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The ? eld of AT/B design has seen great advances in recent years. AT/Bs were among the ? rst tank vessels to adopt double hulled cargo tanks and AT/B tugs were among the ? rst to employ double-skin fuel tanks. AT/B designers are also among the most proli? c users of large- scale model testing and have been among the earliest com- mercial users of Computational Fluid Dynamics software to optimize their designs. Todays naval architects include specialists in AT/B design and Robert Hill of Ocean Tug & Barge Engineering Corp., of Milford, MA has specialized in the design of AT/Bs for many years. His success comes, in part, from a willingness to innovate. AT/B design has more than kept up with the times,? Hill told MarineNews in August. We have, as an en- gineering-industry, worked tirelessly to stay ahead of the var- ious technology curves and have even been responsible for many innovations that apply to other ? elds of ship design.? He adds, With all the talk of reduced bridge complements, the tug and barge industry has been safely running single- of? cer bridges for decades.? Naval architects serving the tug/ barge industry have long dealt with the needs of designing a vessel to be easily operable by a compact crew size, as well as making the boats themselves far more crew-friendly. That effort continues today. AT/B accommodations and designs September 2013106 MNMN Sept2013 Layout 96-111.indd 1068/29/2013 4:42:39 PM
