Engineering and design work is underway at
Bollinger Gulf Repair, New Orleans, for Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. third retrofit project tug and barge to an ATB unit utilizing the Intercon Coupler System.
The 446-ft. 125,000 BBL black oil Barge B No. 175 will be transformed from a singe hull to a double hull vessel to meet the requirements of OPA 90, and the stern will be notched to accept the bow of the 127-ft. tug Capt. Fred Bouchard, which will be retrofitted with the ram assemblies of the Intercon system. New heating coils will be added to the barge’s existing Hot-Oil system and a new ballast system will be installed. A keel cooled Detroit Diesel 8V-71 generator set producing 99 kW will be installed in the tug as back up for powering the Intercon system main generator. The tug and barge were both built in 1981. When complete, the barge will be renamed the Barge B. No. 275 and will measure 468-ft. x 85.6 ft. x 38.1 ft. This retrofit project, along with other new construction projects will boost Bouchard Affiliate’s fleet of double hulls up to 12 units of further projects.