Page 47: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 1971)

Zidell Explorations Launches Fifth In Series

Tidewater Barge Lines, Inc.'s Barge 44 (lower right) undergoes final launch preparations at the Marine Construction Division of Zidell Explorations, Inc. The 3,000-ton-capacity barge is fifth of identical series placed in service by Tidewater.

The growing grain transport fleet of Vancouver, Was'h., based

Tidewater Barge Lines, Inc. has been further expanded with the addition of the company's fifth new grain barge since May 1970.

Barge 44, recently delivered by

Zidell Explorations, Inc., Portland,

Ore., brings Tidewater's total grain hauling capacity to 36,000 tons, an increase of nearly SO percent over their 1969 capacity.

Twenty-one barges, devoted solely to grain transport, are uti- lized by the company to move

Pacific Northwest crops down the

Columbia-Snake system to Port- land Harbor. Tidewater's further- most inland port of call is Almota,

Wash., on Granite Dam pool, about 32 miles west of Lewiston, Idaho.

Each of the five Zidell-built barges delivered over the past 14 months is capable of hauling 3,000 tons of grain per trip. Each hull measures 222 feet long, 42 feet wide, 16 feet 6 inches deep, and is topped with a totally enclosed steel storage house. Four large screw augers (two forward and two aft) feed grain to a central sump to facilitate automated un- loading at the terminal. A sixth identical barge is now being con- structed for Tidewater by Zidell, and others are in the planning stage. Three tugs are undergoing conversion and re-powering to keep pace with the expanding grain fleet.

Tidewater Barge Lines, Inc. is one of the largest haulers on the

Columbia-Snake system, with ma- jor terminals at Vancouver, Wash.,

Pasco, Wash., and Umatilla, Ore.

The company also barges ship- ments of petroleum products, chemicals, fertilizers and other commodities, and operates an 11,000-ton-capacity ocean barge for delivering grain to Pacific Coast seaports and to the Pacific Islands.

Secor To Head

Environmental Control

At Electric Boat

Robert H. Secor

A new position, chief of environ- mental control, to insure that op- erations of the company protect the health of its employees and the surrounding community, has been established at the Electric

Boat Division of General Dynam- ics, Groton, Conn. In making the announcement, Joseph D. Pierce, general manager, said that Robert

H. Secor of Mystic, a certified ma- rine chemist, will fill the post. ''Control of manufacturing proc- esses and practices, proper disposal of wastes and by-products and good housekeeping are essential,"

Mr. Pierce said, "if we-are to con- trol the environment and prevent the pollution of the atmosphere and the nation's waters."

In his new assignment, Mr.

Secor will be responsible for identi- fying, evaluating and ensuring con- trol of potential health hazards in the industrial environment with- in the division. In carrying out his responsibilities, he will coordi- nate with the chief of fire and safety, the medical director, the radiological control manager and the cognizant supervisors in opera- tions, engineering, and other de- partments.

Mr. Secor, a former Groton town councilor, is a graduate of Provi- dence College and attended gradu- ate school at the University of

Rhode Island, where he studied chemical oceanography. He is a member of the company's Mer- cury Review Committee.

French Yard To Build 90-Foot Leg Extensions

For Santa Fe Rig

Norsmec Ltd., a subsidiary of

Santa Fe International Corp., Lo's

Angeles, Calif., has awarded a con- tract to a French shipyard to fab- ricate 90-foot leg extensions for the jackup rig Britannia. E.L.

Shannon Jr., president of Santa Fe

International, said the contract with Union Industrielle d'Enter- prise (UIE) calls for delivery of the new leg sections February 15, 1972. When installed, Mr. Shan- non said, the extended legs will enable the Britannia to drill in as much as 250 feet of water in the

North Sea during the winter storm season.

Since its completion at a British shipyard in 1968, the Britannia has drilled more than 20 wells in the

North Sea off England and Den- mark. After completion of its cur- rent well in Danish waters, it is scheduled to start drilling in the

Dutch sector of the North Sea. Un- til now, the vessel's operations have been limited to maximum water depths of about 160 feet. "tft iffu /SAVe ™ W rwrt

FIRST IN THE BASIN: Congratulations all around are in order as Bethlehem Steel sets in place the first keel section for a 70,000-deadweight-ton class tanker in the Sparrows

Point shipyard's new 1,200-foot-long building basin. The 81 0-foot-long tanker for the

Atlantic Richfield Company will be the first vessel constructed in the new basin, the largest in the nation. Officials at the ceremony were, from left to right: Rufus T. Brew- ton, senior surveyor, American Bureau of Shipping; Peter W. McClen, principal surveyor,

Baltimore District, American Bureau of Shipping; Capt. Corben Shute, manager, marine construction, Atlantic Richfield Company; William H. Collins, general manager of the

Sparrows Point yard; Walter W. Vogel, resident inspector, Atlantic Richfield Company;

Comdr. David J. Linde, resident inspector, U.S. Coast G iard, and William Y. Clark II, resident inspector, U.S. Coast Guard.

August1 1, 1971 47