Page 130: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1994)

Eletson Signs letter Of

Intent To Build Tankers

At Newport News

Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) and

Eletson Corporation announced that they have signed a letter of intent on four 46,000-ton double hulled product tankers designed by Newport

News and designated Double Eagle.

The order, which carries major significance for the U.S. commercial shipbuilding industry far beyond four ships, is the first time since 1957 that an international ship owner will purchase commercial ships from a U.S. shipyard.

The Double Eagle design is the first to be found acceptable by the U.S. Maritime Adminis- tration for Title XI financing guarantees. The letter of intent calls for the building of two tankers with an option for two more. Eletson corp. is a leading product tanker operator, head- quartered in Piraeus, Greece. The ships will be owned by Eletson affiliates and managed by

Eletson Corp.

Completion of the contract between the two companies is subject to the approval of financing guarantees from the U.S. Maritime Administra- tion (MarAd) under a new provision of Title XI, recently passed by Congress, to assist the tran- sition of U.S. shipyards into the commercial shipbuilding business.

MarAd informed NNS in a letter dated May 17, 1994 that the Double Eagle design was ac- ceptable for Title XI financing for both domestic and export sales. MarAd's Title XI program will be available after its review of Eletson's applica- tion. U.S. Maritime Administrator A.J.

Herberger said, in his letter of acceptance of the Double Eagle design, that "MarAd looks forward to working with Newport News on this exciting project."

The Double Eagle design incorporates all of the latest international and domestic regula- tions and has been engineered for series produc- tion. Gregory Hadjieleftheriadis, vice presi- dent of Eletson, said, "We are very pleased to be contracting for these ships with Newport News

Shipbuilding. We have worked extensively with

Newport News to incorporate special Eletson features, which are normally found in the company's international fleet of ships. Newport

News has a reputation as a world class builder of

Navy ships. We look forward to working with them on these Double Eagle commercial tank- ers."

Greg Cridlin, vice president, commercial,

Newport News Shipbuilding, said, "We are par- ticularly pleased to have signed this letter of intent with such a fine company as Eletson. We very much look forward to building their ships.

We believe the Double Eagle design will lead many other international operators to Newport

News. Newport News intends to be a competitor in the international commercial ship market."

Edward A. Waryas, director, commercial marketing at Newport News, who has been leading the team to introduce the Double Eagle to the international market, said, "We are honored to be selected to work with Eletson, one of the finest ship operators in the world. Based on the overwhelming response we have received since the Double Eagle design was introduced to the world market in March, we are confident that many other international ship owners will follow

Eletson's lead."

Initial details of the Double Eagle design were reported in the April, 1994 edition of Maritime

Reporter & Engineering News. The vessel, as originally designed and presented by NNS, mea- sures 649 ft. (197.8 m) long and 102 ft. (31 m) wide, with a deadweight design draft of 41,675

M.T. Newport News Shipbuilding is a division of

Tenneco, Inc., a Houston-based diversified in- dustrial company with major business interests in natural gas transportation and marketing, farm and construction equipment, automotive parts, ship design, ship construction, ship repair, packaging and chemicals.

According to a recent IAAA Associates, Inc. (Wash- ington, D.C.) report, NNS has tapped a market which looks positive for near- to mid-term growth. IMA fore- casts orders for 667 to 845 new product tankers between now and the end of 1998. IMA said that while U.S. shipbuilders will need to compete with foreign yards, its analysis indicates that 400 to 510 of the projected orders will be available on the open world market. (For informa- tion on obtaining IMA's report, call Jim McCaul at (202) 333-8501.) t

Kraissl Co. Manufactures Simplex And

Duplex Strainers And Filters

The Kraissl Company is a manufacturer of heavy duty simplex and duplex strainers and filters for protecting equipment in pipeline ser- vice.

The company, a long-time manufacturer, cre- ates the products in cast iron, bronze, alumi- num, steel, stainless steel and other special alloys. The complete line of duplex three-way (six-port) transfer valves was developed specifi- cally for use with two filters, two heat exchang- ers, two supply tanks or with other dual systems.

Kraissl also specializes in positive displace- ment oil transfer pumps and rotary air pumps.

The following is a sampling of Kraissl products: • Model 72 Simplex and Duplex Strainers and

Filters: Designed for minimum pressure loss and easy basket accessibility. Duplex models include a tapered plug valve with metal-to-metal seat for long life in rough service. Simple one- stroke valve operation allows for continuous flow transfer from one side to the other without interruptions. Duplex types range from .75- to eight-in. in pipe size, and simplex up to 12 inches. Units can be furnished to meet military,

U.S. Coast Guard and other specifications. All

Kraissl strainers are made in accordance with the international standard ASTM F1199. • Model 72AA Series Transfer Valves: Transfer (or Diverter) Valves are used to cost effectively duplex two external pieces of flow equipment with the least amount of associated piping space.

Simple one-stroke valve operation allows for continuous transfer of flow without interrup- tion. Sizes from .75-in. to eight-in. are commonly available in cast iron, cast steel and stainless steel. • Rotary Air Pumps, Model 25: Cast iron vane- type air pumps are available for both vacuum and low pressure air service. Free displacement capacities range from 2 to 70 CFM, for vacuums to 28 in. of mercury and pressures to 50 psig. A built-in, positive lubrication system with oil sup- ply sump is included.

All Kraissl products are manufactured in the

U.S., and authorized sales representatives and distributors are located throughout North

America. For free information on all Kraissl products,

Circle 98 on Reader Service Card

Ukraine Joins IMO

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations agency concerned with maritime safety and the prevention of pol- lution from ships, now has 149 member states.

Ukraine accepted the IMO Convention on March 28.

Global Ocean Carriers Buys

Two Container Vessels

Global Ocean Carriers has purchased two feeder container vessels for $12 million. Global

Song, built in 1975, and Tiger Island, built in 1978, are both on time charter at about $8,000 a day until November 1995 and January 1996, respectively.

Global Ocean Carriers currently has a fleet of eight vessels. Including these two new container vessels, Global Ocean Carriers operates one capesize combination carrier, three panamax and one handysize bulk carrier and a product tanker. 140 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News