Page 9: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2006)

January 2006 9

New Cat Technology for

U.S. Virgin Islands

The Virgin Island Department of Planning and

Natural Resources/Police has placed in active service its first aluminum catamaran from Sandusky, Ohio- based Mission Marine, Ltd. The boat is based at the

DPNR/Police facility in St. Thomas. Measuring 29.5 x 11.5 ft., the Mission 338 has the capability for extend- ed offshore patrol and is a multi-agency craft that serves a variety of missions including DPNR,

Police/Law Enforcement, Fisheries, SAR, Homeland

Security, Drug Enforcement, and Port Security.

The vessel is built for rough water capabilities to enable its use offshore, and it also sports a wide beam and advanced design affords extra stability and ride.

This boat is powered by twin Mecury Verado 275 hp outboards.

Circle 3 on Reader Service Card

New Chinese Shipbuilder Unveiled

A new, bigger shipbuilder was unveiled in Dalian recently, as part of the restructuring of the city's ship- building industry, ShanghaiDaily.com reported. Dalian

Shipbuilding Industry Co. was formed by the merger of

Dalian Shipyard Co. and Dalian New Shipbuilding

Heavy Industry Co. Dalian New Shipbuilding, estab- lished 15 years ago, was one of the country's biggest shipbuilders. Both the companies were subsidiaries of

China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. The new shipyard expects to output vessels of 2 million tons next year and more than 2.6 million tons in 2007.

Four New Ships for Carnival

Carnival Corporation reached an agreement with

Fincantieri for the construction of four new cruise ships worth more than $2 billion, along with options for two additional vessels. The agreement calls for the construction of four new vessels (one each for Costa

Crociere, Holland America Line, Carnival Cruise

Lines, and Princess Cruises); the two additional vessel options are for Carnival Cruise Lines and

Holland America Line. Including the four new vessels, Carnival Corporation's capacity growth for 2008 and 2009 is now expected to be 8.2 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively. The com- pany's order book now includes 16 new ships, 13 of which are being constructed by

Fincantieri.

SMIT Acquires Brazilian

Shipbuilder

SMIT recently acquired 50 percent of Rebras,

Rebocadores de Brazil S.A. Rebras already owns three 55-ton BP ASD harbor tugs, which are chartered out on bare boat basis. The com- pany, to be renamed SMIT Rebocadores do

Brazil S.A., plans to operate a minimum of 20 tugs in the range 45 to 65 tons bollard pull. The company has a commitment from a Brazilian

Shipyard for building twelve 45-ton BP and six 65-ton BP tugs to be locally financed. Delivery of the first tug is planned for 2007.

Contract for New Z-Drive

Harbor Tug

A contract for the Hector P., a new 4,200 hp

Z-Drive harbor tug to be built by Orange

Shipbuilding for South Puerto Rico Towing

Corporation was signed last month. Bristol

Harbor Marine Design assisted in the harbor tug contract negotiations along with the acting buyer's agent, Eric Rivera from Harbor

Bunkering Corporation of San Juan, Puerto

Rico. "The Hector P. is going to raise the bar for tugboats in Puerto Rico," said Mr. Rivera. "This heavy, powerful boat is just what we need on our southern coast."

BHMD will also be serving as owner's repre- sentative throughout the duration of the project and will be responsible for project inspections and approvals. Design of the new vessel is being completed at Robert Allan, Ltd. of

Vancouver, B.C. The design draws inspiration from the RAmparts 3000 class tug - one of many standard series of proven tugboat designs offered by Robert Allan, Inc. And finally

Westernbank of Puerto Rico, which has provid- ed support to the marine industry for years, will be the financing institution for this endeavor.

The vessel's design is intended as a dedicated assist tug, but it will include capabilities for tanker escort

News

Exclusive ship interiors harmonizing colour and design with functionality and safety.

Gislaved Decor M-1320 is a flame retardant foil extensively used in many ships and contri- buting to elegance of first class interiors every- where.

Gislaved Decor M-1320 is available in a wide selection of colours, embosses and prints.

Decor M-1320 provides interior designers with a great variety of colours which creates exclusive environments aboard ships.

In a class by itself!

GISLAVED

DECOR M-1320

Gislaved Folie AB

Box 518, SE-332 28 Gislaved, Sweden

Tel: +46 371-837 00 · Fax: +46 371-143 66 [email protected] · www.gislavedfolie.se

A company in the Stena Sphere

Circle 217 on Reader Service Card

VT Halter Marine Wins $28.8m Design Contract

VT Halter Marine Inc. announced a $28.8 million contract award to develop a functional design of a

Fast Missile Craft (FMC) for the Government of Egypt. The second phase of this program will include production design work and construction of up to three vessels. The program value could grow to more than $450 million after Phase II is added to the contract. The Government of Egypt entered into agree- ments with the U.S. Government to purchase the Fast Missile Craft as a Foreign Military Sale (FMS), a program through which eligible foreign governments purchase defense articles, services, and train- ing from the U.S. Government. The Fast Missile Craft will be designed to accomplish the roles of coastal patrol, surveillance, interdiction, surface strike, and naval battle group support for the 21st cen- tury. The vessels will be approximately 62 m long and will incorporate ship signature control technol- ogy. High speed and maneuverability are two of their primary assets to fulfill these roles. The vessels will also incorporate numerous combat system assets and electronic sensors that give them capabilities in anti-aircraft, anti-surface, and electronic warfare.

MR JANUARY2006 #2 (9-16).qxd 1/3/2006 1:36 PM Page 9