Page 41: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 1969)

Erie Marine Officially Opened? Shows Construction Methods On Largest Lake Ore Ship A new multi-million-dollar shipyard was officially dedicated the last weekend in June. At that time Erie Marine Inc., a division of Litton Industries, located just outside Erie, Pa., opened its doors so that maritime and gov-ernmental officials could see the progress be-ing made in building a new automated ship-yard. Ellis B. Gardner, who heads Litton's ship-building operation and is also president of In-galls Shipbuilding Corporation, another Litton division, officiated at the ceremony. He was assisted by George K. Geiger, president and general manager of Erie Marine. Besides viewing the longest dry dock in the United States?1,250 feet?and the new fabri-cation building, the guests were shown the first hull sections of the 1,000-foot Lake ore carrier under construction. This new vessel, being built for Bethlehem Steel Company, will be the largest ship on the Great Lakes when completed in 1970. In September 1967 Litton announced that it would build a shipyard in Erie, Pa. On March 12, 1968 ground was broken for the yard. From then on work progressed rapidly on the $2-million graving dock and the $3-million build-ing to house the fabrication and assembly shops. In April 1968 Bethlehem Steel awarded the firm a contract to build the 53,000-dwt ore carrier. This automated shipyard is building the cargo section of the vessel. In the assembly building at the end of the graving dock, the ship's steel panels are welded together to form sub-assemblies. When completed, these sub-assemblies are placed on a hydraulic turning platform in the graving dock floor and welded together vertically to form modules 105 feet wide by 48 feet long. As each module is com-pleted, it is moved forward and welded to the one proceeding it. Ingalls Shipbuilding is building the bow and stern sections of the vessel. These will be joined together at Ingalls and will sail under its own power to Erie, Pa. There it will be cut apart and each end joined to the 818-foot cargo section. The Bethlehem ship will be a self-unloader capable of discharging its 51,500-tons of iron-ore pellets in approximately three hours. The unloading equipment was designed and built by Hewitt Robins, another division of Litton. Mr. Gardner, in his talk at the ceremonies, stated that the ship was not an experimental vessel but that it was only unique in the meth-od of construction. He further stated that fu-ture ships of this size and type would sell for approximately $22-million. Erie Marine currently employs about 200 workers but estimates that between 400 and 500 people will be employed when the new yard is in full production. Robert E. Berry Joins Navsat Systems Inc. Navsat Systems Inc., Newport Beach, Calif., developers of a system to aid navigation and operations of commercial ships, has announced that Robert E. Berry has joined the company as vice-president-operations. Mr. Berry announced simultaneously that Robert A. Thompson has been named director of engineering; Dr. John B. Opfell, assistant to the director of engineering, and Capt. James D. Luse, manager, systems development. All four men were with Philco-Ford's space and re-entry systems division in Newport Beach, Calif., where they worked on the ori-ginal research and development of the Navsat System. NASHVILLE BRIDGE COMPANY P.O. Box 239 Nashville, Tennessee Other profit-proven products include: ? Deck Hardware ? Hose Cranes ? 40-Ton Winch ? Bow Steering Units ? Flush Mounted-Watertight Hatchet EAST COAST REPRESENTATIVE: Smith-Meeker Engineering Co., 157 Chambers St., New York City Precise speed measurement-anywhere! Not long ago a major oil company asked Marquardt to develop a new generation speed log, based on the doppler sonar principle, for their large fleet of vess els. Cost studies indicated important savings would be made when precise speed readings were used for a continuous ship's performance check. ? What's more the new Doppler Sonar Speed Log provides accurate velocity measurements relative to the ocean floor in channels, harbors, coastal waters and for docking. It reduces the cost of "speed trials" by nulli-fying the effect of tides, currents -and wind and eliminates the A need for auxiliary shore-based measurement aids. ? For complete infor-mation, contact Marquardt today! Deck Fittings by Nabrico Nashville Bridge Company has pioneered in the water transport industry for fifty years. In that time, many of their innovations have become standard equipment on the rivers. For example, the Nabrico 40-ton winch, with 20 times faster take up than a ratchet, is available in a broad range of power options... manual, electric, hydraulic or air. It's made in true right and left hand arrangements. The Nabrico flush hatch cover has no projections to foul lines or trip deck hands. It secures watertight without tools and is approved by American Bureau of Shipping. In addition, Nabrico builds hose cranes, locking pins and sockets, bitts, chocks, kevels and bow steering units. Write for complete catalog and price list of Nabrico deck fittings and hardware. Marine Electronic Products ? The Marquardt Company 16555 Saticoy Street ? Van Nuys, California 91406 ? A CCI Marquardt Industry August 1, 1969 43