Page 40: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 1986)

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Navy fleet oiler John Lenthall, christened and launched recently at Avondale Shipyards near

New Orleans.

Avondale Christens Replenishment

Fleet Oil Building For U.S. Navy

The third in a series of six fleet oilers under construction for the

U.S. Navy was christened recently by the Shipyards Division of Avon- dale Industries, Inc. in ceremonies at the yard near New Orleans. The new ship, the John Lenthall (T-AO- 189), is named after the 19th cen- tury naval architect whose re- nowned services to the Navy encom- passed the historic transition from sail to stream propulsion. From 1853 to 1871 he was Chief of the

Navy's Bureau of Construction, and as such made significant contribu- tions to both the practical and scientific aspects of naval architec- ture, most especially during the Civ- il War era.

Principal speaker at the christen- ing ceremonies was Vice Adm. Ce- cil J. Kempf, USN, Commander

Naval Reserve Force and Chief of

Naval Reserve. He is also Director

Principals in the christening were (L-R): Albert L. Bossier Jr., president of Avondale's

Shipyards Division; Rear Adm. Harry K. Fiske, USN, NAVSEA; Vice Adm. Cecil J. Kempf,

USN, principal speaker; Theodosia Kempf, sponsor; U.S. Rep. Lindy Boggs (D-LA); and

Wallace T. Sansone, deputy commander, MSC. Flower girl is Dana Snell, daughter of Mr. &

Mrs. Glenn Snell, both employees at Avondale yard. of Naval Reserve, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. His wife, The- odosia Suman Kempf, is the

Lenthall's sponsor.

Others participating in the cere- monies included: U.S. Representa- tive Lindy Boggs (D-LA); Leon- ard McRoskey, Deputy Assistant

Secretary of the Navy; Wallace T.

Sansone, Deputy Commander,

Military Sealift Command, Depart- ment of the Navy; Rear Adm. Har- ry F. Fiske, USN, Amphibious,

Auxiliary, Mine, and Sealift Ships,

Naval Sea Systems Command; Al- bert L. Bossier Jr., president of

Avondale's Shipyards Division;

Capt. Paul D. Hurst, USN, Super- visor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, New Orleans; and Lt.

Cdr. Denis Casey, CEC, USNR, who delivered the invocation.

The mission of the John Lenthall and other fleet oilers of her class is the transportation of bulk products from shore depots to combatants and support forces underway. These ships will also deliver limited fleet freight, cargo water, mail, and per- sonnel.

The T-AO-189 has a cargo capac- ity of 183,500 barrels of oil in 18 tanks, and is capable of simulta- neously receiving, storing, and dis- charging two separate grades of car- go fuel. All cargo pump and valve operations and the segregated bal- last system are manipulated from the cargo control center located in the aft superstructure. This center has an overview of the entire under- way replenishment deck.

Underway replenishment is ac- complished using transfer rigs with transfer hoses suspended by a span wire that is automatically main- tained in a constant-tension range.

T-AO vessels are also capable of refueling helicopters from a vertical replenishment facility aft of the ac- commodations house.

The Lenthall has an overall length of 667.5 feet, beam of 97.5 feet, and maximum draft of 36 feet.

Powered by twin 10-cylinder, me- dium-speed diesel engines, the ship has a service speed of 20 knots. The twin-screw design provides im- proved directional stability, ease of control, and mission reliability un- der combat conditions.

The six fleet oilers that Avondale is building for the Navy represent a total contract value of more than $700 million, and provide employ- ment for approximately 2,000 Avon- dale workers. During the past year,

Avondale launched the first two ships in the program—the Henry J.

Kaiser (T-AO-187) and the Joshua

Humphreys (T-AO-188). The fourth ship in the program, the An- drew J. Higgins (T-A0-I90), is scheduled to be launched in Janu- ary 1987.

The Lenthall and her sister ships are being built using state-of-the- art modular construction tech- niques that include prefabricating and pre-outfitting individual mod- ules that make up the ships. Each of the large modular units is assembled and outfitted with piping, ventila- tion ducts, electrical wireways, and other equipment in designated out- fitting zones throughtout the ship-

USNSJOHN LENTHALL

Major Suppliers

Main Engines . . . . Alsthom-Atlantique

Ships service diesel generators . . . . Alco Power

PTO generators Cogenel

Main engine and PTO clutch coupling Eaton

Shafting Bird-Johnso

Line shaft bearings Avondale

Reduction gears . . . .Cincinnati Gear

CP propellers and

CRP package Bird-Johnson

Steering gear . Jered Brown Brothers

Engine room, bridge and cargo controls Tano

Main switchboards and group control centers . . . Federal Pacific Electric

Emergency diesel . . . Energy Power

Radars Precision Marine

Compass Sperry

Boiler Clayton

HP air compressor . . . Ingersoll Rand

Ship service air compressor . . . Ingersoll Rand

Distiller Aqua Chemical

Valve actuators Limitorque

A/C plant Carrier Transicold

Incinerator Atlas Danmark

FO and LO purifiers Centrico

Vacuum collection Envirovac

Sewage treatment Red Fox

Windows Kear Fott

Hull paint International

Tank paint Mobi

Replenishment-at-sea and deck equipment . . .Lake Shore

Anchor windlass Lake Shore

Ram tensioner Western Gear

Elevator Unidynamics

Firefighting system . . Herbert S. Hiller yard. The pre-outfitted modules are then moved to the building site and erected into complete ships. Pre- packaged units of heavy machinery are assembled ashore and lifted aboard ship for installation. As a result of these modern techniques, the Lenthall and the previous fleet oilers built at Avondale were more than 80 percent complete at the time of their launching.

Avondale Industries is an em- ployee-owned company comprised of seven divisions purchased from the Ogden Corporation last year.

Avondale is involved primarily in marine and modular construction, metals recycling, and industrial pro- duction. With 1985 sales of $1.15 billion, it is among the largest em- ployee-owned corporations in the

U.S.

For information and a free color brochure describing Avondale's fa- cilities and capabilities,

Circle 96 on Reader Service Card

Portsmouth Navy Yard

Awarded $5.7-Million

Sub Overhaul Contract

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, located in Kittery, Maine, across the

Piscataqua River from Portsmouth,

N.H., has been awarded a Navy con- tract valued at $5.7 million to over- haul and refuel the attack submar- ine USS Augusta. This is the yard's first award under the new competi- tive bidding procedures mandated by Congress last year as a cost-cut- ting measure. 42 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News