Page 49: of Marine News Magazine (December 2014)

Willard Marine, Inc. has been awarded contracts to develop two new sizes of Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) Fast Rescue Boats (FRBs) for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). An inboard-powered 5.9-meter SOLAS rescue boat with waterjet propul- sion will be built for the NOAA ship Nancy Foster and a 5.4-meter outboard-powered SOLAS rescue boat is contracted for the Hi?ialakia in Hawaii. The SOLAS self- bailing  berglass-hull RIBs are gel-coated international or- ange. Willard Marine will acquire the necessary U.S. Coast Guard SOLAS certi cation for both vessels. Both NOAA ships require SOLAS FRBs per the International Mari- time Organization?s life-saving appliance code to facilitate NOAA?s research-and-survey missions. Willard Marine has developed more than 20 types of watercraft for the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Army and Department of Homeland Security, as well as NOAA, foreign governments, and fed- eral and local law enforcement agencies. It has been a RIB supplier to the U.S. Navy for more than 25 years. Smith Brothers, Inc., a Chesapeake Bay-based barge and marine equip-ment charter company, re- cently added the tug CAPT. KENNETH to their  eet of inland and truckable tugs. With the 99-year- old namesake looking on alongside his son, Jeffrey Smith, company president, Eleanor Smith christened the vessel after her grandfather, Kenneth. The CAPT. KENNETH is 50? x 19? x 7.5? with an operating draft of 6?. The shallow draft enables the boat to move barges anywhere in the Chesapeake and its tribu- taries. The model bow with push knees designed by Oliver Bryant gives the boat the  exibility of traveling on the open waters of the bay in most sea conditions. Powered by twin John Deere 6125 engines rated at 341 hp at 1800 rpm, the Capt. Kenneth will have additional thrust provided by 40? CFN Kort nozzles. The U.S. Department of Transportation?s Maritime Ad- ministration (MARAD) has announced a $450,000 grant to AEP Rivers Operations of St. Louis, Missouri, to modify the Motor Vessel (M/V) Christopher Parsonage, into a fuel-ef-  cient hybrid vessel that conserves fuel and reduces harmful vessel emissions. The modi cation will provide the180-ft tug boat, which operates along the lower Mississippi River, with a hybrid generator set attached to the main engine that will provide auxiliary power, which would normally be pro- duced from the diesel generator. MARAD will use the test results from this project to support further work related to vessel air emissions, energy conservation, and ef ciency. The study is expected to be completed by 2017. Willard Marine to Supply SOLAS Fast Rescue Boats for NOAATug CAPT. KENNETH Christened Marad Chips in for AEP Green ModiÞ cations MN 49www.marinelink.com MN Dec14 Layout 32-49.indd 49MN Dec14 Layout 32-49.indd 4911/25/2014 11:10:43 AM11/25/2014 11:10:43 AM