Page 10: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 15, 1980)

Shown during recent christening ceremonies, the S/S Benjamin Harrison is the first of two LASH-container carriers currently being built for Waterman Steamship

Corporation at Avondale Shipyards, Inc.

First Of Two For Waterman -S/S Benjamin Harrison-

Christened At Avondale

Avondale Shipyards, Inc., New

Orleans, La., a subsidiary of Og- den Corporation, held christening ceremonies recently for the LASH vessel S/S Benjamin Harrison, the first of two LASH vessels currently being built for Water- man Steamship Corporation.

Named for the distinguished member of the Continental Con- gress which approved the Dec- laration of Independence, and father and grandfather of two

U.S. Presidents, the S/S Benja- min Harrison is a combination

LASH-container carrier. The ves- sel, designed by Friede & Gold- man, Ltd., is scheduled to join

Waterman Steamship Corpora- tion's fleet in late June 1980 serving trade routes 12/22, which includes the Gulf, East Coast to the Far East.

Miss Suzanne P. Walsh, daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius S.

Walsh, served as sponsor of the

S/S Benjamin Harrison. Miss

Walsh, whose father is chairman of Waterman Steamship Corpo- ration, is a graduate of Mount

Vernon Seminary in Washington,

D.C., and Hollins College in Roan- oke, Va. Miss Walsh was attended by her mother, Mrs. Cornelius S.

Walsh, who served as matron of honor.

Principals of the S/S Benjamin

Harrison christening ceremony were Albert L. Bossier Jr., pres- ident of Avondale Shipyards, Inc., who presided over the ceremony; the Honorable Thomas F. Moak- ley, Commissioner, Federal Mar- itime Commission, United States

Department of Commerce, and the Honorable Samuel B. Nemi- row, Assistant Secretary of Com- merce for Maritime Affairs,

United States Department of

Commerce, who were principal speakers for the occasion.

The invocation was given by the

Most Reverend Edwin B. Brod- erick of New York City.

Miss Rebecca Bealer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Bealer of

ASI's Night Shift Crane Depart- ment, served in the traditional role of flower girl.

Waterman Steamship Corpora- tion, one of the oldest American steamship companies, was found- ed in 1919 in Mobile, Ala. A ma- jor freight cargo operator, Wa- terman Steamship Corporation is headquartered in New York, with branch offices in Washington, Mo- bile, Houston, Chicago, San Fran- cisco, Dallas, and New Orleans.

Currently, its fleet consists of 11 vessels offering fast and efficient service to the Far East, Middle

East and North European ports via U.S. Gulf and Atlantic ports. $61.6 Million Awarded

To Newport News For

Navy Overhaul Work

Newport News Shipbuilding,

Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $61,653,341 modifica- tion to a previously awarded con- tract for the overhaul and re- fueling of the SSBN 632 Von

Steuben. The Naval Sea Systems

Command is the contracting ac- tivity. (N00024-78-C-2361)

Title XI Sought

By Gisclair For $1.7-Million Towboat

Gisclair Bros. Towing, Inc., Post

Office Box 1798, Galliano, La. 70354, has applied for a Title XI guarantee to aid in financing one steel-hull towboat. The 110-foot (33-meter) oil screw vessel was built by Bollinger Machine Shop & Shipyard, Inc., Lockport, La., and delivered January 1, 1979.

The actual cost of the vessel is $1,776,771. The requested Title

XI guarantee would cover up to 87V-2 percent of that amount.

Wiley Completes Ferryboat Surry

To Operate At James River Crossing

Wiley Manufacturing, Port De- posit, Md., has completed and de- livered to its new owners a pas- senger and automobile ferryboat,

Surry, that will operate on the

James River between Glasshouse

Point and Scotland, Va.

Designed by Coast Engineering

Company of Norfolk, Va., for the

Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation, the ferry has a capacity of 50 automobiles and 350 passengers. It was construct- ed at Wiley's Port Deposit yards.

Service schedules began in Jan- uary 1980.

The principal dimensions of the

Surry are length 200 feet, beam 64 feet, and depth amidships of 16 feet, with a design operating draft of 9 feet 6 inches. Powered by a GM Electro-Motive 12E6 1,450-hp diesel engine, the ferry has two Columbian Bronze pro- pellers fore and aft, propeller shafts manufactured by Morgan

Engineering, a subsidiary of

AMCA International, Fernstrum keel coolers, two Raytheon ra- dars, three Detroit Diesel ship's service generators, and one emer- gency generator by Detroit.

The introduction of this 350- passenger ferryboat will help al- leviate peak travel tie-ups in the important James River historic and tourist areas. Wiley Manu- facturing is a unit of AMCA In- ternational Corporation. A fabri- cating and shipyard facility, the

Wiley plant is equipped for the construction of vessels up to 425 feet in length, and of any type of floating steel equipment up to 2,400 deadweight tons.

Principals of the S/S Benjamin Harrison christening ceremony were (from left to right), the Honorable Samuel B. Nemirow, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for

Maritime Affairs, United States Department of Commerce; Cornelius S. Walsh, chairman, Waterman Steamship Corporation; Miss Suzanne P. Walsh, sponsor of the S/S Benjamin Harrison; Albert L. Bossier Jr., president, Avondale Shipyards,

Inc.; the Honorable Thomas F. Moakley, Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commis- sion, United States Department of Commerce; and the Most Reverend Edwin

B. Broderick, D.D., executive director, Catholic Relief Services.

The new ferry Surry constructed by Wiley Manufacturing of Port Deposit, Md 56 ZIDELL Maritime Reporter/Engineering News