August 2006 9
Vancouver Shipyards to
Build New Ship
BC Ferries signed a $41m contract
with Vancouver Shipyards, a
Washington Marine Group company, to
build a new 125-car intermediate size
ferry. Construction on the 328 ft. (100
m) vessel will begin later this year and
the ship is expected to enter service by
the summer of 2008. The new interme-
diate vessel will allow for the retirement
of the 46-year-old Queen of
Tsawwassen. The new ship will initially
sail on the Earls Cove - Saltery Bay
route on the Sunshine Coast.
VT Halter Marine
Launches Ferry
VT Halter Marine launched the Island
Home, a 255-ft. double-ended ferry
built for The Woods Hole, Martha's
Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamship
Authority (SSA), on July 21. The Island
Home will replace the Islander, a 56-
year old ferry currently serving the
Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven route.
The Island Home was designed by
Elliott Bay Design Group of Seattle and
is capable of carrying up to 1,200 pas-
sengers and crew. The ferry will also
carry 76 vehicles (cars and semi-trail-
ers) and includes hydraulic lift decks for
16 cars. Displacing nearly 1,950 tons
when fully loaded and powered by two
direct drive EMD diesel engines deliv-
ering 6,000 hp, it has a top speed of 16
knots.
Fiberglass Catamaran
From China
Guanzhou Min Hua Yacht
Manufacture Ltd. delivered the fourth in
a series of high speed catamaran passen-
ger vessels to Elison, an operator in the
far south of Guangdong province. The
catamaran will service the two islands
of Shangchuan Dao and Xiachuan Dao,
which are busy terminals on an other-
wise empty stretch of coastline. The
islands lie about 10 miles off shore and
are popular holiday destinations for
domestic tourists. At 23.8 x 6 x 2.1 m,
the catamarans are among the larger
vessels on the run to the islands. They
carry 130 passengers in a single main
deck cabin with a pilothouse on the
upper deck.
Propulsion power is a pair of 550 hp
Cummins KTA19 M2 engines turning
three-blade propellers through 2.5:1
reduction Hanzhou J400 gear boxes.
This combination gives the boat a 24-
knot speed at sea.
MOL Promotes Birnbaum
MOL (Asia) Ltd. promoted Fred
Birnbaum to Director/General Manager
of Marketing for Central China. In
addition to having responsibility for all
marketing and customer service, he will
lead and manage regional business
development for the Liner Division as
MOL (China) begins a three-year
expansion program. Birnbaum is a grad-
uate of SUNY Buffalo with a B.A. in
Liberal Arts concentrated in Chinese
language and Asian studies. David
Prado joins MOL as the General
Manager of Transpacific Trade
Management in Hong Kong. He suc-
ceeds Junya Nakamura who is now the
Group Leader of MOL's Ports and
Terminal Group in Tokyo. Prado holds
an MBA in International Business from
Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Tidewater Promotes Platt
Tidewater Inc. promoted Jeffrey M.
Platt, from senior vice president of the
company to the position of executive
vice president. Platt will be responsible
for overseeing the day-to-day marine
operations of the company, both domes-
tically and internationally. Platt is a
1979 graduate of the University of
Pittsburgh with a degree in Electrical
Engineering. He joined Tidewater in
1996 as general manager of its business
activities in Brazil.
Grace Retires from
NASSCO
General
Dynamics NASS-
CO announced the
retirement of
Janice S. Grace,
its senior vice
president of oper-
ations, on June 30.
Grace, 55, had
served as the ship-
yard's second-ranking executive since
February 2004. She was responsible for
all production, engineering, materials,
master planning and information sys-
tems activities at the shipyard. A gradu-
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News
Evergreen Chairman Wins Award
Dr. Chang Yung-Fa, Group Chairman of the Evergreen Group, has been
appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) by Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II in recognition of his services to shipping and British economic inter-
ests. "I am both humbled and deeply honored. I am happy to say that shipping
has not only been my profession, but also my life's passion. To be rewarded for
one's passion is truly a privilege," Dr. Chang said. "On a more personal note, I
would like to thank the maritime industry as a whole. I can only hope that my con-
tribution to shipping has been as great as shipping's contribution to my life. The
maritime industry has provided me with many full and happy years and shaped
the man I am today. In the wise words of the English poet and novelist John
Ruskin: 'The highest reward for man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he
becomes by it.’” Hatsu Marine, established as a British shipping company in
2002, has developed into one of the largest shipowning entities in the U.K. and
was this year awarded the coveted Queen's Award for Enterprise: International
Trade. At present, the company operates 11 containerships under the Red Ensign,
including four 7,024TEU S-type vessels, which incorporate the latest in environ-
mentally sound features and are among the largest container vessels currently ply-
ing the world's oceans.
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