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Artist rendering of the paddlewheel ferry Branson Belle. Paddle Wheel Showboat Branson Belle Under Construction Luxurious 19th Century paddle wheel riverboats are the inspiration for the Branson Belle, a turn-of-the- century style showboat under con- struction on the shore of Table Rock Lake near the White River Landing area of Branson, Mo. Although it will be landlocked on Table Rock Lake, the owners, who include country singer Kenny Rogers, wanted naval architects DeJong & Lebet, Inc., of Jackson- ville, Fla. to design a ship to ap- proximate those bygone vessels. The vessel's interior will also be pat- terned after that period, designed by Directions In Design of St. Louis. The vessel will be built by Mari- time Systems, Inc. of Amelia, La., and co-owned by Silver Dollar City Inc. and Mr. Rogers. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the White River Landing where the ves- sel will be based, will be a regulatory partner. A maiden voyage is scheduled for April 15,1995. The ship will cost $8 million to construct, with an addi- tional $5 million to be spent for Phase I of the landing, which will feature a ticket office, shops, walkways, and a gangplank for boarding the Branson Belle. Branson Belle will be driven by twin rear paddle wheels like the ships it was modeled after. Larger than its historical counterparts, it is believed by its owners to be the larg- est excursion vessel ever built on a landlocked waterway: 240 feet from bow to paddle wheel and 78 feet wide. The hull will be built on a rail or track system, eventually to be launched into the lake where the finishing work will be done. The ship will be U.S. Coast Guard- approved for 1,000 passengers plus crew, taking them on up to four daily two-hour cruises with dining and entertainment on Table Rock Lake. The ship will have a maxi- mum speed of 10 knots, but will usually operate at between 6 and 7 knots. Four decks of historically accu- rate detailing, an ornate pilot house, painted gingerbread trim, two grand staircases, balconies topped by a stained-glass skylight, and twin majestic fluted stacks rising 98 feet above water level are some of the touches that will add atmosphere to the cruise. Each cruise will feature a meal and a family-style show in a three- story theater, which doubles as a dining room. The theater will offer a lake view and seat 650 at tables, with additional seating in the theater's balconies. Co-owner Kenny Rogers behind a model of the Branson Belle, now under construction. Danish Shipyards Get $83.5M Subsidy Package Danish shipyards will receive a subsidy package of nearly $83.5 million following an agreement be- tween Jan Troeborg, the Danish minister for industry, and key oppo- sition parliamentary parties. Unemployment in the Danish shipbuilding sector has risen sig- nificantly in the last six months be- cause of declining orders. The subsidy put forward by gov- ernment will take the form of loans at favorable interest rates for ship- ping lines ordering vessels with Danish wharfs. Local analysts say that Denmark has given lower subsidies to the ship building sector in the past as com- pared with its European Commu- nity (EC) neighbors. This is because Danish subsidies were linked to inflation and interest rate levels and these have declined significantly, so the value of the sub- sidies was steadily eroded, said the ministry of industry. The new package actually brings the country in line with existing subsidy levels allowed for the sector by the EC. This (the level) is 9 percent of the vessel's contract value, said a spokesman for the Danish industry ministry. Double First For GEC Alsthom's European Gas Turbines Subsidiary GEC Alsthom's European Gas Turbines subsidiary (EGT) has won its first-ever gas turbine order in Romania and has secured its first order for an RLM6000 gas turbine. The order in Romania from state- owned Petrom R.A. is for three Ty- phoon gas turbine generating sets, two waste heat recovery boilers and 6kV switchgear for a new offshore platform complex in the Black Sea. Delivery is scheduled for February 1994. The Typhoons will operate on gas and each provide 4.5 MW of electric- ity, which will supply all of the plat- forms' operating and domestic en- ergy requirements. The second order, from Costain Oil, Gas and Processes, Ltd., is for the supply of an RLM6000 gas tur- bine generating set for a natural gas-fired power station being built in the U.K. for Scottish Power at East Knapton in the Vale of Pickering. The set is due to be deliv- ered in June 1994. To meet environmental regula- tions, the unit will be housed in an acoustic enclosure and water injec- tion will be used for emissions con- trol. The RLM6000, the largest machine in EGT's aerodrive range at 40 MW, is a world leader in per- formance with a reported thermal efficiency of more than 40 percent. For more information on GEC Alsthom, Circle 32 on Reader Service Card COMSAT Expands Inmarsat To Indian Ocean Region COMSAT Mobile Communica- tions will open a new Indian Ocean Region (IOR) land earth station in Kuantan, Malaysia, to provide its new digital satellite services Inmarsat-M and Inmarsat-B. The Malaysia station will alloi COMSAT to provide global covei age for Inmarsat-M, a voice, dat and fax service for smaller vessel and portable briefcase terminals and Inmarsat-B, a digital service fo larger vessels and land mobile user, with high speed data and large vol ume communications services. COMSAT was reportedly the firs Inmarsat partner to offer these nev cost-saving digital services to its customers and now will reportedlj be the only organization to offer s global service through its own earth stations. Inmarsat-M and Inmarsat- B services are currently available in the Atlantic Ocean Region and Pa- cific Ocean Region through COMSAT's Southbury, Conn, and Santa Paula, Calif, land earth sta- tions, respectively. The new Malaysian facilities, which will be operated and main- tained by the Malaysian PTT, Syarikat Telekom Malaysia Berhad, are expected to be operational by mid-1994. The agreement between COMSAT and Syarikat Telekom Malaysia Berhad allows COMSAT to add Inmarsat equipment to an existing INTELSAT earth station. The equipment will process COMSAT Inmarsat-M and Inmarsat-B traffic to and from the IOR. The Malaysian station will be linked by dedicated leased circuits to COMSAT's Santa Paula land earth station. The station will be equipped to provide all of COMSAT's value- added services, including operator assistance, language assistance in more than 140 languages, special- ized telephone services, FaxMail services, and other news and infor- mation services. COMSAT Mobile Communica- tions, a division of COMSAT Corpo- ration, provides maritime, aeronau- tical and international land mobile services to customers around the world. COMSAT Corporation is an international communications, in- formation and entertainment-distri- bution services company. For more information on Comsat, Circle 83 on Reader Service Card Philadelphia Gear Chosen For New Buoy Tenders Philadelphia Gear Corp. has been awarded a contract to supply 96DHCMG-CP reduction gears for the propulsion engines of the new 225-foot Juniper Class ocean-going buoy tenders. This class, planned to eventually number 16, will replace the current 50-year-old WLB's. The gears will combine the power of the ship's two Caterpillar 3608 propulsion engines to a single Bird Johnson controllable-pitch propel- ler. The first ship of the class, desig- nated WLB-201, was recently or- dered by the U.S. Coast Guard from Marinette Marine Corp. of Marinette, Wis. For more informa- tion on Philadelphia Gear, Circle 104 on Reader Service Card 62 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
