Page 66: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2012)
The Shipyard Edition
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66Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Senesco Marine operates two facilities which include a new building yard and a repair yard both located on the deepwater of Narragansett Bay. Both facilities are situated on a southern portion of thevery large Quonset Business Park about 15 miles south of Providence, RI. Senesco holds a lengthy ground lease with Quonset, providing the footprint of two yards. The new construction yard consists of about 29 acres with more than248,000 sq. ft. of covered fabrication space including a separate ocean tug con-struction shelter. The main portion of the 248,000 sq. ft.of space boasts updated and increasedoverhead crane capability enabling al- most all of the steel preparation and fab- rication to take place in weather protected environments with final erection of pre- fabricated modules taking outside on erection/launching slabs. The entire 29+ acres of the yard are paved in concrete providing for a clean work environment, even in inclement weather. Senesco?s repair yard is located nearby on about 4 acres including a 1,200 ft.deepwater pier with a floating dry dock with a capacity of 4,500 tons and internaldimensions of 400 x 82 ft. Beyond this, the yard?s collective assets are impres- sive. Upgrading infrastructure at this Rhode Island yard has always been a pri- ority. To that end, Senesco has also re- ceived two ARRA grants. The first, $1.8 million towards the erection of an over- head, 20-ton double-girder underhungcrane system for Building 1, updated fa- cilities left over from the 1940?s. Senesco also purchased a new ship section lift transporter with some of the proceeds ofthis grant. Another ARRA grant, still in progress, includes the acquisition ofLaunch Airbags, Ship Estimating Soft- ware and training and Ship Constructor Software and training. Thoma-Sea: A Family Affair Thoma-Sea Marine ? founded byRobert J. Thomassie, Sr. and today still a family owned and operated small busi- ness ? specializes in the constructionand repair of vessels up to 100m in length. Beginning with the construction of fishing vessels, and small brown water tugs, Thoma-Sea has built a variety of successful projects, including Offshore Tugs, Harbor Tugs, Survey Vessels, Util- ity vessels, and PSV?s of various sizes. The company has grown from a small shipyard employing a handful of people to two Newbuild locations, employing more than 300, including a new repair/conversion facility with three float- ing dry-docks, with a fourth dock underconstruction. Thoma-Sea Marine, in fact, has long history of investment, including: Repair Division ? Houma, LA : It re-cently completed Phase I of its 32 acreRepair/Conversion facilities, with (2) ? 3,500LT floating dry docks, and (1)- 2,500LT floating dry-dock. Thoma-Sea will also be adding a 8,500LT floating dry dock to our fleet, which is currentlyunder construction in its Houma facility, to be completed late summer 2012. New Construction Division: Thoma-SENESCO: Overhead shots of the shipyard in North Kingstown Rhode Island. Shipyard BAE Systems BAE Systems joined with Mid Ocean Tanker Company (MOTC), Mid Ocean Marine and Alterna Captial Partners to commission the American Phoenix, a U.S. Flag/Jones Act-qualified product- chemical tanker. Measuring 616 x 105 ft., American Phoenix is the largest ves- sel ever built and launched in the State of Alabama. It has a laden draft of 36 ft. and a cargo capacity of 49,000 dwt. BAE Systems was contracted to com- plete construction of the American Phoenix and prepare it for use. The ves- sel is owned by MOTC, a joint venture between Mid Ocean Marine and private equity firm Alterna Capital Partners. The vessel is scheduled to conduct trade ini- tially in the Gulf of Mexico. Operating management of the vessel will be per- formed by Seabulk Tankers. American Phoenix is the newest ves- sel to come from the BAE Systems Mo- bile shipyard, which has a long history of ship construction and repair. The yard launched its first new construction ves- sel, the steam powered ship Banago, on September 19, 1918. Banago, built under the U. S. Shipping Board's World War I emergency shipbuilding program, grossed 2,551 tons and had a wooden hull. More than nine decades later, the American Phoenix is more than sixtimes the size. Along with the hundreds of BAE Systems employees and the MOTC team, several local Mobile and Gulf Coast helped to complete this proj-ect. Alternative Marine Technologies, ABS, US Coatings, MMIF, F & S Su- perb Marine, LES, Diamond Scaffold- ing, Insulation Inc, Jamestown Metal and Machinery, L-3 Maritime Systems, R+S Stolze, MAK, International Paint, Sea Technology, Bisso Marine Com- pany, 2/2 Houston Holloway, Universal Services, Offshore Inland, Resolve En- gineering and Fire Protection Servicesall played a significant part in complet- ing the American Phoenix. Resolve Engineering Group, LLC pro- vided construction support for the owner during final outfitting and completion of the American Phoenix. Delivering American Phoenix; U.S.-Flag/Jones Act Qualified product/chemical tanker Açu Shipbuilding "The largest shipyard in the Americas" Anyone in the maritime business has heard of or experienced the explosive growth of shipbuilding and offshore activities in Brazil ? not to mention the logistical and financial headaches inherent when doing business in the country. While there are many business hoops to jump through, one cannot ig-nore the tremendous level of activity, particularly the building of the Açu Shipbuilding Unit. OSX has been building the shipyard since July 2011 in the north of the Stateof Rio de Janeiro, and is scheduled tobegin partial operations in the first quarter of 2013. UCN Açu?s order book already includes 16 offshore units for oil and gas production in Brazil. UCN Açu is a 5th generation ship- yard with technology provided by part- ner Hyundai Heavy Industries, generating more than 10,000 directjobs. Its 2,400 m quay and expand-able to 3,525 m may simultaneouslyintegrate up to 11 FPSOs.Located inthe Açu Superport Industrial Complex, it is 150 km from the Campos Basin.MR#8 (66-73) REAL:MR Template 8/9/2012 11:31 AM Page 66