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Dravo Corp. To Build Drydock For AEP Dravo Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., has been awarded a contract for a 2,000-ton floating drydock by the American Electric Power System (AEP). The 210-foot by 80-foot by 22- foot drydock will be used to main- tain the utility's fleet of new barges and towboats to be deliv- ered during 1976 and 1977. AEP's new fleet will include 10 towboats and 120 barges which are being built by Dravo. The movable steel fabricated drydock will be operable from a central control station and is be- ing built at Dravo's Neville Island boatyard on the Ohio River near Pittsburgh. Completion of the dock will be in August 1976. Dravo builds drydocks as a part of its marine product lines which include hopper, tank and deck barges, towboats and special- purpose vessels. Russians Buy Oil Barriers From U.S. Eleanor Chance Swett, presi- dent of Offshore Devices, Inc., 91 Dale Street, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02167, announces a $700,000 con- tract with SUDOIMPORT, the USSR marine trade organization, for six High Seas Oil Pollution Control Barriers. The barriers will be used on the Black Sea, the Baltic, and on the Sea of Japan. The barriers, identical to those the Coast Guard now uses, are noted for their strength and excellent wave-fol- lowing ability — a key factor in oil collection at sea. They are de- signed to be air-dropped at a spill site for deployment by surface craft. Eleanor Chance Swett Each 612-foot barrier will be packed in a 20-foot container. The barrier is made up of rigid panels, loosely strung on a tension line, held vertical by self-inflating floats, with a fabric curtain be- tween panels. Thus, each strut is free to respond to the heave, sway, and roll of the waves. Ms. Swett points out that small companies can do business with the USSR. Offshore Devices could not afford to send a team of key personnel to Moscow for long ne- gotiations. Literature and a film of the development of the barrier were sent instead. Using mail and telegram only, negotiations were successfully concluded within six months. Ms. Swett notes with pleasure that the Russians are making a serious effort to collect high seas oil spills. McAllister Inaugurates New Weekly Northeast Feeder/Barge Service A new weekly, common carrier, barge/feeder service that will for the first time link the ports of New York, New Haven, and Bos- ton was inaugurated on April 1 by the McAllister Feeder Barge Service division of McAllister Lighterage Line, Inc. Designed as an economy for shippers of import/export con- tainers, the service will handle both 40-foot and 20-foot con- tainers with a total capacity each way of 144 T.E.U.s. At the onset, it is planned to use existing McAllister Brothers tugs and barges, the company said. In New York, the service will operate from the ACL Terminal, Port Elizabeth, N.J.; in New Ha- ven, through the New Haven Ter- minal, Inc., and in Boston, at the Mystic Container Terminal. Shipments can be arranged through the Booking Agent in New York at (212) 425-3541. McAllister has been serving shippers with lighterage services since the company was formed by Capt. James McAllister in 1864. rW IMF Serving the Gulf Coast Since 1880 BL H BAY-HOUSTON TOWING CO. CORPUS CHRIST! . TEXAS CITY GALVESTON • FREEPORT . HOUSTON Distinctive in its very construction, every Kelso-built vessel bears a mark of excellence unique in the industry. A flexible yard—equipped with the engineering, fabrica- tion equipment and personnel to handle the most demanding jobs. A meeting of imaginative engineering and superior construction on every job. IfGlSO Shipbuilding A DIVISION OF KELSO MARINE, INC. a C. BREWER company P. O. BOX 268 • GALVESTON, TEXAS 77550 • PH. AC 713 744 5341 12 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News