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are among the most comfortable avail- able ? they have to be, given the prob- lem the entire maritime industry has in attracting and retaining crew members. According to Hill, The boats HAVE to be good and the principal designers in this ? eld are collectively among the best multi-discipline naval architects in the world.? BUILT TO ORDER: FIT FOR PURPOSEModern AT/Bs are being increas- ingly designed for ship-like speeds. For example, OT&BEs RAPID? class AT/Bs will be capable of 15 to 16 knot speeds and the design is be-ing used at this very moment in de- signs being prepared for AT/Bs to carry containers and compressed/ lique? ed gasses. Hill insists, It is not pie in the sky, nor is it a claim with no back-up to it.? Today, AT/Bs are being developed to run on LNG and to employ advanced, American-made diesel and gas-electric drive systems. And Hill insists, These are not re- search projects ? designs are being prepared for building.? In OT&BEs of? ce alone, designs are underway for refrigerated gas carriers, two types of container-carrying AT/Bs, LNG bunkering AT/Bs, the tug portion of an AT/B dredge, AT/Bs for project cargoes, and a recent boom in inqui- ries for 110, 150 and 190,000 barrel capacity crude carrier AT/Bs (re? ect- ing the new prosperity in U.S. crude oil stocks and the rejuvenated U.S. coastwise tanker trades) has resulted in further design work. Were all very busy,? Hill says of the principal designers of AT/Bs worldwide, Not only here, but overseas as well.? Both vessel Owners and their char- terers are asking more of the AT/Bs they build and charter. They are look- ing for vessels that can save fuel, reduce their emissions, and provide top quali- ty accommodations for the crews. The vetting process that AT/B operators go through when chartering vessels to oil companies and their subsidiar-ies, is the same vetting tanker Owners must deal with. Being a tug and barge does not allow for any slack? in the requirements on any level. AT/Bs are widely employed because, says Hill, ? they meet those requirements and they do the job they are chartered to do and they do it safely and ef? ciently? HORSES FOR COURSES: HERE AND EVERYWHERE Today, AT/Bs operate on trans- oceanic routes; they operate from the Gulf Coast to the east coast, to South America, and even to Europe. From the west coast they service Alaska, Ha- waii and the Paci? c Islands. One even runs military equipment to far-away bases. Bulk units move everything from coal to grain to rock, to iron ore, to virtually any mineral needing trans- portation. Tank barges move a huge range of crude and re? ned product as well as chemicals and lique? ed gasses. They take dangerous cargoes off rail lines and highways and route them safely at sea as opposed to moving them through cities and towns. Thats not to say that the AT/B is a univer- sal panacea for any sort of ocean trade route. That said; where an AT/B can ? t into a particular slot, it will gener- ally do it VERY well. AT/B S EVOLVE : SHIPYARDS, TOO As AT/B Designers, Owners and Crews are evolving ? so, too, are the shipyards that build these boats. The so-called Second Tier Shipyards? ? the yards that build many of the AT/ Bs ? are anything but second tier to- day. Many have become specialists in the building of AT/Bs, utilizing mod- ern infrastructure that rivals some of the larger commercial shipyards. Hill notes that all of the ? ne design work in the world means nothing, if an equally ? ne builder isnt there to make Download complete catalog www.aluminumandstainless.com Building an aluminum boat? Aluminum and Stainless, Inc. has all the metal.MARINE ALUMINUM5086 50835052 60615456Plate ? Sheet ? Rod ? BarPipe ? Tube ? Shapes Weld Wire ? Fittings STAINLESS STEEL304L 316L 303 17-4BOAT SHAFTS17-4 condition H1150Two locations: Lafayette, LA 800-252-9074New Orleans, LA 800-562-9022Aluminum and Stainless, Inc. Marine metals specialists since 1969.Lafayette New Orleans September 2013MN Sept2013 Layout 96-111.indd 1088/29/2013 4:42:55 PM