Halter Joins South American Shipyard In Joint Venture

Halter Marine Group, Inc. and Sanym, S.A. of Argentina have entered into a joint venture for the construction of two 112-ft. (34 m), 3,000 hp, raised-pilot house towboats for Vessel Management Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Crowley Maritime Corporation which will own and operate the boats.Construction under American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) rules, has begun at Sanym and delivery of both vessels will occur within the next year.

J o h n Dane III, chairman, president and CEO of Halter Marine Group, Inc. said, "We are particularly pleased that Crowley chose Halter designed towboats as their first vessels to be built in Argentina to take advantage of the privatization of transportation activities resulting from the Mercosur Free Trade Agreement." The Halter design, which has been supplied to Sanym, is an adaptation of two proven tow boats, Asunceno and Capt. Bilbo, specifically designed for South American waterways.

Each vessel will be powered by two Caterpillar 3512B diesel engines, each developing 1,500 hp and driving 87-in., four-blade stainless steel propellers through Reintjes reverse/reduction gears. Electrical power will be provided by two 105 kW generators driven by two Caterpillar 3304 diesel engines.

The boats' two steering rudders and four flanking rudders will be moved by an EMI electric/hydraulic system and Fernstrum grid coolers will coo the engines. Two Nabrico deck winches capable of exerting 60 tons of pull will be installed on each. A partial list of navigation and communications equipment includes two Furuno radars and three Sephen radios. Each boat will be able to carry approximately 56,000 gallons of fuel oil, 500 gallons of oil and 10,400 gallons of fresh water and each will have air-conditioned accommodations for 13.