Pilothouse Electronics News

Key West, Fla.-based Yankee Freedom has ordered a new 300-passenger, high-speed catamaran from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation for passenger service between Key West and the Dry Tortugas National Park. The new vessel will replace Yankee Freedom III, a 250-passenger catamaran built for the 70-mile run by the Mass.-based shipyard in 2012. Delivery of Yankee Freedom IV is planned for 2026.The new larger vessel, designed by Incat Crowther, retains the strong brand presence Yankee Freedom has established with tourists to the national park, said company officials.

The building of commercial vessels is very much a boom and bust business. Those of you that have been around for a while remembers the oil and gas boom days of the late 1970's and the bust that followed in the 1980's. Most of the southern shipyards did not actually recover from those dog days until the late 1980's when passenger vessel owners started ordering excursion/dinner boats in significant numbers. Typically these vessels had two or even three enclosed passenger decks with passenger capacities in the 450-600 range. Following on this mini-boom was the emergence of the gaming boat, actually an excursion boat with slot machines.

Over the past three years the Spanish engine manufacturer Guascor has been making inroads into the U.S. workboat engine market. They not only have a good product, but also were fortunate enough to sign an agreement with the Marine Division of Reagan Equipment Company, Plaquemine, La. Reagan also distributes engines for John Deere and Waukesha, so the addition of Guascor fits well into their overall engine lineup. Over the past couple of years Reagan has sold dozens of Guascor engines to repower push boats. "Our Guascor engine line which includes 575 hp, 750 HP and 1150 HP at 1800 RPM have been good engines for this application," said Warren Berthelot, general manager of Reagan Marine.

New tractor tug Delta Linda, delivered to Baydelta Maritime, by MARCO Shipyard Seattle, is virtually identical to another tug of the same name built for Baydelta two years ago. Since her delivery in November 1997, the first MARCO-built Delta Linda has been renamed and placed on long-term charter, and the new Delta Linda is her replacement. Like her predecessor, the new tug is 105 ft. long, with a beam overall of 36.8 ft. and a draft of 13-17 ft. She is powered by a pair of Caterpillar 3516B diesels, providing a total of 4,400 bhp to her twin Ulstein 1650H Z-drive units, with 94.5 in. skewed Kaplan-style propellers in Ulstein high-performance nozzles. This propulsion combination has increased the static bollard pull by more than seven percent compared with the earlier vessel.

Today's commercial vessel owners are becoming increasingly creative in order to extend the life of existing vessels. Typically, a commercial steel hull can last for more than 50 years. However, rugged use may call for extensive repair of a vessel to keep it sailing. Market changes may demand that a vessel originally design for one mission is converted to a new and hopefully more profitable use. Most repair work done in shipyards is for five-year regulatory inspections to meet Coast Guard requirements. Often shafts and props are repaired during this inspection, as are sea chests and rudders. Anodes may be replaced as well. A high profile…

Today's commercial vessel owners are becoming increasingly creative in order to extend the life of existing vessels. Typically, a commercial steel hull can last for more than 50 years. However, rugged use may call for extensive repair of a vessel to keep it sailing. Market changes may demand that a vessel originally design for one mission is converted to a new and hopefully more profitable use. Most repair work done in shipyards is for five-year regulatory inspections to meet Coast Guard requirements. Often shafts and props are repaired during this inspection, as are sea chests and rudders. Anodes may be replaced as well. A high profile…

MARCO Shipyard recently made an early delivery of Delta Deanna, the fourth Z-drive tug built for Baydelta Maritime of San Francisco. With the first tug, Delta Linda, renamed and out on long-term charter, Delta Deanna becomes the third of the new generation tugs to enter full-time service for Baydelta. Like sister vessels Delta Carey and the second Delta Linda, the new tug measures 105 x 36.8 x 13 ft. The vessel is powered by twin Caterpillar 3516B diesels, providing a total of 4,400 hp to the Ulstein 1650H Z-drive units, each with a 94.5 in. skewed Kaplan-style propeller in Ulstein's high-performance nozzle. Auxiliary power is supplied by two CAT 3304BT diesels, each driving a 105 kW generator and a hydraulic PTO.

The ground swell is well underway. For the past few months the undeniable signs of another boom period in the offshore oil and gas business are all around the Louisiana bayous. Personally, I follow the rig count, day rates and how fast drill pipe moves from certain outdoor staging areas onto trucks heading for Port Fourchon, Intercoastal City and other "jumping off" points to the Gulf of Mexico. Another way to keep abreast of what is happening in the offshore market is to talk to major equipment suppliers like Frank L. Beier Radio of Belle Chasse, La. They typically have contracts in hand before the first piece of steel is welded at the shipyard. "Things are popping," said Karl Beier president of the company.

Aries Marine, a Lafayette, La. based offshore vessel company has taken delivery of its fourth 220-ft. class supply boat designed for deep water platform work. The company has 10 supply boats and 14 lift boats in its fleet. At 54 ft. wide, the new Abigail Claire is 10 ft. wider than any of its predecessors and is the first in the Aries Marine fleet rated at DP-2. Vessel depth is 19 ft. and loaded draft is 16 ft. The vessel was built by Thoma-Sea Shipbuilders at their Lockport, La. shipyard and designed by Entech & Associates of Houma, La. Thoma-Sea also has an option to build an additional 220-ft. class vessel for Aries. This option has been exercised and the vessel will be complete early next year with additional vessel construction for Aries likely.