Page 15: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 1996)

There is no substitute for experience, knowing you can rise to the challenge of the job. At SAFECO Credit, we're seasoned professionals. We've worked with thousands of companies in virtually even industry over the last 25 years, providing lending expertise and market insight. And since we lend our own money and make our own decisions, you can usually get the financing you need within days. To put our experience to work for you, call your SAFECO Credit representative at 1-800-241-7476. ^ SAFECO

Credit

What's right

Circle 219 on Reader Service Card

U.S. Navy Christens And

Launches Trinity-Built

Oceanographic Ships

R/V Atlantis, the U.S. Navy's newest oceanographic ship, was christened and launched on Febru- ary 1, 1996, at Halter Marine Inc., of Moss Point, Miss. When com- pleted in the spring of 1997, the 274-ft. (83.5-m) Atlantis will be op- erated by the Woods Hole Ocean- ographic Institution (WHOI),

Woods Hole, Mass., as a general purpose, all-season, oceanographic ship in coastal and deep ocean waters.

John W. Douglas, assistant sec- retary of the Navy for Research,

Development and Acquisition, was the principal speaker. U.S. As- sistant Attorney General, Anti- trust Division Anne K. Binga- man, spouse of Sen. Jeff Binga- man (D-NM), was the ship's spon- sor. Her matron of honor was Dr.

Suzanne H. Woolsey, chief oper- ating officer of the National

Academy of Sciences and the

National Research Council. er for propulsion and ship service electrical systems. The ship is equipped with a dynamic position- ing system which reportedly pro- vides automated precision track- line and station keeping capability.

The system uses data from a glob- al positioning system, an acoustic vertical reference system, the gyro- compass and a wind sensor system to control the ship. Woods Hole will operate the ship under the

University of National Oceano- graphic Laboratory System (UNOLS), sponsored by the office of the Chief of Naval Research,

U.S. Navy.

Halter Marine, Inc., is part of the

Trinity Marine Group, Gulfport,

Miss., which is owned by Trinity

Industries, Inc., Dallas, Texas.

The group includes 21 shipyards in

Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,

Florida, Tennessee and Missouri.

For more information on Halter Marine

Circle 45 on Reader Service Card

The supplement, polybagged with this issue? Don't miss its coverage of the (ff®r izig in maritime technology!

Atlantis will be the new support vessel for the manned submersible

Alvin, also operated by WHOI.

The three-person Alvin is reported- ly the nation's most active deep- diving submersible, with more than 3,000 dives to depths as low as 15,000 ft. (4,572 m). In addi- tion, Atlantis will also support unmanned, tethered and autono- mous exploration vehicles, includ- ing WHOI's own Jason I Medea imaging and survey system and its new Autonomous Benthic Explor- er, both of which can reportedly reach 98 percent of the world's ocean floor.

Typical scientific missions of

Atlantis will include physical, chemical and biological oceanogra- phy, multi-discipline environmen- tal investigations, ocean engineer- ing, marine acoustics, marine geol- ogy and geophysics, in addition to survey tasks such as bathymetry and magnetometry.

Atlantis has a diesel-electric propulsion system with three 715- kW and three 1,500-kW diesel gen- erators integrated to provide pow-

March, 1996 79

ABOVE: Launching of the Atlantis. BELOW:

Mrs. Anne K. Bingaman christens Atlantis.