Page 46: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 1993)

Indiana State Senate Passes

Amendment To Allow

Riverboat Gaming

In a surprise move, the Indiana state Senate passed an amendment to its budget that would allow up to 11 gaming boats, five on Lake Michi- gan, five on the Ohio river and one on Lake Patoka.

The Indiana House had already passed a budget this month which contained a version of this statute.

The Senate riverboat gambling amendment to Indiana's proposed

U.S. Naval Labs, NTTC Team

For Technology Transfer

Employees of U.S. Naval Labora- tories will receive detailed training in ways to transfer advanced tech- nologies to American business un- der a new agreement with the Na- tional Technology Transfer Center (NTTC).

Navy and NTTC officials recently announced an agreement to design and deliver a specialized training program in technology transfer for

U.S. Naval research laboratories.

According to officials involved, links between the private sector and fed- eral laboratories are key in deter- mining whether U.S. industry can remain competitive on an interna- tional market.

Holla Wins $62 Million

Deal From Van Ommeren

Van Ommeren, a Rotterdam- based tank storage, shipping and transport group, has recently awarded a $62 million tanker con- tract to Halla Engineering & Heavy

Industries of South Korea.

The deal is reportedly for a pair of 45,000-dwt double-hulled product carriers, scheduled for delivery in late 1994 and early 1995. At $31 million per vessel, it is evident the price tag for this type of carrier has dipped recently.

Van Ommeren Tankers operates 10 ships in coastal shipping, Euro- pean distributive trades and long distance traffic. It plans to commis- sion an 11,500-dwt tanker newbuilding being built at

Singapore's Sembawang Bethlehem yard.

Orlcot Wins French

Carrier Contract

One of the most prestigious and sophisticated marine construction projects in Western Europe, the building of the French Navy aircraft carrier the "Charles De Gaulle," will be completed in 1998. Powered by twin nuclear reactors and boasting a host of high-tech developments, budget will provide for a 20 percent tax on adjusted gross receipts and doesn't set betting limits. If the budget with riverboat gaming passes and is signed by the governor, as is currently expected, the cities which want the boats will still have to approve it via local referendum. It is planned to create an Indiana Gam- ing Commission to license and regu- late the industry. the vessel will be fitted with rudder bearing made by Orkot Limited of

Rotherham. The contract for the

Charles De Gaulle for Orkot is re- portedly the results of years of close cooperation between the French Di- rectorate for Shipbuilding (DCN) and the development staff of Orkot.

The vessel will feature twin rud- ders moving on 500-mm diameter shafts. The initial order is for a total of six bearings, two upper bearings and one lower bearing for each rud- der.

For more information on the prod- ucts and services of Orkot,

Circle 130 on Reader Service Card

MarAd Business:

Permission To Sell Given,

Contracts Awarded

The Maritime Administration (MarAd) has given Central Gulf

Lines, Inc. of New Orleans permis- sion to sell the 15,694-dwt cargo vessel Rover to Eckhardt Marine

GmbH, a German corporation. The vessel was built in 1969 in

Pascagoula, Miss., and will be scrapped in Indiana.

MarAd has also received an ap- plication from Ogleby Norton Co., of

Cleveland, Ohio, for permission to sell the 14,600-dwt cargo vessel Rob- ert C. Norton and the 14,600-dwt bulk carrier William A. Reiss. The proposed purchaser is Corostel Trad- ing Ltd., of Quebec.

Finally, MarAd awarded a $1.77 million contract to Stevens Techni- cal Services of Brooklyn, N.Y., for test activation and deactivation of the Ready Reserve Force (RRF) ves- sel Cape Mendocino. The work will include general main engine equip- ment repairs to activate the vessel and necessary maintenance repairs for lay-up and deactivation. The work will be done at Brooklyn Navy

Yard Drydocks in Brooklyn and is expected to be completed within 58 days.

Siemens Selected For

Upgrading Of LNG Carriers

Siemens Energy and Automation,

Inc. Marine Systems, Atlanta, Ga., has been selected as the single source of supply by Argent Marine

Operations, Inc. and Cabot LNG for the engineering, manufacturing and installation of the automation for the upgrading of the 125,000-cubic- meter LNG Carriers "Southern," "Arzew" and "Gamma" built at

Newport News, Va.

