Page 16: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 1980)

Equipped with an SCR Diesel Electric propulsion system, the geophysical research vessel Western Strait has a cruising speed of about 13 knots. The 185-foot vessel was built by Mangone Shipbuilding for Western Geophysical Company.

Mangone Delivers Research Vessel,

Western Strait, To Western Geophysical

The Western Strait, a highly sophisticated 185-foot geophysi- cal research vessel with an SCR

Diesel Electric propulsion system, has been delivered to Western

Geophysical Company by Man- gone Shipbuilding Company, a subsidiary of Stewart and Ste- venson Services, Inc.

Constructed at the Mangone yard in Houston, Texas, the ship's first assignment is in South Amer- ican waters. Don L. Godeau, vice president and general manager of

Mangone Shipbuilding, said the

Western Strait joins a Western

Geophysical fleet of some 30 ves- sels which are engaged in offshore research throughout the world.

Built specifically for research and exploration, the Western

Strait is 185 feet in length, has a 38-foot beam, a 16-foot depth and a 13-foot 8-inch draft. The ship has a range of 11,500 miles and a working capacity of 38 days. Cruising speed is approxi- mately 13 knots. Quarters are fully air-conditioned, with accom- modations for 39 geophysical per- sonnel and crew members.

The SCR Diesel Electric pro- pulsion system supplies electric power with two 16V 149T1 De- troit Diesel engines each driving a 1,100-kw Kato a-c generator, providing power through SCR equipment to two Westinghouse 1,000-hp d-c motors with a Cotta marine gear on each shaft.

Auxiliary generators aboard the Western Strait include one 250-kw set powered by a 12V71

Detroit Diesel and one 150-kw unit powered by an 8V71 Detroit

Diesel.

A 48-inch Murray and Tre- gurtha Harbor Master BT-375 bowthruster is driven by a 1,000- hp Westinghouse d-c electric motor.

The SCR propulsion system controls developed by Interna- tional Switchboard Company are operated from a pilothouse con- trol panel.

The ship's electronics include a

Decca autopilot, Sperry gyrocom- pass, Raytheon DE-731 recording

Fathometer, Leigh Class A E.P.-

I.R.B., two Decca 65121 radar units, intercom system, and VHF and SSB radios. She is also equipped with Azimuth stabil- izers and a COMSAT 3941 sat- ellite communications system with telephone and telex.

Geophysical research equipment aboard the Western Strait in- cludes an LRS-888 Seis Recording

System with 100 channels; a com- plete satellite navigation system consisting of Hewlett-Packard

Mini-computer, Doppler, Loran C, and satellite receiver; and nine

TV monitors. Other equipment includes a LaCoste and Romberg

Gravity meter, Geometries mag- netometer, Krupp fathometer,

LRS-100 synchronizers, 20 air guns, six 5,000-psi electric-drive compressors, eight remote control "birds" for stabilizing- cable at a certain depth, and a 48 group cable.

The vessel is also equipped with flume stabilization system, Halon firefighting system, Pitman #757 five-ton crane, a welding machine and a motor-generator set for clean power to the geophysical equipment.

Chevron Orders Two 35,000-DWT Product

Tankers From Mitsubishi

Two new, diesel-powered, 35,- 000-deadweight-ton product tank- ers have been ordered by Chevron

Transport Corporation, San Fran- cisco, Calif., a subsidiary of Stand- ard Oil Company of California, for service in the company's in- ternational trades. The vessels, which will be built by Mitsubishi

Heavy Industries in its yard at

Kobe, Japan, are scheduled for delivery in September and De- cember 1981.

These product carriers will meet the safety and environmental re- quirements of the U.S. Port and

Tanker Safety Act of 1978, as well as those of various conven- tions which have been adopted by the Inter-Governmental Maritime

Consultative Organizations (IM-

CO), the maritime agency of the

United Nations. They will be equipped with protectively lo- cated segregated ballast tanks and inert gas systems.

The addition of this new ton- nage to the company's fleet will serve to replace older product tankers in this size range which the company has scrapped over the last five years.

A.L. Kucera Elected

President Of AWO

Anthony L. Kucera has been elected president of The Ameri- can Waterways Operators, Inc.,

Arlington, Va., succeeding James

B. Potter Jr., according to Wil- liam A. Creelman, AWO chairman of the board. AWO represents the nation's barge and towing in- dustry.

Mr. Creelman said, "We thank

Mr. Potter for his service to The

American Waterways Operators and wish him well in the future.

We welcome Mr. Kucera and are confident that his experience in water resources and his exper- tise in water transportation will be invaluable to AWO."

Mr. Potter resigned to "pursue other business interests," Mr.

Creelman noted.

Mr. Kucera has been with AWO since 1974. In 1976, he was named executive assistant to the presi- dent, and in 1977 assumed the po- sition of executive vice president.

Prior to joining AWO, Mr.

Kucera was senior vice president of the Water Resources Congress in Washington, D.C. He served as vice president and regional man- ager for Water Resources Asso- ciated in St. Louis, Mo., and prior to that he was regional manager for the Mississippi Valley Asso- ciation in Omaha, Neb.

A native of Flandreau, S.D.,

Mr. Kucera received a bachelor's degree with honors in economics from Huron College in Huron,

S.D. He continued his postgrad- uate studies in economics at the

University of Maryland.

SHIP REPAIRS-CHILE

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ASMAR Shipyards

Astilleros y Maestranzas de la Armada

Prat 856, Piso 14 Castilla 150-V Valparaiso, Chile, S.A.

Tel. 59411-57129 Telex 30305

A. USA Representative /\ JACKSON MARINE CORPORATION -- 17 Battery Place New York, New York 10004

XX Tel. (212) 269-0937 24 ZIDELL Maritime Reporter/Engineering News