Page 56: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 15, 1981)

design, is an integrated catama- ran type tug and barge combina- tion designed for efficiency, all- weather performance, and speed similar to conventional vessels.

However, the combination of twin-screw, dual propulsion units substantially reduces operating costs and is more maneuverable than conventional vessels.

Other principals involved in the

Oxy Trader christening ceremony included Albert L. Bossier Jr., president of Avondale Shipyards,

Inc., who presided over the cere- mony, and Mr. Dorgan, who de- livered the principal address. Miss

Dawn Stieffel, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Stieffel, served as flower girl. The position of flower girl is traditionally given to the daughter of an Avondale employee. Miss Stieffel's father is employed in the Sheet Metal

Shop at the Main Plant.

Avondale Shipyards, Inc. is a subsidiary of Ogden Corporation, which operates in the major mar- kets of metals, transportation, and food. Although principally a shipbuilder, Avondale is a diver- sified company with facilities that include repair yards, a foun- dry, a special products division, steel sales, and a facility near the

Gulf at Bayou Black, La., that builds offshore drilling rigs.

Occidental Petroleum is a ma- jor producer and distributor of chemicals for agricultural, con- sumer, and industrial markets.

The multinational company is un- der the leadership of board chair- man Armand Hammer.

Christening ceremonies were held recently at Avondale Shipyards for first of three integrated tug/barge units currently being built there. Named the Oxy Trader, the vessel is said to be first catamaran tug/barge for transocean trading.

Officers and authors at recent SNAME Pacific Northwest Section meeting (L to R):

J. Butler, past Section chairman; C. Daley, coauthor; P. Noble, coauthor; B. Lund- gaard, coauthor; T. Dyer, coauthor; R. Banning, sections committee; L. Coward,

Section chairman; and C. Morris, assistant secretary-treasurer, B.C. area.

SNAME Pacific Northwest Section

Holds Meeting In Canada

The Pacific Northwest Section of The Society of Naval Archi- tects and Marine Engineers held its fall 1980 meeting at Harrison

Hot Springs, British Columbia,

Canada. The meeting introduced the new officers: Les Coward,

CCS Marine Associates, Ltd. of

Vancouver, chairman; Bruce H.

Adee, University of Washington, secretary-treasurer; executive board consists of George Salis- bury, John T. Mitchell, and Ger- ald Talbot. The vice presidents in- clude: Thomas Dyer, Foss Ship- yard, for Puget Sound Area; Ron- ald B. Thicke, R.B. Thicke Engi- neering, Ltd., for B.C. Area; and

Donald R. Stevens, Northwest

Marine Iron Works, for Columbia

River Area.

The paper on "Safe Shipping in the Arctic," by P. Noble and

E. Daley, Arctec Canda, Ltd., started by presenting the history of arctic shipping as being ex- ploratory. Even up through the present this has not changed much, except the ships are get- ting more sophisticated. With in- terest growing in arctic shipping, more problems have been encoun- tered. Some of these include the properties of ice under different conditions; material deterioration due to the environment, and peo- ple working in arctic environment.

The paper on "Noise Control on

Diesel Tugs," by T. Dyer, Foss

Shipyard, and B. Lundgaard, DLI

Engineering Corporation, re- viewed basic noise control prob- lems. The authors then went on to show how the present methods can be used. Construction tech- niques, arrangement, and materi- als can be used to reduce noise to personnel. An example of a backfit was shown for its improve- ments in noise control. Examples were also cited of new construc- tion showing what noise levels can be maintained. Because of the design requirements of tugs, i.e., high horsepower in a small hull, noise control should be consid- ered in the design.

First Of Three Catug/Barge Units

Christened At Avondale Yard

Christening ceremonies were held recently at Avondale Ship- yards near New Orleans for the first of three integrated catug/ barge vessels currently under construction there for use by Oc- cidental Petroleum Corporation.

The Oxy Trader is designed to carry phosphoric acid and other liquid chemicals in six stainless- steel center tanks, and petroleum products in 10 wing tanks.

Mrs. Cynthia Dorgan, wife of

John J. Dorgan, executive vice president-finance and administra- tion of Occidental Petroleum, was the vessel's sponsor. Mrs. Bar- bara Culhane assisted as matron of honor; she is the wife of John

H. Culhane, vice president-plan- ning and business development for Occidental.

The Oxy Trader has an over- all length of 677 feet 4 inches, beam of 99 feet, depth to main deck of 50 feet, and design draft of 36 feet. Deadweight at design draft is approximately 39,500 long tons. The catug is powered by twin Colt-Pielstick PC2.5V400 diesel engines built by Fairbanks

Morse, each with a maximum continuous rating of 9,100 bhp, driving two 20-foot-diameter pro- pellers. Speed on sea trials at 85 percent of mcr was about 15.5 knots.

The new vessel is one of 10

Catug units currently under con- struction in the United States.

Occidental Petroleum will use the

Oxy Trader in its worldwide chemical and petroleum trade.

Only two Catug units, the Sea- bulk Challenger and the Seabulk

Magnaches, built in 1974 and 1976, respectively, for Seabulk

Corporation, an affiliate of Hvide

Shipping, Inc., have been in op- eration, serving the U.S. Gulf

Coast.

The Catug system, developed by Hvide Shipping, which holds a license to patent rights on the

Principal participants at Oxy Trader christening were (L to R): Mrs. Barbara Culhane, matron of honor; Albert L. Bossier Jr., president of Avondale; Mrs. Cynthia Dorgan, sponsor; John J. Dorgan, executive vice president-finance and administration, Occi- dental Petroleum Corporation; the Honorable Lindy (Mrs. Hale) Boggs (D-La),

House of Representatives; and M. Lee Rice, president and chief executive officer of Ogden Transportation, shipping subsidiary of Ogden Corporation. 58 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News