Page 16: of Marine News Magazine (February 2006)

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16 • MarineNews • February, 2006

ATBs

By Larry Pearson

The construction of Articulated Tug

Barge (ATB) units is one of the strongest sectors in all of commercial marine con- struction. The market not only includes complete tug barge units, but the con- struction of double hulled barges that work with tugs modified with a coupler system between the two units. There is also some double hulling of existing sin- gle skin barges, as the deadlines imposed by OPA-90 loom ever closer.

Several shipyards are participating in this business, namely Bollinger, VT Hal- ter, SENESCO and The Manitowoc

Marine Group.

Bollinger has been very aggressive in pursuing this business. "We are now building 14 OPA-90 units ranging from 28,000 to 1210,00 barrels capacity," said

Robert Socha, vice president of marketing for Bollinger. "Most of the work is done at our Gretna and Amelia facilities," Socha added. "In spite of the damage to our facilities and the dispersing of our workforce, we continue to deliver OPA-90 vessels to our key customers," Socha remarked. That includes a 101,000-barrel barge to K-Sea the third week of January and four more double-hulled barges in the coming weeks.

Bouchard Coastwise Management,

Hicksville, NY has been a steady cus- tomer for Bollinger's ATBs with several units currently under construction includ- ing a 399 x 74-ft. clean oil barge with a 28-ft. depth with a capacity of 80,000 bar- rels. A black oil barge measuring 430-ft. long with a 79-ft. beam and 34-ft. depth will hold 110,000 barrels of product. The sterns of both barges will be built with a notch and vertical ladder system as a part of its Intercon coupler system.

Other new projects at Bollinger include a 14,500 short ton bulk barge and a 60,000-barrel, double hull ocean going barge for Moran Towing Corp., New

Canaan, Conn. The 60,000-barrel barge is being built to OPA-90 standards and will be 350-ft. long by 70-ft. wide and 25-ft. deep built to ABS compliance for the car- riage of Grade A petroleum products.

Contract for the larger barge was signed in

November 2005 with delivery slated for

September 2006. Bollinger Marine fabri- cators, Amelia, La. will construct both barges. VT Halter Marine, Pascagoula,

Miss., has been busy with the construction of several ATBs for Vessel Management

Services (VMS), a subsidiary of Crowley

Maritime Services, Oakland, Calif.

Halter is building a total of six ATBs for

VMS.

The first two units were ordered under a

June 2004 contract and will be delivered in 2006 at a cost of $85 million including owner furnished equipment.

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ATB Newbuilds Going Strong

The first of six barge hulls for ATBs being built by VT Halter Marine for Crowley Maritime Services is launched in late December at Halter's Pascagoula shipyard.

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