Page 40: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 15, 1983)

LEEVAC Shipyards Will Produce

World Class ME 500 Tug Supply Vessel

LEEVAC Shipyards, a division of Morgan City-based LEEVAC

Corporation, has announced it has developed a World Class

Tug/Supply Vessel in conjunc- tion with a Norwegian design team.

The 70-year-old Jennings, La., shipyard has taken a giant leap ahead by answering the need for a vessel designed to withstand even the roughest environments throughout the world. As a joint effort with Maritime Engineer- ing of Oslo, Norway, LEEVAC has developed a vessel that meets the needs for crew comfort, rig support, supply and movement capabilities — in the toughest of conditions.

This new vessel, named the

ME 500, "is even more perform- ance-oriented than the top of the line Gulf Coast-designed vessel," according to Bob Burlet, market- ing director, LEEVAC Shipyards. "Our goal was to develop a ves- sel that would be the ultimate in seaworthiness," Mr. Burlet ex- plained.

Maritime Engineering, an in- ternationally known marine ves- sel designer, was contacted and agreed to a joint venture utiliz- ing an already proven Maritime

Engineering design. LEEVAC then turned to both boat opera- tors and major oil companies and posed the question: "Would you be interested in an American- built Norwegian design? Their response was an emphatic 'Yes'," said Mr. Burlet. "Everyone was quite helpful in giving us an idea of what they did and didn't want in a World

Class vessel. We've tried to incor- porate all of their suggestions into the 500."

One of the major advantages of the 500 that sets it apart from a Gulf Coast-designed boat is its 21-foot depth, allowing for great- er freeboard, higher carrying ca- pacities, and larger propellers.

Another advantage is the 500's bollard pull — a feature of spe- cial interest to the companies

LEEVAC approached. "Even with all of its built-in features, the cost of a 500 should be quite competitive," said Mr.

Burlet. "This is due in part to our utilization of cost-efficient

American machinery and con- struction methods, and the use of an existing, proven design. "While many shipyards and design firms are currently start- ing from scratch to develop or modify designs for international use, we've started at the top.

We have taken the design of an internationally known and re- spected Norwegian designer and have engineered it to be classed under American flag."

Other member divisions of

LEEVAC Corporation are LEE-

VAC Petroleum and LEEVAC

Marine Transportation who, along with LEEVAC Shipyards, pro- vide a comprehensive and inte- grated system of products and services. LEEVAC Marine Trans- portation is involved in the bunk- ering, lightering and transporta- tion of petroleum products. LEE-

VAC Petroleum provides diesel fuels, lubricants and supplies for rigs and vessels. LEEVAC Ship- yards offers design, construction, and repair of boats, barges, and offshore quarters.

ME 500

Principal dimensions

Length

Breadth

Depth

Draft

Speed

Capacities

Drilling water 150,000 gallons

Potable water . 47,000 gallons

Fuel oil 175,000 gallons

Main deck cargo 750 tons

Propulsion machinery

Main engines (2) EMD 20-645E7B, 7,000 bhp

Bow thrusters (1) 600 hp

Generators (2) 226 kw

Bollard pull 211,000 lbs

Anchor handling/

Towing winch (1) double drum, maximum pull: 230,000 lbs; brake pull: 550,000 lbs

Navigation/Communications

Autopilot w/gyrocompass

Magnetic compass

Direction finder

Echosounder

Radio

Public address system (2) VHFs

Speed Log (2) Radars

Loran

Crosby Group Announces

Promotions Of Sales And

Operations Executives

The Crosby Group, Inc., a sub- sidiary of American Hoist and

Derrick of St. Paul, Minn., re- cently announced that Richard

Sked, formerly vice president, sales, has been promoted to vice president, sales planning and ad- ministration.

In this position, Mr. Sked will have the responsibility for prod- uct sales managers, all inside sales, and long-range strategic sales planning. William Craig has been named vice president, do- mestic sales. Mr. Craig will be responsible for all domestic sales for the Crosby Group. Both

Messrs. Sked and Craig will now report to William Shen, vice pres- ident of marketing.

John Kozuk, formerly chain sales manager, has been pro- moted to the newly created po- sition of Eastern sales manager.

In his new capacity, Mr. Kozuk will be responsible for all field sales functions in the Eastern half of the U.S.

Larry Postelwait, formerly op- erations manager, has been pro- moted to vice president, opera- tions. He will be responsible for all Crosby plant operations.

Waukesha Bearings Named

Master U.S. Distributor

Of Thordon Compounds

Thordon elastomeric bearing compounds will be distributed in the U.S., its territories and pos- sessions by Waukesha Bearings

Corporation, Waukesha, Wise., as a result of an agreement between the firm and Thomson-Gordon

Ltd. of Canada, the developer and manufacturer of Thordon.

According to the agreement,

Waukesha Bearings is the mas- ter U.S. distributor and area technical manager for the mate- rial. The Thordon product line will continue to be available from

Thomson-Gordon's existing base of U.S. distributors, and will be sold in concert with the Wau- kesha Bearings Corporation's na- tional sales force.

Thordon is a blend of synthetic rubber and polymers impreg- nated with friction-reducing com- pounds. It is machinable and/or can be molded into a variety of shapes to suit specific bearing applications. It is particularly well suited for use in water lu- bricated stern tube marine bear- ings for all types of vessels.

It is offered in three standard compounds known as "Thordon

Regular, XL and SXL," each ad- dressing specific requirements of the marine application. A wide variety of generic shapes and special configurations are avail- able, including rods, sheets, tubes, tape, and molded products.

For literature,

Write 60 on Reader Service Card . . . 201 ft 44 ft 21 ft . 17 ft 14.5 knots 38 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News