Page 46: of Marine News Magazine (April 2014)

In a press release, Tidewater calls the tugs ?state-of-the- art vessels. The new tugs have a deeper draft, are taller and have more engine horsepower for the length of boat in order to most ef ciently traverse the eight navigational locks on the CSR [Columbia-Snake River] system,? Tide- water writes. ?With their unique double-hulled design, no potable water, fuel, or lubricants will be adjacent to the hull, further increasing the safety and environmental fac- tors built into the design. Additionally, the vessel design features ergonomic accommodations and comforts proven to minimize fatigue and reduce injuries amongst crew.? A Wide Menu In addition to building vessels, Vigor repairs and modern- izes all kinds of vessels. Spokesperson Brian Mannion reports that Vigor has more than 30 repair projects underway across locations, ranging from small  shing vessels to Navy Destroy- ers and U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command supply ships. For instance, Vigor retro tted the 97-foot Chief Seat- tle  reboat. It also replaced the 300-ton bow of Olympic Spirit, a double hull petroleum barge owned by Harley Marine subsidiary, Olympic Tug & Barge, Inc. See the time-lapse video at http://vigorindustrial.com/vigor-ma-rine/projects#olympic_spirit_bow_replacement. Vigor is a shipyard with its own YouTube channel. For the Navy, Vigor has worked on the massive aircraft car- rier USS Lincoln, which is 1,092 feet long by 257 feet wide at the  ight deck, more than once. The company also services the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier based in Everett, Washington. On the Coast Guard side, Vigor  nished $56 million in maintenance and modernization efforts for the heavy icebreaker Polar Star, 399 feet, to return it to service at the end of 2012. Vigor does routine and emergent main- tenance for vessels in the USCG  eet, including National Security Cutters, high and medium endurance cutters and the buoy tender  eet.SHIPBUILDING?Building tugs in Portland is a sign that Vigor is evolving as a business. In the past, our different locations had different fabrication specialties: barges in Portland, ferries in Seattle and Þ shing boats and ferries in Alaska. Rather than be content with that, we?ve worked hard to share knowledge and talent between all of our locations.? ? Frank Foti, Vigor Industrial CEO 46 MNApril 2014MN April14 Layout 32-49.indd 46MN April14 Layout 32-49.indd 463/20/2014 11:54:55 AM3/20/2014 11:54:55 AM