Crowley Christens Barge 455-3

Crowley Maritime Corporation recently christened and launched barge 455-3, the third heavy-lift 455 series flat-deck barge to be built and delivered to Crowley this year by Gunderson Marine in Portland, Ore. Susan Michel, Crowley's director of people development and learning, had the honor of sponsoring and christening the newest addition to the company's growing big-barge fleet. Barges 455-3, 455-2 and the Marty J, all delivered this year, are 400-feet long by 105-feet-wide deck and are engineered for handling project work for the offshore energy industry, primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. Each, with its 105-foot width and 25-foot depth, offers increased capacity and stability for transporting large cargoes. The barges also have a uniform deck load capability of 4,200 pounds per square foot, allowing Crowley to carry the larger offshore structures, which are now being planned and engineered for deepwater projects. The barges can be used in other regions as well, including Alaska, where Crowley has regularly performed summer sealifts to the North Slope.