NASSCO and TOTE Christen Midnight Sun

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) has joined with Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Inc. (TOTE) to christen M.V. Midnight Sun, the first commercial dry cargo vessel to be built in the U.S. in 10 years. Midnight Sun is the first of two new Orca-class trailerships being built by NASSCO for TOTE's service from Tacoma, Wash., to Anchorage, Alaska.

Lynn Garvey, wife of Mike Garvey, Chairman of the Board of TOTE's parent company, Saltchuk Resources, Inc., and Lily Stevens, the daughter of Senator Ted Stevens (R- Alaska), were the ship's sponsors, christening M.V. Midnight Sun with ceremonial bottles of champagne.

Senator Stevens, who is serving in his seventh term in the U.S. Senate, was the keynote speaker at the event.

M.V. Midnight Sun, and its sister ship, M.V North Star, are 840 x 118-ft. (256 x 35.9-m) RoRo cargo ships offering the option to carry trailers as large as 53 ft.

The ships' cargo can be loaded and discharged in nine hours, with the speed and efficiency of this process being an important competitive advantage for TOTE.

M. V. Midnight Sun and M. V. North Star have already received several prestigious awards for their environmentally sensitive design. These include the States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force Legacy Award for 2000, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner's 2000 Pollution Prevention Award, and the Biennial William M. Benkert Foundation 2002 Environmental Excellence Bronze Award. With Midnight Sun scheduled for delivery in early 2003, North Star will be christened on March 15, 2003, for a summer 2003 delivery.

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Maritime Reporter Magazine, page 15, Sep 2002

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