First Of Two Big Exxon Tankers Christened At National Steel Yard

A christening ceremony was held at National Steel and Shipuilding Company (NASSCO) in San Diego recently for the Exxon Valdez, the first of "two 209,000-dwt tankers being constructed for Exxon Shipping Company of Houston. These Alaska Class tankers are the largest ships ever built on the West Coast, with a length of 987 feet, beam of 166 feet, depth of 88 feet, and fully loaded draft of 64.5 feet. Propulsion is provided by a slow-speed IHI/Sulzer 8RTA84 diesel engine with an output of 32,240 bhp; service speed is 16.5 knots.

Sponsor of the new VLCC was Dr.

Margaret L.A. MacVicar, Dean for Undergraduate Education at MIT, vice president of the Carnegie Institute in Washington, and a member of the Exxon board of directors.

Randall Meyer, president of Exxon Company U.S.A. was the principal speaker at the ceremony.

Other p a r t i c i p a n t s included Ulyesse J. LeGrange, senior vice president, and Joe T. McMillan, senior vice president, Exxon Company U.S.A.; Frank J. larossi, president of Exxon Shipping Com- pany; and Richard H. Vortmann, president of NASSCO.

Also present were Hon. Jim Bates and Hon. Bill Lowery, U.S. House of Representatives.

Alfred W. Lutter Jr., senior vice president-marketing and business affairs for NASSCO, assisted as master of ceremonies.

The Exxon Valdez will transport 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per voyage from Valdez, Alaska, to Panama for transshipment to the U.S.

Gulf and East Coasts. Due to her large size, the fuel-efficient diesel engine, and a high degree of automation, the new vessels will enable Exxon Shipping to establish a new level of efficiency in the transportation of Alaskan crude.

The Alaska Class tankers are designed with the most modern equipment available, and will meet the latest safety and environmental protection standards, including a protectively located clean segregated ballast system, inert gas system, safeguards to prevent pumping of oily waste into the sea, sewage treatment system, collision-avoidance radar, and a back-up steering system.

The ships will also meet the latest regulations of the Safety of Life at Sea Conventions.

For free literature detailing the facilities and capabilities of NASSCO, Circle 58 on Reader Service Card

Maritime Reporter Magazine, page 70, Nov 1986

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