Page 44: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 1969)

WPHZ LOSING TOO MUCH MON£Y TlfP UP AT NZWYORK P\ZR." CATAMARAN SURVEY VESSEL under construction at Fercraft Marine Inc., La Prairie, Quebec, Canada for the Canadian Department of Transport. The 50-foot vessel was designed by Robert B. Harris, naval architect, Great Neck, N.Y., for survey work in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. With 600-hp diesel propulsion, the boat will have a cruising speed of 17.4 knots and a maximum speed of 21.5 knots. National Steel Holds Employee Open House Combined With Launching And Keel Laying Southern Ship Delivers First of Four Navy Tugs With Automated Engine Rooms Attending the INA5i(_L> launching and keel laying were, leir to rignt: Capt. nenry A. Gerdes, USN, supervisor of shipbuilding, conversion and repair, San Diego; Capt. John M. Danielsen, force chaplain, Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet; Rear Adm. Gayle T. Martin, USNR, representing commander, Naval Ship Systems Command; John V. Banks, executive vice-president, NASSCO; Miss Lisa Heinz, maid of honor; Mrs. Luther C. Heinz, sponsor; Rear Adm. Luther C. Heinz, USN, commander, Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet; Congressman Lionel Von Deerlin, and Vice Adm. John Victor Smith, USN, commander, Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet. It was a fun-filled day for 10.807 employees and their families at the San Diego yard of National Steel and Shipbuilding Company when an open house was held in conjunc-tion with launching and keel lay-ing ceremonies. Setting the stage for the festiv-ities was the launching of the USS Cayuga (LST-1186) and the keel laying of the USS San Bernardino (LST-1189). Dignitaries present at the two ceremonies included : Mrs. Luther C. Heinz, sponsor of Cayuga; Miss Lisa Heinz, the ship's maid of honor; Hon. Lionel Van Deerlin, U.S. Congressman and speaker; Hon. Paul Lattimore, Mayor of Auburn, N.Y.; Rear Adm. Gayle T. Martin, USNR, representing the Naval Ship Systems Command: Rear Adm. David M. Rubel, USN, commander, Amphibious Training Command, Pacific Fleet; John V. Banks, executive vice-president, National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, and John M. Murphy, vice-president-sales, National Steel and Shipbuilding Company. Immediately following the launching and keel laying cere-monies the entire facility was opened to employees and their families for touring and inspection. Food stands stationed throughout the tour route, manned by company executives, served 27,000 cokes, 10,000 containers of popcorn, 28,000 ice cream bars, 23,000 hot dogs, 4,500 portions of cotton candy, and 10,000 packages of bubble gum. Entertainment included a Dixie-land band, a mariachi group, an em-ployee band, a choral group, several clowns, movies and a calliope. Pieces of equipment throughout the yard bore descriptive signs as well as the names of employees who operate them. Highlighting the tour was the inspection of the USS Fresno (LST-1182), the yard's latest product. The day's program was planned and executed by the company's Management Club under the lead-ership of Barney LeBlanc, plant manager, and Dan Pugh, Manage-ment Club president. A Navy tugboat named for the city of Natchitoches, La., has been completed by a Louisiana shipyard and commissioned for service at the naval base in Newport, R.I. The 109-foot-long Nachitoches (YTB-799) is the first of four Navy tugs to be completed under a $3-million contract awarded to South-ern Shipbuilding Corporation of Slidell, La. The Natchitoches and her three sister tugs will be the first of their class to contain fully automated en-gine rooms, Southern Shipbuilding President Alain R. Seligman said. Each is powered by 2,000-hp diesel engine and will maintain complete seagoing capabilities, he said. The YTB-760 Class of Navy tugs of which the Natchitoches is one, was designed and developed by Southern Shipbuilding. With the completion of its current four-tug contract, the Slidell shipyard will have built 15 of the YTB-760's. The Natchitoches is equipped for harbor work and carries sophisti-cated electronic gear, firefighting apparatus and towing machinery behind its heavily insulated, deep-throated bow. It is outfitted for a crew of 12. Natchitoches is one of several cities with Indian names to have a tug of the YTB class named for it, Mr. Seligman said. He said the YTB's are traditionally named by the Navy for cities with Indian names that have a population be-tween 500 and 100,000. The other three YTB's under construction at Southern Shipbuild-ing have been named for Eufaula, Ala., Palatka, Fla., and Cheraw, S.C. All will be delivered this year. The U.S. Navy tug Natchitoches, first of four Navy tugs with automated engine rooms being constructed under a $3-million contract with Southern Shipbuilding Corporation. 46 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News