Bordelon Marine To Christen First of Three Utility Boats

Bordelon Marine of Lockport, La., will host a river-front christening for the first of three mini-supply boats being built at Bollinger Shipyards. The delivery of the three boats will double the Bordelon fleet to six vessels, impressive yet challenging for a small firm.

The boats are being built to a proven design, "But," says Wes Bordelon, son of founder and CEO Terry Bodelon, "We have gone a bit further in accommodations with such things as carpeting and extra TVs. In the wheelhouse we have a yacht-type curved console and enhanced Furuno navigation and communication packages. We wanted the crews to take pride in the boats as we feel that contented crews work better and safer." Crew safety will be augmented with an in house safety school covering topics from USGA/OSHA Safety Standards to drug and alcohol awareness. "We feel that a comprehensive safety program is very important and must be an integral part of operations, if you are to succeed in today's market." explains Bordelon.

The new boats will carry a crew of five while providing accommodation for up to 10 guests. Each boat will measure 145 x 36 ft. (44.2 x 11 m) with a maximum draft of 11.5 ft. (3.5 m). Normal operating draft will be eight feet.

The boats will each be powered by a pair of Cummins KTA-38MO diesel engines rated for 750 bhp at 1,600 rpm.

They will drive Bollinger 72 x 57-in., four-blade, stainless steel propellers through Twin Disc MG5301 gears with a 4.96:1 reduction. Two pilothouse stations will be equipped with hydraulic steering and a 272-hp Schottel, STT-110 tunnel bowthruster will aid maneuvering and station keeping.

The Cummins engines feature a "package" that meets new IMO emission standards with direct drive liquid mud pumps off of the generator engines eliminating belt systems. The boats' electrical power will be provided by two Cummins 6CTA8.36 diesels driving two Cummins 99 kW generators.

Oil free bilge systems and dirty oil collection tanks will be on each vessel.

Each of the new Bordelon boats will be equipped with four liquid mud tanks with a total capacity of 49,332 gallons.

Other tankage capacities include 28,675 gallons of fuel, 400 gallons of oil, 250 gallons of hydraulic fluids and 13,776 gallons of potable water. The boat's large 95 x 32-ft. (28.9 x 9.7 m) aft decks will be able to carry up to 390 long tons of cargo. "While some companies in the Gulf of Mexico operate huge fleets of vessels," says Wes Bordelon, for whom the first boat will be named, "Those of us with smaller entrepreneurial companies have been able to succeed through niche marketing and flexibility in meeting our client's needs. These new 145-ft.

boats have the capacities of the old 160- footers. At under 100 registered tons they are able to maintain a competitive position in a highly competitive market."

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