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Shrimper La Marseillaise, first steel boat built by Desco Marine, shown being readied for launch- ing. Boat and sister vessel were delivered to owner in French Guiana. Desco Marine Delivers Its First Boats Built Of Steel The first steel boats built by Desco Marine were unveiled re- cently at a christening and launching ceremony at the ship- yard in St. Augustine, Fla. According to Desco Marine pres- ident Tom Collins, the shrimp boats La Marseillaise and LAmericaine were built for Lju- bisa Nalovic and were scheduled for delivery to his company, Com- pagnie Francaise de Peche, in Cayenne, French Guiana, during March. Mr. Nalovic is a repeat customer at Desco, having previ- ously purchased five 68-foot fiber- glass shrimpers. The two new vessels are 72 feet long and rigged for shrimping sim- ilar to the rest of Mr. Nalovic's fleet. Designed by Rodney Lay of Rodney Lay & Associates, naval architects of Jacksonville, each steel hull was built to American Bureau of Shipping standards and inspection to insure overall design integrity. "As these were the first boats turned out by our new steel pro- duction line, we wanted them to be an example of the same Desco quality that has gone into all of our other boats through the years," said Mr. Collins. "We put great emphasis on all the small details like sandblasting and prime coat- ing each section before it is welded Desco Marine president Tom Collins welcomes guests at recent christening and launching of first steel boats built by the yard. In back- ground is first of two steel shrimpers. into place, using only certified ABS welders, and even specifying stainless steel cap rails." La Marseillaise and L'Amer- ciaine are Desco Marine's initial entry into the highly diversified steel boat market. Desco's steel production line can handle boats up to 200 feet. In addition to steel, the yard has expanded its capabil- ities in fiberglass, from 60 feet to 90 feet, and held at 73 feet in wood. Also, Desco has expanded into conversion and repair of steel, fiberglass, and wood boats, and marine hardware and supplies. Cybernet Introduces New VHF-FM Radiotelephone —Literature Available The Cybernet CTX-2050 is a fully synthesized 50-channel VHF- FM radiotelephone designed to the very highest standards of modern high-technology electronics. This new unit covers all U.S. VHF-FM marine channels including five U.S.; and Canadian weather chan- nels. It features a Channel 16 quick-select emergency pushbut- ton and Dual Watch with Channel 16 priority. The CTX-2050 is a compact VHF- FM radiotelephone with a full 25 watts of transmitting power, as well as a one-watt harbor setting for close range communication. The channel readout is a high vis- ibility LCD display with mode flags, easy to read by day, night lighted with a variable dimmer control to preserve night vision. For full information, and free literature on the Cybernet CTX- 2050, Circle 70 on Reader Service Card NKK Super Semi-Submersible Rig Designed For Deep Sea Operations Nippon Kokan (NKK), Tokyo, has developed a super semi-sub- mersible drilling rig specially de- signed for oil and natural gas drilling operations in deep water and rough seas. The rig features a computer-controlled dynamic sys- tem to maintain position in deep- water operation in depths to 1,600 meters (about 5,250 feetl. The sys- tem employs eight sets of 4,200-hp azimuth type thrusters. The new rig can maintain opti- mum operating conditions with fa- vorable motion characteristics, as well as withstand 110-knot winds, 18-meter (59-foot) waves, and three- knot currents. The deck of the super semi is about 272 feet long with a beam of 231 feet. Pontoons are 3671/- feet long, 50 feet wide, with a height of 37 feet; they are spaced 190 feet center to center. Operating draft is 90.22 feet and survival draft is 78.74 feet. "This super semi has a higher payload of more than 13,000 tons in transit and a deck load of 5,300 tons under operation conditions," said Minoru Hashimoto, presi- dent of NKK America Inc., NKK's U.S. subsidiary. "And because of the rig's high variable deck load capacity and larger storage space, it is well suited for production use as well," he stated. For winter operation, the rig has a special cover for the upper operating deck to shelter workers from low temperatures. Also, to minimize icing effects, there is less vertical bracing used in the structure. The super rig's design is based on an NKK/Trosvik Bingo-4000 design. A series of performance tests, such as wind tunnel and sea keeping using scale models was completed at NKK's Tsu Facili- ties. The rig also meets the latest worldwide regulations for mobile offshore drilling units, including the Norwegian Maritime Director- ate, Det norske Veritas, American Bureau of Shipping, U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Energy. By developing this and the Nor- wegian Yatzy type mini-size semi- submersibles, NKK now has the capability to build three different types of semi rigs—mini, large, and super sizes—to meet the wide range of requirements of the world's offshore drilling industry. $3-Million Contract Awarded AT&T For Oceanographic Systems AT&T Technologies, Greens- boro, N.C., is being awarded a $3,100,000 cost contract for ocean- ographic systems. The Naval Elec- tronic Systems Command, Wash- ingon, D.C., is the contracting activity. 10 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
