Page 19: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 15, 1981)

$4.7-Million Navy Service

Contract Awarded To

Vitro Laboratories

Automation Industries, Vitro

Laboratories, Silver Spring, Md., has been awarded a $4,715,437 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for en- gineering and technical services in support of NAVSEA's Subma- rine Life Cycle Management Pro- gram. The Naval Sea Systems

Command was the contracting ac- tivity. (N00024-81-C-2006)

Distributor Changes

Corporate Name

Effective February 1, 1981,

Watson & Meehan, the Cummins diesel engine distributor for northern California and Nevada, will change its corporate name to

Cummins West, Inc. Vice Presi- dent Thomas A. Lyon succeeds president Walter McCarthy as chief executive and principal own- er. Mr. McCarthy is retiring and selling the francise, as provided in his contract with the manu- facturer, Cummins Engine Com- pany of Columbus, Ind. He will, however, remain a consultant to and representative of Cummins

West, Inc.

Mr. Lyon joined Watson &

Meehan as vice president in 1979, after 16 years with the Cummins

Engine Company, where his po- sitions included corporate con- troller and vice president-inter- national.

Watson & Meehan is Cummins's oldest distributor, founded in San

Francisco in 1933 by the late H.S.

Watson and R.P. Meehan who re- tired in 1966. Since the latter date, the management team of

Mr. McCarthy and executive vice president and general manager

Dennis T. Martin have overseen a fourfold growth in sales. Mr.

Martin is also retiring.

Bethlehem's Beaumont

Yard Completes Jackup

For Temple Drilling

Temple Drilling Company and

Bethlehem Steel Corporation's

Beaumont shipyard recently com- missioned a 150-foot water depth mobile offshore drilling rig for

Tidelands Limited II. The rig was christened the Comanche by its sponsor, Mrs. Janis Huitt, wife of

Dr. J.L. Huitt, senior vice presi- dent, Gulf Oil Exploration and

Production Company-U.S. opera- tions. Upon delivery, the rig will work in the Gulf of Mexico for

Gulf Oil.

The Comanche is a mat-sup- ported jackup designed for deep- well drilling operations. It fea- tures a cantilevered substructure and offers the capability of being aide to position its drill floor over existing offshore production plat- forms in order to drill develop- mental wells or to rework exist- ing wells.

On location, the Comanche will have a total variable load capac- ity of four million pounds and handle hook or rotary plus set- back loads of one million pounds on wells as far as 32 feet aft of the platform deck. The rig will have a maximum cantilever reach of 40 feet with a hook/setback load capacity of 800,000 pounds at rig centerline.

The Comanche was designed and built to comply with current safety standards of the U.S. Coast

Guard plus the American Bureau of Shipping standards for con- struction of offshore drilling units.

The rig consists of a platform measuring 157 feet by 120 feet supported by three 9-foot-diam- eter columns fixed to a mat that is 197 feet by 160 feet. Outfitted with deep-well drilling equipment, the rig will operate in waters of up to 150 feet. The Comanche contains onboard, air-conditioned living accommodations for 52 per- sons, complete with sleeping quar- ters, galley, recreation area, and laundry rooms.

George L. Temple, president of

Temple Drilling Company, earlier announced the signing of a con- tract with Bethlehem for con- struction of a 200-foot water depth rig, the Cheyenne, to be delivered in April 1982. The rig will be designed by Beaumont and built at Bethlehem's Sparrows

Point, Md., shipyard.

Tie up to dependability.

If you're looking for dependable, reliable fuel service in

Houston, Galveston, or Texas City, look no further.

The hunt is over.

You've just found Houston Marine Services. HMS will get your diesel fuels and marine lubricants to you on time. And you'll get full measure for your money.

HMS will service your vessel by truck or barge. And we'll soon have a new fuel dock in the Houston harbor. It's part of our $2,000,000 expansion, a construction project which underscores our commitment lo service and dependability.

Call (713)455-8819

Or Cable HMS Jerico 910-881-7166

Houston

RgsJ Marine <(BSR'* 1 n . r —_ Services, Inc.

First State Tower • Suite 509 12605 I-10 East • Houston, Texas 77015

January 15, 1981 Write 339 on Reader Service Card 21