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Boats & Barges Bisso Marine Co.'s 700-ton derrick barge Cappy Bisso lowering the hull of the 210-foot Gulf Responder into the Mobile River. First Spill Response Vessel Launched For MSRC By Bender Shipbuilding First Component Of 16-Vessel, $188 Million Fleet into barges or floating bladders for disposal onshore. Additionally, each vessel will have accommodations for 38, a command and control cen- ter for spill-fighting operations, a helicopter pad, and barge towing capability. Propulsion power for the vessel will be supplied by twin Caterpillar 3512 C main diesel engines, total- ing 3,000 bhp, connected to fixed manganese bronze propellers via Reintjes reduction gears with turbo Voith couplings for slow-speed op- eration. Some of the offshore containment and cleanup equipment procured by MSRC for response operations will include: over-the-side high-ca- pacity skimmer Transrec 350 High Seas Recovery Systems from Frank Mohn Houston, Inc.; the boom con- tainment system Norwegian Oil Trawl 800 from AllMaritim Con- tractors A/S of Bergen, Norway; three-weir boom skimming systems and Seawoolf Heavy Oil Recovery Skimmers from Vikoma Interna- tional Ltd. of Isle of Wight, U.K.; DESMI Ocean and Desmi DOP 250 Viscous Oil Transfer Pumps, and Eureka High Capacity Transfer Pumps, supplied by Hyde Products, Cleveland, Ohio; vacuum skimmers from Petro Boom Environmental in Valparaiso, Ind.; and intertidal boom from Texas Boom Company, Humble, Texas. Sponsor of the Gulf Responder was Caryl S. Berstein, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of the Federal National Mortgage Association and a mem- ber of MSRC's board of directors. Bender has incorporated the lat- est techniques in modular construc- tion in building the four MSRC ves- sels. Since beginning the project this past fall, Bender has been as- sembling hull and superstructure modules for the vessels. Following the christening cer- emony, the Gulf Responder was launched using two floating cranes—the 700-ton derrick barge Cappy Bisso and 600-ton derrick barge Lili Bisso—supplied by Bisso Marine Co., heavylift, salvage and wreck removal specialists from New Orleans, La. The two cranes, posi- tioned on barges in the Mobile River, lifted the 210-foot, 800-ton hull from the riverbank, as tugs backed the barges away from the bank. The cranes then placed the hull into the water. One of the cranes, the Lili Bisso, then moved up the river, lifted the vessel's 200-ton superstructure and then placed it onto the hull. With these major modules now in place, construction and equipment outfitting will continue through the summer. For free literature detailing the ship construction services of Bender Shipbuilding, Circle 70 on Reader Service Card To obtain information on Bisso Marine's heavylift and salvage ser- vices, Circle 71 on Reader Service Card Main engines (2) .. Thruster Thruster engine ... Generator engines Reduction gears .. Steering controls . Windlass, capstan Cranes Coatings Sound-powered telephone GULF RESPONDER Equipment List Caterpillar GPS Magnavox Schottel Loran Northstar Caterpillar Radar, navigation plotter, Caterpillar weather fax, depth sounder Reintjes & water temp, gage Furuno Jastram Autopilot, McElroy Speed log, compass Sperry Seattle Depth sounder Data Marine Devoe VHF & SSB radio Sailor Waste compactor ...Custom Compactor Hose-McCann Oil transfer pumps Frank Mohn The first oil spill recovery vessel in the Marine Spill Response Corporation's planned 16-vessel na- tional fleet was recently launched at Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Inc., in Mobile, Ala. The fleet of oil spill recovery vessels will pro- vide the backbone of MSRC's major spill response capability. The 210-foot vessel, christened the Gulf Responder, is the first of four contracted with Bender Ship- building by Washington,D.C.-based Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC). MSRC was formed in Au- gust 1990 to provide owners and operators of oil tankers and facili- ties such as onshore terminals and offshore platforms with the capabil- ity to respond to catastrophic spills in U.S. coastal and tidal waters. "We are proud that Bender is launching the first vessel in MSRC's fleet," said Thomas B. Bender Jr., president of the shipyard. "It has been an honor for our shipyard to be involved in a project of such na- tional significance." John D. Costello, president of the MSRC, commented, "The chris- tening of the Gulf Responder is one more demonstration of the oil industry's commitment to improv- ing oil spill response and environ- mental protection. "This ship, and 15 others like her," continued Mr. Costello, "will carry a well-trained crew and excel- lent equipment. Recovering spilled oil is difficult work, but we recog- nize the obstacles, and are commit- ted to providing a best effort re- sponse. We will work with existing cooperatives, commercial response organizations, and individual re- sponders. MSRC widens the safety net that can be drawn out following a major spill." In September 1991, Bender was awarded a contract of about $50 million to build four oil spill recov- ery vessels for MSRC. In addition to the Gulf Responder, which will be stationed at Lake Charles, La., Bender is building the Texas Re- sponder, the Louisiana Responder, and the Alabama Responder. All four vessels will be completed by February 1993 and be stationed along the Gulf Coast. The Bender-built vessels will join 12 other oil spill recovery boats contracted with the Trinity Marine Group, headquartered in Gulfport, Miss., to form one of the world's largest oil spill recovery fleets, pro- tecting the shoreline of the conti- nental U.S. and Hawaii. Total cost of constructing the 16 vessels is estimated at $188 million. The Gulf Responder, scheduled for completion this fall, was de- signed by Bender engineers using state-of-the-art computer systems. She will be equipped with an ad- vanced oil recovery system of skim- mers, booms and separators capable of recovering major oil spills both close to shore and in the open ocean. The vessel will have tanks to hold 4,000 barrels of recovered oil. Once recovered, the oil will be pumped The 200-ton superstructure of the Gulf Responder being lowered into place by the 600-ton derrick barge Lili Bisso at the Mobile shipyard of Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Inc. 102 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
