Halter Launches Its First Giant Catamaran Tug

The first 133-foot catamaran tug (Catug) built by Halter Marine, Inc. was launched recently at the company's Chickasaw, Ala., division. Scheduled for delivery in November, the giant twin-hulled craft will sail to Sparrows Point, Md., where she will be mated to a 645-foot oceangoing barge being built there by Bethlehem Steel Corporation. The tug-barge unit is named the USS Jacksonville.

Halter is building six of the Catugs as subcontractor to Bethlehem, and an additional tug for C & H Sugars, Inc. The USS Jacksonville is being built at a cost of some $52.6 million for Artemis Marine Company of Lake Success, N.Y. She will carry refinery products between St. Croix, Virgin Islands, and New York City at a speed of approximately 16 knots.

The Catug has a beam of 90 feet 4 inches, depth at side of 39 feet, and design draft of 27 feet.

Normal operating draft will be 32 feet 6 inches, and normal displacement 3,080 tons. She will have capacity for 80,000 gallons of ballast water, 77,000 gallons of heavy fuel, 73,000 gallons of diesel fuel, 20,000 gallons of lube oil, and 51,000 gallons of fresh water.

Propulsion is by two Delaval E n t e r p r i s e DMRV-16-4, directreversing diesel e n g i n e s each rated at 9,100 bhp at 450 rpm.

Philadelphia Gear C o r p o r a t i on supplied the reduction gears, the engine monitoring system is by Galbraith-Pilot Marine, and the electro-hydraulic, ram type steering gear was provided by Sperry.

Delaval supplied the pneumatic engine controls.

Floyd J. Naquin, president of Halter Marine, said the Catug launch represented several "firsts" for the company, which is known primarily as the world's largest builder of support vessels for the offshore petroleum industry.

" T h i s Catug clearly demonstrates Halter's capability to construct large, complicated oceangoing ships. For 25 years we built our reputation on the construction of innovative boats; now we have expanded our reputation to include the construction of innovative ships," explained Mr. Naquin.

The 1,600-gt Catug is the largest vessel yet built by Halter Marine. The launch also marked the first job for the 4,000-toncapacity Halter drydock that was used to float the vessel.

The new drydock was built at Halter's I n d u s t r i a l Canal and Chickasaw divisions especially for the Catug program. It will be utilized in ship-repair operations during the two-month spans between Catug launches.

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