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Ports along the inland waterways of the world have become seaports as a result of the LASH ship-barge concept. From the heartland agricultural center of the United States at Helena, Arkansas, a large bulk cargo of rice was recently shipped directly to Rotterdam, Netherlands. Equitable Equipment- World's Largest LASH/SEABEE Barge Builder Diversified New Orleans Shipbuilder's Recent Announcement Of A Contract From Waterman Steamship Increases The Equitable Equipment Company LASH/SEABEE Barge Building Backlog To $50 Million ON THE COVER: The cover photograph shows a LASH operation recently carried out in the Port of New Orleans. The M/V Munchen arrived from Rotterdam, on her maiden voyage with a full com- plement of lighters, among which were five heavy lifts totaling more than 850 long tons with a value for these five lifts in excess of $3,000,000. The M/V Munchen is owned by Combi Line, a joint venture of Holland America Line and Hapag Lloyd. The Munchen on her second voyage was already booked to full lighter complement capacity. The LASH program now stands at 24 LASH ships and 3,296 lighters, with further expansion in view. Jerome L. Goldman, president of both Friede & Goldman, Inc. and LASH Systems, is the inventor of the concept. In 1968, the first LASH (lighter aboard ship) barges in the world were delivered from the production lines of Equitable Equipment Com- pany, Inc., New Orleans, La., di- versified shipbuilder. Since that time, the LASH cargo delivery concept has changed the living hab- its of millions of people throughout the world, and Equitable has be- come the world's largest builder of LASH and SEABEE barges. The driving force behind the tre- mendous growth of Equitable since 6 1968 has been its president and chief executive officer, Cecil M. Keeney. Recently, he announced jret another LASH contract for the company from Waterman Steam- ship Corporation. Equitable will build 450 LASH barges under a $20-million contract. The com- pany's backlog is now $50-million in orders for the vessels. The contracts to build the LASH and SEABEE barges have come from major shipping companies in the United States and Europe. These include Central Gulf, 420 barges; Hapag Lloyd, a Hamburg, West Germany, firm, 205 barges; 200 barges for Delta Steamship; the Waterman vessels; and the world's first SEABEE barges, 246 for Lykes. LASH and SEABEE barge building has been brought to a production line assembly science by Equitable. Two years ago, the company built a production line for the construction of the vessels, and the facility is completing 10 LASH barges each week- One million dol- lars was invested in a sandblasting and painting facility, the largest of its kind in the nation. The opera- tion is capable of blasting steel surfaces of marine hulls and sur- faces—up to 110 feet in length, 50 feet in beam, and total gross weights of up to 200 tons—to any desired surface preparation and ap- plying the most sophisticated coat- ing systems that may be required for marine and industrial construc- tion. Four and a half million dol- lars was spent to develop the com- pany's Madisonville, La., shipyard on the north side of Lake Pont- chartrain for the construction of the barges. The building and contract ac- quisition program of Equitable has greatly benefited the City of New Orleans and its surrounding work force areas. In 1970, the company employed approximately 782 peo- ple, and its annual payroll was up- wards of $5,000,000. In November of 1972, 1,600 people were on Equitable's annual payroll of $12,- 000,000-plus. Equitable Equipment entered its 51st year in 1972 as a major ship- builder for worldwide industry. The company has designed, built, and delivered to thousands of com- panies marine systems of all de- scriptions for use in diverse and varied operations on the oceans, in- ir land waterways and in the harbors 50 of the world. Tugs and towboats iss for inland and ocean use; dredge ny tenders and workboats for marine .p- construction projects all over the it- world; barges for dry cargo con- ed tainer delivery in shallow-water ic- ports, and for oil and chemicals d1- transportation on the waterways of n- America and in foreign countries; rd water taxis for the movement of it- men and high-priority cargo to off- of shore petroleum drilling and pro- duction platforms; specialized LC_ barges for the shipping industry's ag containerization program ; person- nel quarters units and rig tenders; rk self-propelled drilling vessels for the exploration and production of ,Q_ oil; and unique design and con- struction projects for all the seg- er ments of the maritime industry, on Equitable built the first self-pro- 2,- pel led drilling ships and the off- shore drilling tender that brought its in Louisiana's first offshore oil well, p the world's first LASH barges and •y. the prototype for the SEABEE It, barge, and a 208-foot roll-on/roll- Ti- off trailership for shallow-draft ep- ic- eration in areas not accessible to id ocean cargoships. And the com- n- (Continued on next page) Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
