With Crowley's vessel construction boom in full swing, shipyard employees, Crowley personnel and distinguished guests paused this weekend to welcome the newest heavy-lift deck barge to the Crowley fleet - the 455-6 - sixth in a series of heavy-lift deck barges slated to be built and put into service by 2013.
Against the backdrop of a Hawaiian-themed christening, Sandi Gresham, the wife of Bruce Gresham of Heerema Marine Contractors in Houston, Texas christened the barge with a bottle of champagne, launching it into the Willamette River at the Gunderson Marine shipyard in Portland.
The barge is the third heavy-lift deck barge christened by Crowley this year, but is definitely not the last. In September, the company is scheduled to take delivery of the 455-7 and the barge 455-8 by the end of 2009 - bringing the total to five heavy-lift deck barge deliveries this year alone.
Crowley's heavy-lift 455 series deck barges with 25-ft side shells provide both the capacity and deck strength needed to accommodate larger drilling and production units used for deepwater offshore energy exploration and development. They provide increased deck strength for loads up to 4,200 pounds per square foot.
(www.crowley.com)