Newport News One Of Two Finalists For Sabine Double- Hull Refit Contracts

Sabine Transportation Co. of Groves, Texas has selected Newport News Shipbuilding as one of two yards in the final round of competition to retrofit double-hulled forebodies onto the the sterns of two existing ships. The ships, SS Sabine and SS Neches, currently have single hulls.

These will be the first ship conversions to comply with the double-hull rules of OPA 90. Newport News Shipbuilding has extensive experience in joining new cargo sections to existing ship sterns, having performed the process 33 times over the last few decades.

According to Ed Waryas, the shipyard's director of commercial marketing, "Newport News's financial strength and depth of engineer- ing talent allow our yard to offer the most competitive design. Our design is tailored to Sabine's requirements, and we provide an attractive price and payment schedule to suit their business plans." The retrofitting contract is expected to be awarded in 1994. For more information on Newport News,