Page 10: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 1989)

Peterson Builders Awarded $185-Million Navy Contract

To Build Three More MCMs

Bethlehem Steel Yard

Performs Repairs On

Premier Cruise Ship

The 605-foot passenger cruise ship S.S. Royale recently entered the Sparrows Point shipyard of

Bethlehem Steel for hull repairs.

The Italian-built, Panamanian- flag ship was drydocked recently for hull renovations. Owned by Premier

Cruise Lines, Ltd., Cape Canaveral,

Fla., the ship operates out of Port

Canaveral carrying passengers to

Nassau in the Bahamas.

Premier plans to sell the Royale.

The ship will be renamed the S.S.

Seabreeze I and its cruise operations will be marketed by Dolphin Cruises of Miami.

For free literature detailing the shipbuilding and ship-repairing ser- vices of Bethlehem Steel,

Circle 82 on Reader Service Card

Peterson Builders, Inc. (PBI),

Sturgeon Bay, Wis., recently re- ceived a contract valued at more than $185 million to build three 224- foot wooden-hulled Mine Counter- measure ships (MCMs) for the U.S.

Navy.

The contract is the largest single award ever received by PBI and is the continuation of the Avenger

Class MCM construction program currently under way at the yard.

Peterson Builders, which is the lead shipbuilder for the class, expects to complete the delivery of the three new MCMs by late 1992. The con- tract also contains a provision for the exercise of up to three addition- al hulls during the next fiscal year.

The award of these vessel pro- vides PBI with a solid backlog of shipbuilding work which includes four other MCMS in various stages of construction. MCM-3 and MCM- 5 are ready for trials and will be delivered to the Navy shortly.

MCM-6 and MCM-8 are scheduled for delivery in 1990. The newly awarded vessels are to be christened the USS Pioneer (MCM-9), USS

Warrior (MCM-10) and USS Gla- diator (MCM-11).

Other U.S. Navy work under way at the yard includes the completion of a series of 85 twenty-four-foot

Harbor Security Boats and the con- struction of two MK II 50-foot Dive

Boats and Diving System Modules.

The 85 harbor boats, built under a contract with options worth about $4.5 million, will be used by the

Navy to maintain security at har- bors and anchorages worldwide. The 22-knot vessels, each powered by a 165-hp output Volvo Penta outdrive engine, have a beam of 7 feet 7 inches, draft of 5 feet 2 inches and full load displacement of 8,400 pounds.

The 50-foot, steel-hulled MK II

Fjellstrand Wins Order

For Two High-Speed

Passenger Catamarans

Two 38.8-meter (about 127.3- foot) high-speed passenger catama- rans worth about NOK75-80 million (about $11-12 million), have been ordered from Fjellstrand of Norway by the Spanish shipping company

Cat Lines S.A. in Valencia.

This order marks a fresh market breakthrough for the Norwegian yard that will strengthen its posi- tion as the world's leading high- speed ferry specialist. Spain is the 15th country in the world to get delivery of a high-speed vessel from

Fjellstrand.

In all, Fjellstrand has sold more than 50 high-speed vessels, and the value of this export is about NOK one billion. The two vessels for

Spain will be Nos. 26 and 27 of the successful 38.8 M version. This de-

Dive Boats, being constructed under a $2.45-million contract, will have a beam of 14 feet 9 inches, draft of 2 feet 9 inches, and full load displace- ment with a Diving System Module of 83,000 pounds.

The dive boats will be delivered to San Diego, Calif., and Norfolk,

Va., and be used to support the U.S.

Navy's diving and salvage opera- tions.

The new contract also contains options for an additional 16 MK II

Dive Boats and Diving System

Modules. These options when exer- cised, would bring the total contract value to $13.2 million.

In the commercial shipbuilding sector, PBI was recently awarded a contract to construct a 100-foot steel ferry for the Washington Is- land Ferry Lines located in Wiscon- sin. The construction of the vessel, which began earlier this year, is expected to be completed in June 1989.

To be named the Washington, the passenger/vehicle ferry is designed by Timothy Graul Marine Design of

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. Mr. Graul, a naval architect, will represent the owner as on-site contract represen- tative during the construction phase.

The Washington will be similar in construction to the Robert Noble, a 90-foot passenger/vehicle ferry built by PBI for Washington Island Ferry

Line in 1979.

The Washington Island Ferry

Lines offers regular transportation services to island residents and the tourist industry year round, operat- ing a fleet of passenger/vehicle fer- ries.

For free literature detailing the shipbuilding capabilities of PBI,

Circle 72 on Reader Service Card sign was introduced in autumn 1985.

The catamaran units are due for delivery to the owner in June and

September 1989. They will be put in year-round service between the Bal- earics—Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera—and the main- land.

The vessels will be equipped with

MTU main engines and KaMeWa waterjets, giving a speed of 40 knots.

Designed to carry 300 passengers, the catamarans will accommodate 216 of these on the main deck. Facil- ities will include sofa groups, video and a panorama saloon as well as a play area for children.

The upper deck includes a VIP lounge with its own bar and seating for 62 persons.

For free literature giving full in- formation on the facilities and capa- bilities of Fjellstrand,

Circle 23 on Reader Service Card

From foundry to finishing to repair, Bird-Johnson is a full service propeller company. Our

Walpole, Massachusetts, manufacturing facility has been building Bird-Johnson Controllable

Pitch Propellers for over thirty years, our Pascagoula, Mississippi, foundry has been producing large fixed pitch propellers for over twenty-five years and our Seattle, Washington, foundry has been manufacturing Coolidge Propellers for over eighty years. With that kind of experience, we are experts at analyzing vessel requirements and manufacturing propellers specifically designed to meet the needs of all types of boats and operating conditions—any size; any horsepower; and any material—stainless steel, nickel-aluminum-bronze or manganese bronze. We also supply shafting, nozzles, couplings and other marine propeller accessories. And, equally important are our repair capabilities. Our service technicians can repair or service your propeller anytime—even on a 24 hour emergency basis.

When you're thinking propellers, think Bird-Johnson. Write, call, or drop by and see us—then relax and let your propeller be our business. >1 BIRD-JOHNSON COMPANY 110 Norfolk Street • Walpole • MA 02081 • 508 668 9610 • Fax; 508 668 5638

YOUR 12

Circle 348 on Reader Service Card

Maritime Reporter/Engineering News