Maritime Reporter, February, 1985

<BODY> <div> Federal Barge Lines Acquired By Midland Affiliated Company Houston Natural Gas Corporation (HNG) has announced the comple- tion of the sale for $39,750,000 of Federal Barge Lines, Inc., United Barge Company, and Marine Equipment Company to Midland Affiliated Company. Federal, United, and Marine Equipment are wholly owned subsidiaries of HNG's Pott Industries; Midland Affiliated is a wholly owned marine subsidiary of Eastern Gas and Fuel Asso- ciates. The sale is part of HNG's restruc- turing program begun earlier in 1984, in which HNG announced it would dispose of all non-oil and gas related operations. Houston Natural Gas is a diversi- fied energy company involved pri- marily in the transmission and sale of natural gas and in oil and gas exploration and production. Bos- ton-based Eastern Gas and Fuel is the parent organization of several energy-related companies engaged in coal production, natural gas dis- tribution, and inland marine trans- portation. Morris Guralnick Firm Awarded Two Contracts For Conversion Designs Morris Guralnick Associates, Inc. (MGA) has been awarded two con- tracts under which the San Francis- co-based firm of naval architects and marine engineers will assist with the engineering and design phase in the conversion and modifi- cation of two ships to be operated by the Military Sealift Command. The first contract, awarded by Continental Maritime of San Fran- cisco, Inc., calls for MGA to prepare the designs, studies, construction drawings, and other data required in converting the former American President Lines containership Pres- ident Monroe to an Auxiliary Crane Ship (T-ACS-2). Under the second contract, placed by Northwest Marine Iron Works of Portland, MGA will assist the Ore- gon shipyard in modifications to be made to the USNS Observation Is- land (T-AGM-23), a former Mariner Class freighter that has been con- verted into a missile tracking ship. Modifications to the President Monroe include removal of all con- ventional cargo gear and replace- ment with three sets of twin pedes- tal cranes, each crane with a lifting capacity of 30 metric tons. Accom- modations will be expanded to carry 89 persons, and two new 1,640-kw diesel generators will be installed to power the increased electrical load. Changes on the Observation Is- land include addition of a deck- house to increase personnel accom- modations, upgrading of electronic systems, installation of two evapo- rators, and raising the height of the stack. Navy Awards NASSCO $14 Million For Overhaul Of Tank Landing Ship National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego (NASSCO) has announced that a contract option for approximately $14 million has been exercised by the U.S. Navy for the regular overhaul of the tank land- ing ship USS Bristol County (LST- 1198). A contract awarded by the Navy in 1982 provided for the regular over- haul of the tank landing ship USS Tuscaloosa (LST-1187), with options for similar overhauls of four addition- al LSTs—Cayuga, Frederick, Peoria, and Bristol County. Each option has been exercised separately; with the exercise of all options, the total value of the contract is approximately $80 million. The Bristol County has arrived at NASSCO and is scheduled for rede- livery to the Navy August 23 this year. All five LSTs were built by the San Diego yard during 1967-72 as part of a 17-ship contract fulfilled for the Navy by NASSCO. The shipyard's current backlog is approximately $710 million, including the Bristol County. Production systems for ships, barges ana offshore structures. DWB ship transfer system. If you're looking for productivity, you should talktoTTS. TTS specializes in solutions that offer immediate increases in productivity for your yard. Shotblast and paint lines. Panel lines. Beam lines for N/C cutting and marking of stiffeners. Heavy lift and ship transfer sys- tems. Matenal handling systems. Proven, flexible, custom-designed to suit any size shipyard, any existing facility. Give us your particular production prob- lems. Let us propose how to reduce material handling costs, mechanize production and increase productivity. We are just a phone call away TOTAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS INC. 813 Forrest Drive P.O. Box 6127 Newport News, Virginia 23606 Telephone: (804) 595-5153 TWX 710-880-0003. NEWPORT NEWS • LONDON • BERGEN • OSLO • HALIFAX Beam line. Panel line at Bath Iron Works. February 15, 1985 Circle 151 on Reader Service Card 29 </div> <span id="lblContents"></span> <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.digitalwavepublishing.com/" title="Digital Magazine">Digital Wave Publishing</a> </BODY>