Vane Bros News

There’s a barge full of reasons why many operators turn to ATBs.A  mainstay of the U.S. coastwise dirty and refined products trades, articulated tug barges (ATB) have increasingly filled a void left as the fleet of Jones Act tankers (with crew complement requirements exceeding that of tugs) has aged out. With the cargo capacity of the larger ATBs – some with barges exceeding 300,000 barrels capacity – rivalling that of workhorse tankers that had served oil consuming regions, the concept certainly makes sense from a supply and distribution perspective.With 50…

Chesapeake Shipbuilding Corp. said it has signed an agreement to design and build four new push tugs for Vane Brothers. The design and construction on the Subchapter M compliant tugs will begin immediately in Chesapeake Shipbuilding’s hull fabrication buildings in Salisbury, Md. The series’ lead vessel is expected to be delivered in the beginning of 2019. The four new sister tugs will Subchapter M compliant each measure 94’ LOA, with a 34’ molded beam and a 10’ 6” molded depth.

Chesapeake Shipbuilding Corp. announced it has signed contracts with Vane Brothers to build three more ocean going tugs, marking the 18th, 19th and 20th tugboats built by Chesapeake Shipbuilding for Vane Brothers since 2008. The new contract will continue Chesapeake’s steady output of Vane tugs as the shipyard currently has three tugboats under construction for Vane Brothers. The design of the three new tugboats will be nearly identical to previous tugboats built for Vane Brothers.

Vane Brothers, a marine transportation provider headquartered in Baltimore, has added two vessels to its fleet: the 4,200-horsepower tugboat Hudson and 55,000‐barrel barge Double Skin 601. The Hudson is the second of eight vessels in Vane’s Elizabeth Anne Class of 4,200‐horsepower tugboats contracted through St. Johns Ship Building in Palatka, Fla. The Elizabeth Anne was delivered in January, while the third in the series, the Baltimore, is scheduled for completion this summer.

It's been a rough year for tugmeets. Charleston, Boston, and Portland, whose Musters we've covered in the past, were respectively, skipped, canceled, and postponed. The World Ship Society tells us they'll be back next year with the Boston event, and the Portland muster, pre-empted by Hurricane Charlie, is taking place as this is written. We wish we could have gone north. While there are all sorts of good reasons to attend a tugmatch, we, being media people, think mostly about the good press they bring the business. The way things are shaping-up in such realms as national security, the price of fuel, environmental cleanliness and such, waterborne transport displays more and more advantage for the good of all.

For the past 75 years, Maritrans has maintained a high level of customer satisfaction due to its constant vigilance regarding safety and performance. In order to instill and maintain these efforts, the company has always been quick to pursue individuals who can maintain this level of excellence. Most recently with Phil Doherty, who took over the head post at the Tampa, Fla.-based company this past April 1, 2003. No April Fool's joke here, as Doherty, who credits his passion and commitment to Maritrans and the offshore industry, has big plans for the tug and tanker company - the fate of which now lies within his hands. While Maritrans' business platform may have begun on its 75-year traditions, the company has never balked at the opportunity to embrace new technology.