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Todd Shipyards Corporation Receives Hughes Named Finnish Letter Of Intent From Maritime Fruit Consul In Baltimore To Build Three 380,000-Ton Tankers m Copt. Frank J. Hughes Maritime Fruit Carriers Com- pany Limited has announced that it has signed a letter of intent for its wholly owned subsidiary, Gen- eral Maritime Corporation, with Todd Shipyards Corporation for the construction by Todd of three 380,000-deadweight-ton very large crude carriers (VLCCs) with an option for three additional such vessels. The ships, known as super- tankers, would be owned by a quali- fied U.S. citizen company which will be designated by General Mar- itime at a later date. The three supertankers would be built by Todd at a newly planned extension of its present shipyard on Pelican Island in Galveston, Texas. It is estimated each vessel would cost approximately $95 mil- lion, giving the total transaction a value of approximately $285 mil- lion. According to Maritime Fruit, the transaction would be financed through a 41 percent construction differential subsidy, with the bal- ance coming through a lease trans- action. Delivery of the first vessel would be in mid-1977, with the second and third at six-month intervals thereafter. The letter of intent is subject to a number of conditions, among which are approval by the Mari- time Subsidy Board, and the receipt by an appropriate U.S. subsidiary of MFC of a firm commitment from the Federal Maritime Administra- tion of a grant for the construction differential subsidy. Several other companies have applied for this subsidy, and the approval of one or another of these applications may preclude the granting of this one. Consummation of the agreement would mark the second major or- der of tanker tonnage from a U.S. shipyard for the Maritime Group. On June 30, 1972, it was announced that General Maritime would time- charter three 265,000-deadweight- ton supertankers to l>e built by Bethlehem Steel Corp. These are scheduled for delivery in 1975 and 1976. It is intended that Mari- time Fruit Carriers will concen- trate for its future VLCC activities in General Maritime Corporation. Maritime Fruit Carriers Com- pany Limited is a multinational or- ganization, specializing in refriger- ated shipping and oil transporta- tion. Global Terminal Appoints Pegnam R.T. Norton, president of Global Terminal & Container Services, Inc., Port Jersey, N.J., has an- nounced the appointment of Robert C. Pegnam as vice president, engi- neering. A former Army officer and gradu- ate of Providence College, Mr. Pegnam has spent the past 10 years on the West Coast in various engi- neering management positions. Most recently, he was field engi- neering manager for Star Iron & Steel Company, Tacoma, Wash. Capt. Frank J. Hughes, president of the Curtis Bay Towing Com- pany, has 'been named Finnish Consul in Baltimore, Md., succeed- ing Capt. H.C. Jefferson, who held the post for 20 years. A native of Boston and a gradu- ate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Captain Hughes began his maritime career at the age of 16. He served as a deck officer on American-flag ships until 1944, when he joined the Moran Towing and Transportation Co. and en- gaged in deepsea towing and sal- vage operations. In 1958, Captain Hughes came to Baltimore as vice president of the Curtis Bay Towing Company, whose "Blue Diamond Fleet" of 31 tugs is the largest in the ports of Philadelphia, Baltimore and Hamp- ton Roads. He was named presi- dent of Curtis Bay in 1966, suc- ceeding Captain Jefferson, who be- came chairman of the board and served in that capacity until 1972. Although retired, Captain Jeffer- son continued to serve as Finnish Consul until late last year, when >foo© Signal and Alarm Panels Lubrication Normal ? Fans Functioning ? Bearings Running Hot ? Fire Watch ? Navigation Lights All On ? The means to monitor almost any shipboard condition is probably waiting on our shelves, though most panels are designed to meet the particular needs of an individual vessel. We have the means/ the methods and the know-how. Try us and see. enscliel ii CORPORATION A UNIT OF GENERAL SIGNAL Amesbury, Massachusetts 01913 Telephone 617 3881103 the Finnish Government appointed Captain Hughes to succeed him. The new Consul is a former president of The Propeller Club of the United States, Port of Balti- more, and a member of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Balti- more. He has participated in four trade missions to Europe and the Far East to stimulate international trade and has served as a board member of Maryland Cruises, a civic group formed to promote cruising out of the Port of Balti- more. Hull Syndicate Increases Capacity For LNG Carriers The American Hull Insurance Syndicate has increased its under- writing capacity nearly threefold, to $40 million on any one vessel, in a significant move intended to provide ample insurance support to the planned expansion of shipping and shipbuilding in the United States. As announced by Allen E. Schu- macher, chairman of the 50-com- pany marine underwriting organ- ization in New York, this increase from its previous limit of $15 mil- lion per vessel (established only three years ago) has been achieved in less than a year of active plan- ning, in recognition of the need for added hull insurance capacity in the coming era of specialized high-valued vessels. He referred expressly to the programs envi- sioned by the Maritime Adminis- tration and individual owners and operators for the construction of mammoth tankers and liquefied natural gas carriers, which may cost upward of $100 million to build, both in this country and abroad. With the attainment of this in- crease, Mr. Schumacher said, ship- owners need no longer be con- cerned about the collective capabil- ity of the traditional worldwide in- surance markets to cover exposures foreseen during the next several years. "When additional capacity is required," he emphasized, "it will be available." Missile Hydrofoil To Be Powered By G.E. Gas Turbine The United States-NATO missile- carrying hydrofoil PHM will use Gen- eral Electric LM2500 gas turbine en- gines for foilborne propulsion, the Boeing Aerospace Company recently announced. The advanced hydrofoil gunboat, now being developed by Boeing under contract with the U.S. Navy, will be powered by a single GE marine tur- bine and will be capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots. The vessel will be able to operate in 12-foot seas. The PHM is patterned after the Tucumcari, the Navy's 60-ton hydro- foil gunboat. The PHM, however, will be several times larger. 14 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
