "0" rings to leak. Heavy guage 90/10 copper-nickel or 5000 series aluminum rectangular tube, structurally stronger with more cooling surface, and twice the wall thickness of other package kit type keel coolers with round tube. Custom designed to meet owner's operating conditions and the engine manufacturer's exact cooling requirements. The most compact form of keel cooling, can be recessed for a flush with hull installation. R. W. Fernstrum & Company 1716 11 th Avenue • P. O. Box 97 Menominee, Ml 49858 Phone: (906) 863-5553 Fax: (906) 863-5634 Circle 232 on Reader Service Card 11 </div> <span id="lblContents"></span> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.digitalwavepublishing.com/" title="Digital Magazine">Digital Wave Publishing</a> </BODY>