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Kaiser Building Fifteen Mammoth All-Welded Aluminum LNG Tanks For Ships At Avondale Complexity of construction of the liquefied natural gas tanks being fabricated by Kaiser Aluminum at its Mobile, Ala., plant can be seen in this aerial photograph. In the background is a tank nearing completion, and the "Mobile giant" derrick which will lift the tanks into the LNG ships. A series of huge aluminum tanks nearing completion in Mo- bile, Ala., soon will be playing a significant role in helping the na- tion meet its energy requirements. The 15 mammoth all-welded containers are being assembled by Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation on nearby Pinto Is- land for eventual use in three liq- uefied natural gas (LNG) ships under construction at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, La. The 125,000-cubic-meter ships will be operated by subsidiaries of El Paso Natural Gas Company to transport natural gas at cryogenic temperatures (minus 260 degrees F) from gas fields in Algeria to East Coast markets. The multimillion-dollar project is the largest of its type in LNG history, and the tanks are the first of their design ever built in this country. The tank dimensions are im- pressive. They are being assem- bled in sets of five, and vary in size and configuration depending on where they will be placed. The largest are the three that will be in the center of the ship, with each approximately 120 feet long, 120 feet wide, and 75 feet high. More than 27 million pounds of Kaiser-developed 5083 aluminum plate, extrusions, and forgings are being used in the tank proj- ect. Aluminum plate up to 1% inches in thickness is provided by the company's Ravenswood, W. Va., Works. Extrusions are from Kaiser Aluminum's Hale- thorpe, Md., plant; forgings from Erie, Pa., Works; and the total welding wire requirements of some 500,000 pounds are being supplied by the company's New- ark, Ohio, Works. The largest of the Conch-design rectangular containers weighs ap- proximately 950 tons, while the smaller ones weigh approximately 700 tons. They are being assem- bled at ground level and will be lifted into place in the ships by a huge twin-boom derrick which has been specially constructed for the purpose at the Mobile site. The first tank is scheduled for lift in approximately 30 days, according to T.H. Johnson, Kaiser Aluminum LNG project manager, and the ships are expected to be completed in 1978. The tank fabrication itself is a two-step process. Individual com- ponent panels were assembled at a plant in Wilmington, N.C., using sophisticated processing equip- ment and automated welding tech- niques. The subassembly panels, which weighed up to 60 tons each, then were transported to Mobile by a large oceangoing barge. The barge had a capability of carrying 48 Maritime Reporter/Engineering • News Drew Marine customers. Mr. Smith served previously as tech- nical director, Marine Division, and will continue with this re- sponsibility for all technical sup- port to the division's sales activ- ities worldwide. A graduate of the State Uni- versity of New York Maritime College at Fort Schuyler, Mr. Smith joined Drew in 1976. He served previously as manager of power generation and distribution for Allied Chemical Corporation. Prior to that, he was employed by E.I. du Pont de Nemours, and also by Exxon Affiliates as a util- ities advisor in Holland, Singa- pore, the Philippines, Thailand, and Okinawa. Mr. Smith is a licensed profes- sional engineer in the states of New York, New Jersey, and South Carolina. Drew Chemical, a subsidiary of United States Filter Corporation, is a major supplier of products and services for water manage- ment and specialty chemicals for the industrial and marine markets. Drew Chemical Corp. Promotes Walter Smith Walter A. Smith Raymond M. Burke, group vice president, Drew Chemical Corpo- ration, Parsippany, N.J., has an- nounced the promotion of Walter A. Smith to director, consulting and technical services, Marine Division. In his new position, Mr. Smith will be responsible for establishing technical support groups in both Europe and the Far East. This will provide more effective and efficient service to Has The Answer To Your Corrosion Problems CLOW PIPE PRODUCTS GROUP P.O. BOX 516 • BENSENVILLE, IL 60106 • * Avondale To Install Iron Cargo Piping Aboard U.S. Tankers Clow Corporation, manufac- turer of cast and ductile iron pressure pipe, has announced it has received a contract from Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, La., to supply 14-inch, 18-inch, and 20-inch-diameter ductile iron pipe for cargo piping in four tankers. Although centrifugally cast ductile iron pipe has been used for ships' piping for several years by Europeans, the Avondale use, it is believed, will be its first in- stallation on a U.S.-flag vessel. Pipe selected is standard 60,000 tensile ductile pipe which is in widespread use for underground pressure piping, except that the ductile iron will be alloyed with 2 percent nickel for added corro- sion resistance. Pipe will be plain end and joined by couplings. Duc- tile was chosen on the basis of an anticipated extended life in service, despite a higher initial cost. The choice of ductile pipe was made following U.S. Coast Guard and American Bureau of Ship- ping approval for the use of this pipe for "cargo and ballast sys- tems." Clow Ductile pipe and fittings, alloyed with 2% nickel, offer the most economical corrosion resistance for cargo or ballast piping. For crude, saltwater, or similar service, investigate Clow Ductile. Clow's cargo and ballast piping meets or exceeds the require- ments of the American Bureau of Shipping and U.S. Coast Guard.
