Page 6: of Marine News Magazine (August 2006)

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6• MarineNews • August, 2006

News

Foss Maritime Company, a Seattle- based marine services company, is expanding into the American East Coast market with the acquisition of Constella- tion Tug Company of Charlestown, Mass.

With the planned introduction of new, technologically advanced tractor tugs to the Constellation fleet, the company will increase its capacity and capabilities, and improve service for its Boston Harbor and

Massachusetts Bay customers.

Foss has agreed to acquire the equip- ment, assets and trade names of Constel- lation Tug Company of Charlestown,

Mass., and will operate the company as a subsidiary under the name Constellation

Maritime Company. The current leader- ship of Constellation will continue to manage the company when it becomes a subsidiary of Foss. Marc Villa, a partner at

Constellation Tug, has been named presi- dent of the company, and the other part- ners at Constellation Tug - Conti Colunti- no, Jeff Nichols and Bob Manning - have also accepted management positions.

Constellation currently operates four tugs and three barges, providing ship assist and marine services in the ports of

Boston, Quincy and Salem.

In late 2006, two tractor tugs will join the Constellation fleet, including one of the Foss-built new Dolphin class ASD tractor tugs with 5,000 hp and 65 short tons of Bollard pull.

Until the new tugs arrive, Constellation will improve capacity and customer ser- vice by chartering two conventional 4,000 hp tugs.

Foss Maritime Acquires Constellation Tug

This is a sistership to the one that will be added to the Constellation fleet.

NYDOT Chooses

Gladding-Hearn for

New Utility Boat

With a long history of building many different vessels operating in New York

Harbor, Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding,

Duclos Corporation, was selected by the

New York Department of Transportation (NYDOT) to build a new utility boat for delivery in January 2007. According to shipyard officials, the NYDOT will use the boat for emergency transportation and general duties around the harbor from its repair facility on Staten Island.

Based on the successful design and all- aluminum construction of four patrol boats Gladding-Hearn built for the New

York City Police Department, the 36-ft. utility boat for the NYDOT has a deep-V hull, designed by C. Raymond Hunt Asso- ciates. Its beam is 13 ft. and a draft of 4 ft. With an expected top speed of 30 knots, the vessel can be easily converted for harbor patrol use.

With inside seating for 12, the alu- minum pilothouse, fitted to a flush deck, will be heated by a hydronic fan-coil unit, using the engines' coolant as the heat source, and cooled by 24,000 btus of air conditioning. Aft of the wheelhouse will be a 10 x 6 ft. well deck and a 30 in. tran- som door, leading to a hinged, aluminum stern platform.

The boat will be powered by twin Cum- mins QSC8.3-490, 6-cylinder, diesel engines, each delivering 490 bhp at 2500 rpm and connected to a Twin Disc

MG5075A gear box. The engines will turn 5-blade Hall & Stavert bronze pro- pellers. A 5kw Onan generator supplies 120-volt power.

Celebrating 50 years of shipbuilding,

Gladding-Hearn has built 13 patrol/rescue boats, 16 ferries, and seven other boats, operating in New York Harbor.

Rear Adm. Blore

Tours Cutter

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Gary T.

Blore (center) program executive officer for the Integrated Deepwater System, toured Bertholf (WMSL 750), the first

National Security Cutter being erected at

Northrop Grumman's facility in

Pascagoula, Miss. James Anton, execu- tive vice president of Integrated Coast

Guard Systems, left, and Royce Winbush, general ship superintendent (right) escort- ed Rear Adm.

Blore through various areas of the new ship. Bertholf, a 418-ft. Legend-class cut- ter, is part of the Integrated Deepwater

System, a critical multi-year, multi-billion dollar program to modernize and replace

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