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Investment in Design Galician Grit Independent Spanish shipbuilder Hijos de J Barreras has again showed its met- tle by delivering two specialized vessels within the space of just a few days, and by landing a three-ship contract to take its orderbook into mid 2003. Three years after being spun-off from the for- mer Astilleros Espanoles (AESA), the Vigo yard demonstrates how a well- managed and motivated undertaking can successfully make the transition into pri- vate control. It provides a template for broader Spanish endeavors to slim the state's holding in a number of industrial sectors, not only shipbuilding. Barreras always displayed something of an independent style within AESA (now IZAR), of which it was part for nearly a quarter-century. The disposition of its people, as in all such situations, has been a key factor in ensuring busi- ness development outside the state- owned fold. The maintenance of a sub- stantial in-house design resource and the continuous plough-back of profits into the shipyard also give solid expression to the long-term commitment displayed by the yard's owning consortium. Ensuring competitiveness and viability with a broad range of vessel types and a preponderance of 'one-offs' is a neces- sary prerequisite of a medium-sized shipbuilding enterprise. If blueprints can be used again for repeats or variants at some stage down the line, then that is a bonus. But the economics of the busi- ness hinge on being able to make money from a mixed production base, such that this sector of shipbuilding ranks among the most challenging of all fields of industrial production. During early May, the Galician yard dispatched a compact pure car carrier (PCC), intended for the buoyant vehicle export trade out of Spain, a prominent and growing European auto manufactur- by David Tinsley, technical editor er. The vessel was closely followed down the mountain-fringed Ria de Vigo by the first of a new breed of RoRo pas- senger (RoPax) ferry for national opera- tor Trasmediterranea. Named Sorolla, the 23.5-knot ferry provides for 1,000 passengers and 1,800 lane-meters of RoRo garaging, and denotes a new phase in the upgrading of the traffic between the Spanish mainland and the Balearic Islands. As a mark of its business versatility, Barreras has also supplied the detailed design for the second ship of the class, entrusted by Trasmediterranea to IZAR's showcase Puerto Real yard at Cadiz. Meanwhile, the Vigo orderbook has been augmented with a deal from Lineas Suardiaz for three RoRo vehicle carriers based on the design adopted for 15,300- gt sisters L'Audace and La Surprise, delivered by Barreras to the same owner in 1999 and 2000. Suardiaz has also made a 10-year charter commitment to the Gran Canada Car, the 1,146 car- capacity PCC which preceded Trasmediterranea's Sorolla out of the yard by a couple of days. Gran Canaria Car is owned by Naviera del Odiel, one of the shareholders in Barreras. Another of the maritime interests with a stake in the yard is Albacora, Spain's biggest operator of deepsea tuna freezer fishing vessels. A company linked to the Albacora group has a refrigerated fish carrier under construction there. The diversity of the Barreras production is further evident in outstanding contracts for a pair of 1,100-TEU containerships, to be operated by Trasatlantica Espanola, plus two 1,500 car-capacity RoRos to be built for the Greek compa- ny Neptune Shipping Agencies. Many of the sleek modern generation of large, deepsea tuna seiner vessels that homeport in Vigo have been turned out DuraCooler keeps the pressure on! * t A Stuffing Box Fenderiag System Shaft Seal n Large system pressure drops can mean larger, more expensive keel coolers. The smooth tubes, streamlined header and internal configuration of DuraCooler® keep pressure % drop and keel cooler costs to a minimum. And to custom fit a model to the specifications that you provide, we base our keel cooler sizing system on full-scale keel cooler testing. Duramax® Marine can provide you with heat exchange solutions that are field tested, along with a variety of quality marine products, customer-driven services and valuable tools, including scaled DuraCooler® drawings on CD-ROM for designers. You can depend on our ' commitment to innovation. For your free sizing, or DuraCooler® designer CD-ROM, visit www.duracooler.com. I DURAMAX MARINE 17990 GREAT LAKES PARKWAY I HIRAM, OHIO 44234 I PHONE 440.834.5400 I FAX 440.834.4950 ! WWW.DURAMAX-MARINE.COM 8 Circle 235 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter & Engineering News
