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Avondale To Build Three LNGs For El Paso Natural Gas The LNGs to be built by Avondale will have a single flush deck on which the cargo-handling system is arranged, providing optimum visibility from the bridge. Three liquid natural gas (LNG) ships will be built by Ogden 'Corporation's Avondale Shipyards, Inc. in New Orleans, La., under contracts with subsidiaries of E'l Paso Natural Gas Co., Houston, Texas, it was announced by Ralph E. Ablon, Ogden Corporation chairman. These contracts, totaling $310 million, are sub- ject to finalization of U.'S. Maritime Adminis- tration requirements involving the grant of construction differential subsidies to Avondale. Each of the new ships will be 125,000-cubic- meter LNG vessels and wil'l be over 900 .feet long. They will carry natural gas which has been cooled to form a liquid by reducing its temperature to -260° F. When returned to its gaseous state, each cargo will occupy space equal to 600 times the liquid form in shipment. Mr. Ablon also announced that the Ogden's Avondale Shipyards facilities will be expanded to improve productivity, and will be provided with a large sectional floating drydock to be used to construct the LNGs. The drydock, de- signed by Avondale, will also be built at Avon- dale and has been sized to provide for the con- struction of up to 200,000-cubic-meter LNG vessels, or 400,000-ton ultra large crude car- riers. Mr. Ablon stressed that Ogden recognizes the importance of participating with El Paso in meeting the nation's growing needs for en- ergy, particularly through the importation of clean-burning natural gas in sophisticated ves- sels such as these which are designed by Avon- dale to meet high-quality ship standards. These three vessels are the last three ships required by El Paso in its approved and implemented program to move LNG at the rate of one bil- lion cubic feet of gas .per day from Algeria to the East Coast under 20-year contracts. The three LNG ships to be built for El Paso are scheduled for delivery in 1976 and 1977, and will insure steady shipyard activity throughout this period. The vessels will utilize the Conch LNG containment system licensed from Conch L.N.G., a New Jersey partnership, which owns the rights to the Conch Self-Sup- porting tank design in the U.S. Subsidiaries of Continental Oil Company, the Royal Dutch Shell group of companies, and USY&T Indus- tries, Inc. o'f Chicago are the partners in Conch L.N.G. The Conch Self-Supporting tank design has been developed from that used in the first oceangoing LNG ships—the prototype Meth- ane Pioneer, designed and built in the U.S.A., and Methane Progress and Methane Princess, built in the United Kingdom. The Methane Progress and Methane Princess have been suc- cessfully carrying LNG from Algeria to the United Kingdom since 1964, and between them have made over 500 deliveries. Mr. Ablon stressed that this represents the equivalent background of 17 ship years of day- by-day operation. This experience in the un- predictable weather conditions of the North Sea, English Channel, Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean, he said, is unequaled by any other LNG ship design, and gives the ship- owner confidence that he will be able to oper- ate on a regular basis with a minimum of un- scheduled interruptions. Each ship has a single flush deck on which the cargo-handling system is arranged. This provides optimum visibility from the bridge for safe navigation and continuous surveillance of the system at sea. It also provides easy ac- cess to inspection of the cargo-handling sys- tem by operating personnel during loading and discharging operations, and a view of these op- erations from the control room. Mr. Ablon also stated that these LNG ship contracts indicate that the market is strong for U.'S.-built vessels of this class with U.S. crews, and that with the aid of Federal sub- sidies, U.S. shipbuilders have the ability to compete successfully in the world market for this type of sophisticated ship. In addition to its natural gas operation, El Paso is engaged in such diverse activities as petrochemicals, plastics, synthetic fibers, tex- tiles, insurance, wire fabrication, oil produc- tion, land development and copper mining. Ogden Corporation, which operates in the major market areas of metals, transportation, food products, leisure, real estate development, and investments, reported sales of $1,073 bil- lion in 1972. Stanley Turner Elected President Of ICHCA Stanley Turner, group managing director, Felixstowe Dock and Railway Co., Ltd., has been elected by the general assembly of the International Cargo Handling Coordination Association as president of the worldwide transportation unit. Mr. Turner, who has led the East Coast of England Port of Felixstowe during its dramat- ic growth as a containership harbor in the past few years, succeeds J. Ph. Dack in the presi- dency post. The assembly also elected Rouald Holu- bowicz, chairman, Central MacGregor Ltd., and a director of the board of the group's United States committee, as chairman of the council of ICHCA. Ogden To Purchase 400,000-Ton Tanker The Ogden Corporation board of directors re- cently approved the purchase of a ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carrier) of about 400,000 tons for delivery to its Ogden Marine subsidiary in 1977. With this acquisition, the Ogden Marine fleet will, in 1977, be in excess of 2,000,000 tons, consisting of 33 major vessels. Maritime Fruit Enters Pact With Bethlehem For Additional VLCCs Maritime Fruit Carriers Company Limited an- nounced on May 22 that it has entered into an agreement with Bethlehem Steel Corporation pro- viding for the purchase, subject to certain con- ditions including the granting of a 41 percent construction differential subsidy by the U.S. Mari- time Administration, by qualified U.S. purchasers of two 265,000-dwt VLCCs to be constructed at Bethlehem's Sparrows Point, Md., Shipyard for delivery in 1977 and 1978. Under the terms of the agreement, construction contracts for the vessels are to be executed by June 30, 1973. These contracts will be cancellable in the event that United States environmental considerations require changes in the vessels which would increase their cost. It is contemplated that the vessels will be time chartered by a U.S. sub- sidiary of Maritime Fruit Carriers for 25 years, which has time chartered three similar vessels being built by Bethlehem for delivery in 1975- 1976. The price for these vessels is based upon the previous prices for the three similar vessels already on order, plus escalation to take into ac- count anticipated increased labor and material costs. Maritime Fruit Carriers Company Limited is a multinational organization specializing in re- frigerated shipping and oil transportation. Ship Operator To Realize 'Acceptable' Profit On Sale Of Shipbuilding Contracts United International Shipping Corporation has announced that through a subsidiary it has agreed to sell, subject to certain conditions, all of the capital stock of two subsidiary corporations whose principal assets are shipbuilding contracts for a 166.000-dwt ore/oil carrier and a 67,000-dwt bulk carrier. These vessels, now being built in Japan, are scheduled for delivery in July and August of 1973, when the sales are expected to be com- pleted. A substantial part of the total sales price of approximately $47 million will be used to satisfy debt on the vessels. These transactions will re- duce the amount of capital investment which otherwise might have been required over the next few years from Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation and Kaiser Steel Corporation, the equal owners of United International Shipping Corporation, and will provide an acceptable profit. DIXIE POWER: A new 5,600-horsepower towboat built for Dixie Carriers, Inc., Houston, Texas, plunges into the Ohio River from the marine ways of Dravo Corporation near Pittsburgh, Pa. Named Dixie Power, the vessel is the second in Dravo's new Viking towboat line. The first Vik- ing is a 4,200-horsepower vessel (background), built for The Alter Company of Davenport, Iowa. Both towboats measure 1 40 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 1 1 feet deep. Dixie Carriers will use its new Viking and a unit tow of four tank barges, which Dravo is also building, to trans- port a variety of petroleum products on the Mississippi River. The unit tow will be 1,040 feet long and will have a capacity of 97,000 barrels. Its four double-skin tank barges—two semi-integrated units and two box-type ves- sels—will have coils to permit cargo heating with steam. 8 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
