Page 39: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 15, 1980)

the destroyer, which is to be named HMS

Liverpool, was moved with the aid of hy- draulic rams at 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) per minute a distance of 115 meters (337.3 feet) down the slipway. It is the largest and most intricate shipbuilding operation ever carried out in the yard, which is part of the state-owned British Shipbuilders.

Cammell Laird's building hall came into operation in 1978, when HRH Princess Anne laid the destroyer's keel, and the vessel's extrusion from the hall on to a conventional outside slipway from which she will be launched in September marked another ma- jor development in shipbuilding at Birken- head.

A new building method and extrusion process developed by the company has been used in the production of this highly sophis- ticated vessel, and it has created consid- erable interest among naval shipbuilders worldwide. "These new methods," said Tony Smith, chairman and chief executive of Cammell

Laird, "have demonstrated that our advanced shipbuilding plant and technology, although primarily designed for merchant ship con- struction, lends itself remarkably well to the building of warships, and this, together with the expertise of our workforce, have pro- duced a vessel consistent with the Royal

Navy's quality requirements."

The building method is a departure from the traditional sequence of building the hull structure first, followed by machinery in- stallation and outfitting. The method is a combination of the "extrusion" process and the "open-boat" principle. Advantage can be taken of the excellent conditions within the hall — those of good lighting, ventilation, access, cranage, and cleanliness.

With the "open-boat" technique, decks over the machinery space are left off, providing ideal access for installing major items of equipment such as gearboxes, turbines, etc., in an environment totally free from the ef- fect of weather. Work also proceeds in par- allel elsewhere under cover on fabrication and outfitting the multiple-deck "sandwich" structures located above the machinery, which support the "open-boat" method and enable work to be undertaken in both areas simultaneously.

PACTOW EXPANDING — Pacific Towboat and Salvage Company of Long Beach, Calif., took advantage of the recent christening of a new bunkering barge to call attention to the firm's current $12-million equipment ex- pansion program, which also includes adding two large barges and three harbor tugs to its growing fleet. In ceremonies marking the event, Long Beach Commission presi- dent James H. Gray (left, above) presented

August 15, 1980 color aerial portrait of Pactow's Pier D" op- erations to Pacific Towboat president Thomas

D. Opatz (center) and board chairman John

J. Turner. New vessels will double Pactow's present bunkering capacity of one million barrels per month in the Long Beach harbor area.

McDermott Division Gets

Two Contracts For

Irish Sea Gas Projects

McDermott Engineering-London, a division of McDermott International, Inc., has re- ceived two contracts from Hydrocarbons

Great Britain Ltd., a wholly owned subsid- iary of British Gas Corporation, for work that will play a major part in the develop- ment of the Morecambe Gas Field.

The Morecambe Field is located in the

Irish Sea approximately 30 miles west of

Lancaster, England. The contracts involve both offshore and onshore projects.

The offshore project calls for McDermott to prepare the conceptual design for the de- velopment of the entire Morecambe Field.

This work will include the design of the off- shore platforms, their drilling, production, and accommodation facilities, and offshore in-field pipeline systems.

Onshore, McDermott will provide engi- neering and procurement services for the terminal that will handle the gas from the

Morecambe Field. This onshore terminal will be constructed at West Field Point near

Barrow-in-Furness.

Work for both the offshore conceptual de- sign and the onshore terminal will be done in McDermott's London office, the headquar- ters of McDermott Engineering in Europe. 41

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