Hvide Delivers First Two Catug Vessels To Occidental Petroleum

Hvide Shipping Incorporated, headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., handed over the Oxy Trader and the Oxy Producer, two of the three Catug vessels ordered by Occidental Petroleum Corporation.

Construction is almost complete on the third Oxy Catug, the Oxy Grower, which will go into service this summer. There are 12 Catugs scheduled to be in .service by 1983.

Built by Avondale Shipyards in Avondale, La., the three vessels are 42,260-dwt liquid bulk carriers, s p e c i a l l y designed to transport highly viscous, dense and corrosive super phosphoric acid (SPA). Many other bulk liquid products can also be carried in these vessels.

Designed by Hvide Shipping and its affiliate, Seabulk Corporation, the Catug is an integrated tug/'barge (ITB) that combines the efficent hull form of a ship with the wide-beam, shallowdraft characteristics of an oceangoing barge. Tug and barge sections are constructed separately but are designed to be employed as an integrated unit. The design utilizes a twin-hull catamaran tug with a propulsion and steering system in each hull to increase its safety and reliability.

It is more maneuverable than a single- or even a twin-screw ship.

The tug and barge may be separated rapidly in case of emergency.

Other benefits inherent in the design include lower capital costs and substantially lower manning requirements than conventional ships, all resulting in markedly reduced financial and operating costs.

The Oxy Catugs are powered by two 9,100-bhp Colt-Pielstick, 14-cylinder direct reversing engines, one in each hull. Each engine drives a four-bladed, 20-footdiameter slow-turning propeller.

Each power unit has its own separate rudder and steering mechanism.

A service speed in excess of 15 knots has been confirmed.

Built to ship scantlings with heavy reinforcement for the very dense SPA cargoes, the Oxy Catugs have an SPA carrying capacity of 40,100 metric tons at a draft of 36 feet. The SPA tanks are located in the center of the barge; they are clad with 3,17L s t a i n l e s s steel. Each tank is equipped with heat exchangers drawing steam from two waste heat boilers in the engine uptakes or from a separate boiler plant on the barge. This maintains the SPA at a temperature above 150 F while in transit. Hydraulically operated submerged pumps are capable of discharging all cargo tanks to less than four gallons within 20 hours. Tanks are cleaned by hot fresh water washing via a portable Butterworth system.

Wing tanks are coated with water-based inorganic zinc, and may be used to carry back-haul cargoes. The vessel is also fitted for protectively located segregated ballast. The unique design also permits the Catugs to carry a wide variety of other liquids— clean and dirty oil products, and liquid chemicals.

Other stories from August 1981 issue

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Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.