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Batservice Wins Additional Ferry Order For $2.3 Million Only a few weeks after the launch and chris- tening of the newly built ferry bound to sail within the Fjord of Gota Alv in Gothenburg, Styrsobolaget has ordered yet another ferry of the same type from the Mandal-based Norwe- gian shipyard Batservice Holding AS. Thanks to the new timetable with frequent departures, the inhabitants of Gothenburg con- sider ferry traffic a rapid, efficient and comfort- able way to travel within Gothenburg. With this newly ordered ferry, the departures will be as frequent as every 20 minutes. Since September 1993, the number of people who use this popular series of ferries, called Alvsnabben, has increased by 60,000—to 140,000 each month. The ferry will be a 101.7-ft. (31-m) monohull with a capacity of 450 passengers. The order is worth approximately $2.3 million and delivery is planned to for Aug. 14, 1995. The design and engineering will be carried out by Fartygskonstruktioner AB in Uddevalla, Sweden, with whom Batservice Holding has had productive experiences with in the past. For more information on Batservice Holding Circle 20 on Reader Service Card Mobil Registers Tanker In Marshall Islands Mobil's 280,000-dwt double-hulled tanker Eagle will become one of the largest ships in the registry of the Marshall Islands, and the seventh Mobil has elected to register there. Gerhard E. Kurz, president of Mobil Ship- ping and Transportation Company, on behalf of the Trust Company of the Marshall Islands — the administrator of this registry — presented a model of the new tanker to Amata Kabua, president of the Republic of the Marshall Is- lands. The Trust Company is an affiliate of International Registries, Inc., of which Mr. Kurz is a director. As an advocate of quality shipping, maritime safety and protection of the marine environ- ment, Mr. Kurz asserted that "the commitment of the Marshall Islands to safer ships and cleaner oceans has caused Mobil to register seven ships under [its] flag." Mr. Kurz also stated that he had "no doubt in the coming years the Marshall Islands' flag will be carried by more and more ships and be seen in every port of the world." The Marshall Islands registry, initiated in 1988, numbers 68 vessels totaling 2.3 million gt. Mobil vessels account for 32 percent, or 831,000 tons of the Marshall Islands' total. His Excellency Amata Kabua, president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (second from right), inspects a model of Mobil's 280,000-DWT double-hulled tanker Eagle, one of the largest ships in his country's registry and the seventh to be registered with the Marshall Islands by Mobil. The model was presented by Gerhard E. Kurz (right), president of Mobil Shipping and Transportation Company, on behalf of the Trust Company of the Marshall Islands, the administrator of this registry. Also in the picture are Archibald N. Stewart, chairman of International Registries, Inc. and chair- man of the Trust Company of the Marshall Islands (third from right), and Paul F. Kea, president of Mobil Oil Micronesia. In May 1988, the Eagle will be joined by its sister vessel, tentatively named Osprey. Mobil has options for two more vessels of this class. M/V Queen Of The West: Artist conception of the new sternwheeler Nichols Bros, will build for Stemwheeler Boat Company of Portland, Wash. The 230-ft. (70-m) sternwheeler M/V Queen of the West will carry 149 overnight passengers on the Columbia River beginning next summer. Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Inc., Whidbey Island, Wash., is building the vessel forthe Sternwheeler Boat Company, Inc. of Portland, Ore.. The vessel was also designed by Nichols Brothers. Fifty feet abeam and drawing six feet fully loaded, the vessel will be propelled by a 26-ft. (7.9-m) diameter sternwheel. Power will be supplied through a hydraulic system by two, 1,600-hp MTU 396 diesel engines. Detroit Diesel 8V92 engines will drive two 330-kW generators to supply service power. For more information on Nichols Brothers Circle 21 on Reader Service Card Smit Refloats Massive Single-Crane Ship, Supports Drill Rig Salvage teams from Smit Tak Rotterdam and Singapore, with two other salvors, completed the salvage of theOHI5000—reportedly, the world's largest oceangoing single-crane ship. The vessel was redelivered to its owners in a drydock at Ulsan, South Korea. The OHI5000 was the result of a nine-month project converting the 1,800-ton heavy lift crane ship DB Sarita into a vessel with a gross lifting capacity exceeded only by its four semisub, twin- crane derrick barges. The OHI 5000 had completed sea trials and been delivered to OHI of Singapore only a few months before Typhoon Seth struck the Korean coast. The vessel broke its moorings and was driven against the quay at the Hyundai yard and later went aground. It suffered extensive under- water damage, with heavy loss of shell plating. The engine room and 17 of its 20 ballast tanks (some converted into workshops) were flooded. Smit Tak'sGeert Koffeman says: "We formed The Smit Lloyd 109 and the drill rig Ocean Liberator, for which Smit- Lloyd won a support contract. a working partnership with two other Interna- tional Salvage Union members — Jinil and Nippon Salvage — to respond to this emer- gency." According to Mr. Koffeman, consider- able work was entailed. "This included pumping, welding and patching on a major scale. Tanks were dewatered and pressurized, booms were deployed around the vessel and a variety of pollution prevention tasks were performed — including skimming in the engine room and other spaces. The vessel was also lightened by removing her 1,000-ton and 300-ton cranes. The team's efforts were rewarded with a successful refloating of the OHI 5000." Smit-Lloyd Wins Enterprise Contract In Romania Smit-Lloyd is working in Romanian waters for the first time, following a contract award from Enterprise Oil and Exploration. Under this agreement, the Smit-Lloyd 109 and Smit-Lloyd 115 were busy on the Romanian Continental Shelf, providing anchor-handling, towage and support services for the drill rig Ocean Liberator. The latter is to drill two wells for Enterprise. Smit-Lloyd Manager Aart Broek says: "The wells are to be drilled at a location east of Constanza; our vessels will provide the neces- sary offshore support for at least 120 days." On the Dutch Shelf, Smit-Lloyd secured an extension to its contract with Wintershall, which will run another year. Under the agreement, the 4,500-bhp Smit-Lloyd 33 is supporting explora- tion and production activities, working from the Ijmuiden supply base. During the last few weeks of 1994, Smit-Lloyd 31 undertook a towage assignment for Smit Maritime Contractors — the relocation of the heavy pull barge Taklift 8 from Denmark's Storebaelt fixed link project to a new assignment in Spanish waters. The Taklift 8 is required for the marine works associated with the construc- tion of a new outfall for the city of Barcelona. Damage to the quay resulting from contact with the OHI 5000. Typhoon Seth also resulted in the grounding of five smaller crane barges in the area near Ulsan, South Korea. The Alvsnabben 4 is part of a series of ferries for which Batservice Holding AS will build an addition. •—ss ffFimi^T"?" •"W ^MtMMft«*NNNNNWWNNl :';';«;yrrrrrrrrrrrrifi 42 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
