Page 24: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 1993)

Launching Ceremony For MCM-14 "Chief" At Peterson Builders, Inc.

The MCM-14 Mine Countermeasure Ship "Chief" at its christening at Peterson Builders, Inc.

June 12, 1993 marked the chris- tening and launching of the 224-foot wooden MCM-14 Mine Countermea- sure Ship "Chief' at the yard of

Peterson Builders, Inc., Sturgeon

Bay, Wis.

Sponsor of the ship, Susan

Walker Bushey, christened the ship "Chief." Her daughter, Terry

Bushey Collister, assisted her as

Matron of Honor.

Radm. R. D. Williams III, Pro- gram Executive Officer for Mine

Warfare, Washington, D.C., deliv- ered the keynote address.

Captain Daniel R. Welch, USN,

Sturgeon Bay supervisor of ship- building, was also a speaker and

Ellsworth L. Peterson, president of Peterson Builders, gave the wel- come address. Richard Russell,

PBI vice president of manufactur- ing, introduced the Sponsor of the ship.

Rev. Matthew Knapp, Moravian

Church of Sturgeon Bay, gave the invocation at the ceremony.

Chief is the last of 11 MCM ships contracted with the U.S. Navy to be launched at PBI.

Peterson Builders is one of the few remaining shipyards with the expertise, facilities and knowledge to construct large wooden ships to- day.

PBI is entering its fifth decade of minecraft ship construction and has built minecraft for thirteen differ- ent navies around the world.

The mine countermeasure ships accommodate a crew of 81, and are the Navy's largest wooden-hulled ship.

A wide variety of special skills, equipment and materials are uti- lized in laminating the ship's major structure from large timbers of Dou- glas fir, White oak and Alaskan ce- dar.

The MCM incorporates modern mine countermeasure technology into a specially designed platform which includes low magnetic signa- ture diesel engines, a precise elec- tronic navigation system, a minehunting and classification so- nar, and a mine neutralization sys- tem.

Overall length of the MCM ships is 224 feet. Draft is 11 feet and beam measures 39 feet.

Full load displacement of the ships is 1,250 tons. The MCM is powered by four diesel engines rated at 600-

Dignitaries, from leftto right: Ellsworth L. Peterson,

President, PBI; Terry Bushey Collister, Matron of

Honor; Radm. R. D. Williams, III, USN, Keynote

Speaker; and Susan Walker Bushey, Sponsor. hp per unit. They are equipped with a 350-hp bow thruster, and electric power is furnished by three 60 hZ, 375 kW generators.

Eight ships of the MCM-1 Class have been delivered and three re- main under construction at Peterson

Builders.

In addition to the MCMs, PBI has contracts with the U.S. Navy for five 51-foot PCFs (Patrol Craft Fast) and seven 36-foot LCPLs (Landing Craft

Personnel Large).

The company also received a con- tract for the mid-life conversion and repair of the R/V Endeavor for the

State of Rhode Island.

This ship was originally built at

PBI in 1975. Also in for repair is the

USCGC Sundew.

For additional free information on Peterson Builders, Inc., and its many products and servics,

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OCEAN TECHNICAL

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A diversified Marine Services Company serving the needs of commercial and government requirements. • 70' x 140' fabrication shop • Dry Docking up to 100 ft and docksides of any size • Machine Shop • Mid Gulf Coast environment olech 634 Peters Road, • Harvey, Louisiana 70058 (504) 364-1578 or (504) 364-1572

Fax; (504) 362-5949

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Established 1956 manufacturer of Rigid Inflatable Boats.

WILLARD MARINE, INC., 1250 N. Grove Street, Anaheim, CA 92806-2114, USA.

Phone 714/666-2150. Fax 714/632-8136.

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SPARE PARTS

IN STOCK

HYDRAULIC TOW PINS available with cable hold-down and stern roller

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