Page 65: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 2013)

www.marinelink.com 65New Oceanographic Survey ShipThe Navy christened and launched its newest oceanographic survey ship, USNS Maury (T-AGS 66), the last of its class at VT Halter Marine?s shipyard in Moss Point, Miss., in a traditional Navy ceremony on March 27. The 350-ft. ship is named for Cmdr. Matthew F. Maury, considered to be the father of oceanog-raphy, nicknamed the ?Path Þ nder of the Seas? and the Þ rst superintendent of the U.S. Naval Observatory. Maury is 24 ft. longer than its six sister ships to accom-modate a 300 sq.-ft. moon pool for easier deployment and retrieval of unmanned underwater vehicles. Rear Adm. Jona- than White, Oceanographer and Naviga- tor of the Navy and the principal speaker at the launch and christening, said the T- AGS ships are a reß ection of Matthew Maury, who he said ?led a transforma- tion in our Navy.? Matthew Maury developed wind and tide charts in the 1840s from ship?s logs. White said that Maury realized the im-portance that understanding the natural environment has for ship operations. That lesson has persisted. ?We need to know about the environment to be the best navy in the world,? White said. Grandweld to Build 33.5m Fast Aluminum Crew Boat Grandweld Shipyards (Dubai) signed a contract to design, build and deliver 33.5m Fast Aluminum Crew boat for LIWA Marine Services LLC, Abu Dha- bi. The contract was signed on April 9, 2013. The 33.5m crew boat will be de- signed by Grandweld, and will be pow-ered by three high speed diesel engines driving three Þ xed pitch propellers to reach speeds in excess of 25 knots. The vessel is designed to seat 60 passengers, and will have 80 sq. m. of deck cargo area. The vessel will be certi Þ ed for un- restricted navigation, and will be utilized to transport offshore personnel and sup- port offshore oil and gas operations. It will have full class certiÞ ed propulsion machinery, and is scheduled for delivery in March 2014. Launch of CSS OlympiaSTX Marine launched MAC Offshore?s Compact Semi-Submersible (CSS), CSS Olympia on March 28, 2013, at the Liya Pingtan Shipyard, in Fujian Province, China, a yard managed by Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding. The delivery of the vessel is due in November 2013 to CSS Olym-pia?s new owner Graal Invest of Brazil. MAC Offshore also signed four addi- tional CSS contracts to be constructed by Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding with de-livery between August 2014 and October 2015. MR #5 (58-65).indd 65MR #5 (58-65).indd 655/3/2013 2:08:28 PM5/3/2013 2:08:28 PM