The contract was won in strong competition with other vendors. For more information on Siemens En- ergy & Automation,

Circle 131 on Reader Service Card

Lang Offers Standard

Stainless Steel Exteriors

On Full Line

Lang Manufacturing of

Redmond, Wash, has announced "standard stainless steel exteriors" on its entire line of marine galley ranges and convection ovens.

This move comes at a time when the shipping industry is stressing cost reduction. "By standardizing our galley ranges and convection ovens to stainless steel we can increase our quality while reducing the cost of equipment to our customers," said

Mark Jones, national sales man- ager, marine division.

Through ongoing innovation and attention to detail, Lang has been able to meet the needs of its diverse customers. For additional informa- tion on the entire Lang Manufac- turing product line,

Circle 132 on Reader Service Card

Austal Ships has won a $21 mil- lion contract to build three 40-meter gas turbine-powered catamaran passenger ferries for owners in the

People's Republic of China. The

West Australian aluminum ship- builder has now sold 17 high-speed catamarans to Asian operators since its first delivery to China in Octo- ber, 1990.

The latest orders have been placed for the Shun Gang Passen- ger Transportation Corporation, the

Panyu (Hong Kong) Passenger

Cargo Transportation Jointly

Owned Company Limited, and the

Zhong Shan-Hong Kong Passenger

Ship Co-op Co. Ltd.

The 354-passenger ferries are scheduled to be launched in Decem- ber and delivered early in 1994.

They will measure 131-feet with a 38-foot beam. "They will be the first turbine-powered ferries built by

Austal and will be the fastest ves- sels we have completed, with a fully- laden speed of 39.5 knots," said

Austal chairman John Rothwell.

The new vessels will be outfitted with TF40 turbines manufactured

MSC Awards $9.9 Million

Contract To Norfolk Yard

The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift

Command Central Technical Activ- ity has awarded a firm-fixed-price contract valued at nearly $10 mil- lion to Norfolk Shipbuilding and

Drydock Corporation of Norfolk, Va., for the drydocking, overhaul and interim modifications to the living spaces on the combat stores ship

USS San Diego. The work will begin on August 12 and be completed by

December 10, 1993.

As a USNS ship, San Diego will join MSC's Naval Fleet Auxiliary

Force, a group of 43 ships operating in direct support of Navy combatant ships.

BMT Model Tests U.S.

Strategic Sealift Ship

Model experiments on a design for a 24-knot, Ro/Ro strategic sealift ship for the U.S. Navy has been car- ried out by the British Maritime

Technology Group (BMT) in its

Teddington (U.K.) ship model tow- ing tanks. The model testing was commissioned by Kvaerner Masa

Marina Inc. of Vancouver in con- junction with a major U.S. Shipyard and was won by BMT Vessel Hydro- dynamic consultancy team in com- petition with other towing tank fa- cilities in Europe and North America.

The role of the vessel will be to carry heavy Ro/Ro equipment at high speeds and at short notice to destinations around the world by Textron Lycoming, coupled with a KaMeWa waterjet through a Maag gearbox. Austal's production has now reached eight vessels per year and the company is currently build- ing a $7 million second shipyard to allow for construction of super fer- ries up to 394-feet.

In other Austal News, the com- pany now offers a computerized sta- bilizer system which reportedly en- sures passenger comfort. The to- tally automatic, self-optimizing "Ocean Leveller" system can be adapted to any high-speed vessel and ensures maximum comfort whether the vessel is operating in very long swells, short wind chop waves, or rough waters anywhere in the world. The Ocean Leveller was developed over a period of 18 months on a budget of $200,000.

For more information on the build- ing capabilities of Austal,

Circle 133 on Reader Service Card

For more on the Ocean Leveller,

Circle 134 on Reader Service Card

Austal Ships Wins $21 Million Ferry

Contract, Debuts Computerized

Stabilizer System 46 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News