Page 6: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 1986)

Bath Iron Works Sold To

New York Investor Group

Bath Iron Works Corporation (BIW) of Bath, Maine, one of the country's leading shipbuilders, has been purchased by private investors led by Gibbons, Green, van Ame- rongen, Ltd., a diversified invest- ment banking firm based in New

York. BIW was formerly owned by

Congoleum Corporation, headquar- tered in Portsmouth, N.H. Gibbons,

Green is a well-established and ac- tive investment banking firm, which since 1969 has invested in 20 compa- nies that continue to operate inde- pendently. The purchase price was not disclosed, but estimates put it at about $500 million.

BIW, recognized as an unusually capable and growing shipyard, is currently completing construction of the last of 24 guided missile fri- gates of the FFG-7 class. The yard now has under contract six Aegis cruisers, and last year won a $321.9- million contract as lead shipyard for the design and construction of the

Navy's new Aegis destroyer, the Ar- leigh Burke (DDG-51). The compa- ny's present shipbuilding backlog is well in excess of $1 billion. In addi- tion, BIW is actively involved in

Navy overhaul and repair work. In addition to the yard at Bath, it oper- ates a repair facility in Portland,

Maine.

Edward W. Gibbons of Gib- bons, Green stated: "We made an investment in Bath Iron Works be- cause for decades it has demon- strated real leadership as a surface combatant shipbuilder for the U.S.

Navy. In addition, it has proven very competitive in the ship over- haul market and has built a wide variety of merchant ships in the past. BIW has been a world leader in shipbuilding technology, and we are committed to supporting the shipyard with new systems and cap- ital investments to assure that it remains at the head of the state of the art."

William E. Haggett, president and chief executive officer of BIW, said: "We expect that business with- in the shipyard will continue under the same management organization.

Moreover, BIW is presently increas- ing employment by adding technical staff and mechanics and no change is anticipated in that pattern, nor will there be any changes to labor contracts or ongoing relationships with the U.S. Navy. "If anything, BIW as a company will have more autonomy than in the past. While Gibbons, Green and other investors will own the ship- yard, they understand that the ship- building expertise resides here and plan to give BIW the support and flexibility required to achieve the company's overall objective, which is to retain its position as a recog- nized leader in its markets," Mr.

Haggett concluded.

SPT Ltd. Offers Free 14-Page Color Brochure

On Sound Powered Phones

SPT Ltd., with full sales and ser- vices facilities in Houston, Texas, is offering a free full-color, 14-page brochure on their line of sound pow- ered telephones and accessories for offshore, marine and land-based use.

The color publication provides a complete technical description of

SPT sound powered telephones, which operate independently of power supply or batteries. The units are in fact, powered by the user's voice, making communication sim- ple, low cost and maintenance free.

The sound powered telephones meet fail-safe communications re- quirements, as well as isolated site,

New dinner cruise/excursion vessel William D. Evans has sternwheel for nostalgia but is powered by two Caterpillar diesel engines, each rated 322 bhp at 1,800 rpm.

San Diego Shipbuilding Delivers

Dinner Cruise Vessel To Bahia Resort intrinsically safe and portable com- munications requirements.

Besides the section on the techni- cal description of sound powered systems, the brochure contains sec- tions on "Powerphone—the Ampli- fied Sound Powered Telephone Sys- tem," "Choice of System/Instru- ment," "Intrinsically Safe Sys- tems," "Admiralty Patt. Sound

Powered Telephone Systems," "Telephone Types," and "Accesso- ries." Each section is filled with drawings and photographs, fully il- lustrating the SPT line of sound powered telephones and accesso- ries.

As a special feature, the SPT Ltd. publication includes a colorful chart called, "Product Classifications and

Specifications Guide."

For a free copy of this brochure,

Circle 131 on Reader Service Card

San Diego Shipbuilding & Repair,

Inc. of Chula Vista, Calif., recently completed the dinner cruise/excur- sion vessel William D. Evans for the

Bahia Resort Hotel on Mission Bay,

San Diego. Built to look like a 19th century riverboat, the 600-passen- ger vessel, with an overall length of 127 feet, beam of 39 feet, and depth of 8 feet 6 inches, is classed by the

American Bureau of Shipping and certified by the U.S. Coast Guard for operation on lakes, bays, and sounds.

Although the vessel is outfitted with an 18-foot-diameter wooden paddlewheel at the stern the propul- sion is conventional, with power supplied by two Caterpillar 3406

BDITA diesel engines, each rated 322 bhp at 1,800 rpm. Electric pow- er is supplied by 250-kw and 90-kw

Caterpillar generators. She is equip- ped with a Wagner hydraulic steer- ing system and Kobelt air engine control system operable from three stations, one in the pilothouse and one on each bridge wing. Bow thruster units, Omnithruster model

OJM 450, have been installed for ease in maneuvering, especially dur- ing docking and undocking opera- tions.

The electronics package includes a Raytheon 1200 radar, ICOM IC-

M80 VHF radiotelephone, Furuno

FMV-601 depth recorder, RCA for- ward- and aft-looking video camera and monitors with pan and tele con- trol, and a 16-station Comdial inter- com system.

The Evans has been designed and built as a multipurpose platform capable of providing all forms of live and recorded entertainment, full- service dinner parties, exhibit hall

Major Suppliers

Main engines (2) ... . . Caterpillar

Reduction gears . . . . . .Twin Disc

Propellers . . . Coolidge

Bow thrusters .... .Omnithruster

Engine exhaust system Kay Industries

Engine controls . . . .... Kobelt

Generators . . Caterpillar

Main switchboard . . Lloyd Controls

Steering gear .... . . . .Wagner

Air conditioning . . . . . . .Cruisair . . .Raytheon

Depth sounder .... Furuno

Intercom . . . . Comdial facilities, plus multiple meeting room and banquet arrangements.

Food will be served from a fully equipped galley below the main deck to each passenger level via a service elevator. There are two bars, stages, and wood dance floors. Stage areas are fitted with built-in ampli- fiers, sound mixers, enhancers, spe- cial effects controls, lighting con- trols, and speaker combinations for a band, disco, "canned" background music, and a stage revue.

As a meeting and banquet facility, the William D. Evans offers seating for more than 200 people on each of her enclosed air conditioned decks.

The deck areas are fitted with com- plete built-in audio/visual conven- tion services including the capabili- ty for teleconference equipment, closed-circuit video, dual-screen slide projection, and remote control presentation display boards. The sun deck offers the attractive alter- native for open-air meetings and banquets.

For further information and free literature on the services and facili- ties offered by San Diego Shipbuild- ing & Repair,

Circle 88 on Reader Service Card

SWDiesel Gulf Inc. "Stork Diesel

Member of the "Stork Werkspoor Diesel Group"

Heavy duty, heavy fuel, four stroke engines, 700-17,000 HP

Maritime Reporter/Engineering News 1500 Fourth Street, Suite F, For the West Coast,

Harvey, LA 70058 2405 NW Market Street telex 460080; telefax (504) 361-0606 Seattle, WA 98107

Phone: (504) 361-0664 telex 0152726 Phone: (206) 789-8383 55

For Parts and Technical Support call "STORK DIESEL" (504) 361-0664

Circle 310 on Reader Service Card