In late August, Yank Marine rolled out the first of two new 400-passenger catamaran ferries at its Tuckahoe, N.J., shipyard. Designed by LeMole Naval Architecture of Tuckahoe, the 110'×31'×5' ferries will be owned by Port Imperial Ferry Co. in Weehawken, N.J., and operated by NY Waterway, also of Weehawken. According to Bette Jean Yank, “We trailered the vessel out of the building (using an old Ford truck and trailer) to be picked up by the new 300-metric-ton Marine Travelift purchased with the assistance of a Maritime Administration grant in 2012.” After the first vessel was removed from the construction building, work started immediately on the second. The first ferry is scheduled for a March 2015 delivery. The new aluminum ferries will be powered by pairs of 2,250-hp Caterpillar 3512C main engines with ZF 3600 gears turning traditional shafts and propellers. Cruising speed is expected to be 27 knots. Yank Marine, the only commercial shipyard in New Jersey, has done considerable repair and repower work for NY Waterway, but this is the first newbuilding project for them.
Bristol Harbor Group Inc., Bristol, R.I., in conjunction with Conrad Shipyard, Morgan City, La., is developing a 3,000-cu.-meter LNG transport barge for coastwise operations. BHG has received “approval in principle” from ABS for the design. BHG has a decade-long relationship with Conrad that has produced coastal liquid-cargo barges from 26,000 bbls. to 80,000 bbls. The 300' version of these successful double-hull oil barges serves as the basis for the LNG transport barge. Storage containment consists of four Type C pressure tanks, all equally sized at 750 cu. meters. The tank design offers suitable hold times for cargo transport without the need for reliquefaction. The design is focused on constructability and cargo safety.
In Houston in August, Blessey Marine Services, New Orleans, christened the 2,000-hp towboat John Dempsey. Built by Sneed Shipbuilding, Channelview, Texas, the 87'×32'×10'6" towboat is powered by a pair of Cummins K38M diesel engines. Cummins QSB7-DM 85-kW generators supply hotel power. Karl Senner LLC supplied the Reintjes WAF-572 gears. Capacities include 28,400 gals. of fuel and 11,000 gals. of potable water. The boat has a pair of Patterson electric 40-ton winches.
On Aug. 6, Austal USA completed the launch of the USS Montgomery (LCS 8) in Mobile, Ala. The vessel is the fourth of 10 127-meter Independence-variant LCS-class ships Austal has been contracted to build for the U.S. Navy. With the assistance of Berard Transportation and BAE Systems Southeast Shipyard, the launch of the Montgomery involved lifting the entire 1,600-MT ship almost three feet in the air, moving it approximately 400 feet onto a moored deck barge adjacent to the assembly bay, and then transferring the LCS to BAE’s Drydock Alabama. The floating drydock was submerged and the Montgomery entered the water for the first time. The ship is now moored in the Mobile River in front of Austal USA’s facility, where it will undergo final outfitting and activation before sea trials and delivery to the Navy. Austal USA has five LCS-class trimarans currently under construction. The Jackson (LCS 6) was christened in March and is preparing for sea trials later this year, the Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) is being assembled in preparation for launch later this year and construction is well underway in Austal’s Module Manufacturing Facility on the Omaha (LCS 12) and Manchester (LCS 14). Construction on the Tulsa (LCS 16) began in August.
