Page 24: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 1981)

Giant Belcher Barge

Launched In Galveston

Believed to be the largest barge ever built in the U.S., the 640-foot

Belcher 102 (shown above) was launched recently at the Galves- ton Shipbuilding Company yard in Galveston, Texas. To be em- ployed in the U.S. coastal trans- portation of petroleum products, this double-skinned barge has a cargo capacity of 412,000 barrels, or 55,000 dwt.

With dimensions of 640 feet by 105 feet and a depth of 48 feet, the Belcher 102 is equipped with five deepwell cargo pumps, two ballast pumps, and a circulating hot oil cargo heating system with 10 million Btus capacity.

The pushing notch on this barge with dimensions of 55 feet wide by 115 feet deep will accommo- date a single-screw, 15,000-bhp tug with a B&W diesel that burns heavy fuel oil. Also, Belcher 102 is equipped with a 1,000-hp M&T bow thruster unit.

NASSCO To Retrofit

Three Tankers At Total

Cost Of $19.8 Million

The Maritime Administration and Maritime Subsidy Board have authorized execution of the agen- cy's first construction-differential subsidy (CDS) contracts for the retrofitting of tankers in com- pliance with the Port and Tanker

Safety Act of 1978. The CDS, estimated to total $9,153,273, would aid in the reconstruction of three 89,700-dwt tankers owned by subsidiaries of the Berger

Group, at the National Steel and

Shipbuilding Company in San Di- ego. Specifically, the contracts call for the installation of crude oil washing systems and other retrofits required under the act.

The vessels and companies in- volved are the Rose City, owned by Northwest Shipping Corpora- tion ; the Beaver State, owned by

Yeon Shipping Corporation; and the Worth, owned by Worth Oil

Transport Company. All three were built and are being operated with the assistance of Federal subsidy.

The Beaver State and Rose City currently hold 20-year "hell-or- high-water" time charters and are sub-time-chartered to Texaco.

The Worth has a 10-year time charter with Texaco. Assuming the vessels meet the requirement of the 1978 act, all three are guaranteed revenue through 1986.

The Board approved a negoti- ated fixed price of $6,607,291 for reconstruction of each vessel. Of that total, the Government will pay 46.17 percent, or $3,051,091 in CDS.

The modifications involved have been approved by the Department of the Navy as suitable for use in time of war or national emer- gency. The Navy has also sug- gested that eight additional fea- tures would enhance the useful- ness of the vessels for national defense. These include alongside- fueling at sea and high-line trans- fer; astern fueling at sea; pro- hibition of grey cast iron; nu- clear, biological, and chemical washdown, MARISAT communi- cations equipment; maximum clear-deck area; steering control systems; and steering gear emer- gency electrical supply. The Board approved NASSCO's negotiated fixed prices totaling $816,508 to cover the cost of these national defense features.

The Berger Group has similar applications pending for CDS as- sistance in retrofitting four other tankers.

Donald Chrisco Named

Director Of Materials

At St. Louis Ship

Donald D. Chrisco

Donald D. Chrisco has been named director of materials at St.

Louis Ship, division of Pott In- dustries Inc. He joined St. Louis

Ship in March 1980 as director of purchasing. Prior to that he served in various material re- sponsibilities for Monsanto Com- pany, International Telephone &

Telegraph in St. Louis, and In- ternational Systems in Mobile,

Ala.

Except for steel, Mr. Chrisco is responsible for the total mate- rial function for St. Louis Ship and its two affiliated shipyards,

Paducah Marine Ways and Ca- ruthersville Shipyard. The three shipyards comprise the Shipyard

Group of Pott Industries Inc., a subsidiary of Houston Natural

Gas Corp.

Zigler Yard Launches 80,000-Barrel Tank Barge

For Louisiana Marine

Zigler Shipyard, a division of

Lee-Vac, Ltd., recently launched an 80,000-barrel barge, the LMT

Pelican, constructed for Louisiana

Marine Transport of Chelsea,

Mass. The barge, the second of its kind to be constructed by the

Jennings, La., yard, features in- ternally coated tanks to carry gasoline and aircraft fuels.

The ABS approved and U.S.

Coast Guard certified barge is equipped with conventional Gould cargo pumps driven by Detroit

Diesel 250-bhp engines, and car- ries 30-kw generators. Operations manager Fred Stokes attributes the completion of the vessel six weeks ahead of schedule to fab- rication techniques that simul- taneously utilize all sections of the yard. The yard developed an inverse technique in fabricating the stern rake. The 200-ton com- ponent, the biggest module ever constructed by the yard, was fab- ricated upside down, turned over and put in place.

Equipped with a 25-foot notch on the stern, the LMT Pelican carries a diesel-driven hydraulic pump system to drive the anchor windlass. The vessel was designed by Marine Design, Inc. of Mel- ville, N.Y. instant Relief from IMCO Radio Monitoring from Electro-Nav ... and it won't cost you a bundle.

It's our new EN 2182R Watch

Receiver. We designed it to meet or exceed the very latest SOLAS 74/IMCO A.383 round-the-clock distress monitoring directives, and the pertinent requirements of just about every maritime regulatory agency in the world, CEPT, UK

Home Office, Scandinavia's PTT,

USA's FCC, you name it. And it's available right now, so you can forget about having to apply for additional extensions.

EN 2182R is compact, rugged, reliable, real state of the art. And fully flexible. With normal and muted operation. Integral loudspeaker and built-in test generator. Plus provisions for external speakers, alarm indicator and reset controls. And an optional digital clock which automatically lifts mute during silent periods. This watch receiver will mount anywhere, table, bulkhead, or overhead, so it won't get in your way. It operates on both AC and DC; all you do is plug it in and it's ready to go.

The low cost is also a relief.

Especially since no unit anywhere near the price of the EN 2182R comes anywhere near its performance. And it comes with a full year's guarantee.

So here's an easy way to get rid of a headache — before it starts. Call

Electro-Nav today. ^ Electro-Nav tor everything you need in marine electronics

Elizabeth. NJ 07201.840 Bond Street. Tel: (201) 527-0099. (212) 697-7770: Telex. 13-9381 NAVELECTRELBT •

Oakland. CA 94606. 750 Kennedy Street, Tel: (415) 533- 1840: Telex: 33-8509 • London SW18 4AW England; 3

Hardwicks Way, Wandsworth, Tel: 01-874-7281

Telex: (851) 928229

Write 386 on Reader Service Card 26 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News