Braden News

Bristol, R.I.-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI) announced it has hired Braden Delaney, as a naval architect. He graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. with an B.S.E. in naval architecture and marine engineering.Prior to joining BHGI, Delaney interned at NASSCO and NAVSEA, providing engineering support for shipyard operations in addition to interning as a salvage naval architect. Delaney is also a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME).

President Barack Obama appointed a former White House adviser as U.S. Ebola "czar" on Friday as the global death toll from the disease that has hit mostly three West African countries rose to more than 4,500. Amid growing concerns about the spread of the virus in the United States, authorities said a Texas health worker who may have had contact with specimens from an Ebola patient was quarantined on a cruise ship. Obama, facing criticism from some lawmakers over his administration's handling of efforts to contain the virus…

Chevron Corp has hired an investment bank to identify potential buyers of its 54,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Kapolei on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, a company official said. Deutsche Bank AG was retained to sell the plant, according to another person familiar with the sale, who was not authorized to speak on the matter publicly. Deustsche Bank declined to comment. "After much consideration, Chevron's downstream and chemical leadership has decided to engage an investment banking firm to identify potential parties interested in the purchase of our assets in Hawaii. No decision has been made at this time other than to determine the level of interest of potential buyers," Chevron spokesman Braden Reddall said on Friday. The Hawaiian facility is among the company's smallest refineries.

Conrad Shipyard, L.L.C., a Conrad Industries, Inc. company, has delivered the M/V J.B. Moffett to Alliance Offshore of Larose, La. The J.B. Moffett is a 200’ class liftboat equipped with CAT C18 main propulsion coupled with Twin Disc MGX516 gears delivering 600HP, each at 1,800 RPM. There are eight Braden C400 gearboxes per leg being driven by auxiliary Cat C18’s. The Gensets are CAT C9 175 Kw. The lifting devices are by TechCrane International. There is one F60 fixed boom and an L200 125 ton lattice boom. The interior accommodates 43 with mess seating for 24.

Early on the morning of October 28th, the BRAtt departed Point Roberts, Washington State bound for Seattle. Captain Ron Burchett and his able crew Alan Burchett and Ben Flodquist started out in 12 to 15 knot easterly winds and a two foot chop. With Boundary Bay abeam, the winds increased to NE 20 – 25, with four foot seas on the forward quarter. The ride was lively for this 28-ft tug, but with the heavy ballasted skeg the motions were very good with just moderate spray and no green water on deck.

The BRAtt project evolved from Ron Burchett’s training programs for tug operators using radio-remote controlled scale models. Why not build a model that is large enough for the operator and instructor to ride on and learn in the same space frame of reference as the boat? The BRAtt is a 25.6 ft by 11.8 ft aluminum-hulled training tug designed by Robert Allan Ltd, with the designer’s distinctive double-chine hull form. Under the counter of the broad stern the hull tucks in quickly providing good water flow over the twin azimuthing drives located aft in the ASD manner.

Gryphon Technologies, LC, has been awarded a competitively bid $337m contract by the U.S. Navy to provide expert professional engineering services to the Naval Sea Systems Command Engineering Directorate. Gryphon will provide technical and engineering support in the areas of advanced ship and vehicle concept development, future fleet force concepts, ship design standards, new-construction concepts, naval architecture, marine engineering, systems engineering and other lifecycle support for surface ships, aircraft carriers and submarines. "This is a big win for us!" said P.J. Braden, President of Gryphon Technologies. Gryphon Technologies…

It's been a year since MarineNews linked the dual tugmeets of the first week of September, one in New York City, the other upstate, at Waterford. Coupled, they make an interesting study, for their differences as much as their similarities. The tugs of New York City come in all sizes, but are typically large. Just as New York is a city of (many) skyscrapers, so it's a city of (many) monster tugboats, as harbor craft go. Waterford, a few miles north of Albany, is the gateway to the Erie Canal - is actually on the canal. While New York State's canals have renewed potential for commercial service, they're known most widely as recreational attractions for people who drive (many) large and pricey boats.

Discussions around our office and with various clients usually entail an exchange of anecdotal information believed to explain the current situation with the quest to predict when things will turn around. There are a host of different viewpoints, most seemingly relevant, but no one satisfactory answer. In previous downturns in the offshore service sector, there was usually a fairly clear understanding embraced by most of why things were slow. This downturn is more difficult to understand. Back in 1998 when the Asian financial crisis impacted oil prices, it was easy to see why E&P fell. This downturn also affected most oil fields around the world about the same. The price of oil was too low to drill new wells and upgrade production at a profit.