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The new vessel will be a sister ship of the Delta Queen. It will be the largest passenger river steamer ever built in this country. Construction of the new boat was made pos- sible by a Federal Maritime Administration guarantee of 87y2 percent of the $15.5 million cost. The balance was financed by ONA through the First National Bank of Chicago. The Delta Queen is currently operating un- der a reprieve from the Safety at Sea Law, since the 47-year-old vessel cannot be brought up to certain standards enacted in the 1966 law. Legislation to permit an additional five- year extension of the Delta Queen's reprieve was introduced last month by Chairwoman Leonor K. Sullivan (D-Mo.) of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee. The new riverboat is the result of more than six years of planning by Greene Line and the maritime division of ONA. It will have the exterior appearance of an old-time Mississippi River steamboat, but will use the latest con- struction materials, and will be built to U.S. Coast Guard safety standards. The boat will be powered by two 1,000- horsepower steam reciprocating engines that will turn her paddlewheel, and will be capable of 12 miles an hour. She will have a swimming pool, a sauna, large lounges, four bars, air-con- ditioning, elevators, and a steam calliope. Design and construction of the new vessel is under the direction of James S. Demetrion, assistant to the chairman of ONA, and direc- tor of maritime affairs for the airline. Mr. De- metrion supervised design and construction of a 15,000-ton ocean cruise ship 'begun by ONA and now sailing as the Cunard Adventurer. For exterior design, ONA retained James Gardner, who did the exterior design of the Cunard Adventurer, and also that of the QE II. Supervising naval architects are Schuller and Allan of Houston, a firm that has been work- ing on passenger vessel design for the Greene Line since 1967. The firm of Three Quays Ma- rine Service of London, a division of P & O Steamship Company, Ltd., is a marine con- sultant. Testing of the new riverboat's hull and pro- pulsion system was done at the Netherlands Ship Model Basin at Wageningen, Holland, and at the department of naval architecture of the University of Michigan. Todd Receives Letter Contract To Construct Three OBOs Costing $30.7 Million Each E.C. Stamatiou, owner of Hedge Haven Farms, Clinton, N.J., announced that he had signed a letter contract with Todd Shipyards Corporation for Todd to build at its Los An- geles Division three 80,500-dwt oil/bulk/ore (OBO) vessels at a cost of $30,750,000 each. "Application has been made to the Maritime Administration for a construction differential subsidy," Mr. Stamatiou added, "and if ap- proved, the vessels will be charted to Burrnah Oil Company under a 25-year agreement. They would be used to transport petroleum from Burmah's proposed offshore terminal in the Bahamas to U.S. ports." In December 1972, Burrnah signed a letter contract with Todd to build six 380,000-dwt tankers (VLCCs) at an approximate price of $95 million each at Todd's proposed Galveston, Texas, facility. Application for construction differential subsidy has also been made for these vessels, which would transport crude oil from the Near East to Burmah's Bahama ter- minal. ODENSE STEEL SHIPYARD LTD. P. O. BOX 176 - DK-5100 ODENSE, DENMARK TELEPHONE (09) 11 31 31 TELEX59849 Jeffboat Building $15.5-Million Stern Paddlewheel Riverboat For Greene Line Steamers, Inc. A model of the new $15.5-million stern paddlewheel riverboat, which is under construction at the Jefferson- ville, Ind., yards of Jeffboat, Inc. The 400-passenger vessel is being built for Greene Line Steamers, Inc., Cin- cinnati, Ohio, a wholly owned subsidiary of Overseas National Airways. A new $15.5-million 400-passenger stern pad- dlewheel riverboat is under construction at a Midwest shipyard, and will be ready for over- night trips on the U.S. river system by mid- 1975, Overseas National Airways recently an- nounced in New York. The 397-foot 4,500-gross-ton steamboat is be- ing built for Greene Line Steamers, Inc., Cin- cinnati, Ohio, a wholly owned subsidiary of ONA, by Jeffboat, Inc., at its Jeffersonville, Ind., yards. Jeffboat is a subsidiary of Texas Gas Trans- mission Corporation. Greene Line also oper- ates the Delta Queen, the last overnight pas- senger steamer in the United States. Production in 1972: Five V.L.C.C.s aggregating 1,426,225 dwt. On order as per January 1. 1973: Twenty V.L.C.C.s aggregating more than 6,000,000 dwt. 18 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
