Hvide And Tesoro Commence Double Hull Service

Hvide Marine and Tesoro Maritime have begun a new double-hull petroleum transport service in Alaskan waters. The 46,000-ton HMI Cape Lookout Shoals - one of Hvide's new U.S.-flagged Lightship-class double-hull tankers - began charter the first week of August. Operating under a three-year contract with Gold Star Maritime, which is a subsidiary of Tesoro Maritime Company, the vessel will service a trio of refineries owned and operated by Tesoro. The refineries are located in Nikiski, Alaska on Cook Inlet; Anacortes, Wash.; and Kapolei, Hawaii. The tanker, which will for the most part be employed in northern waters, will have a typical itinerary that includes transporting Cook Inlet crude from the Drift River Loading Platform to the Kenai Pipe Line Company dock, which services the nearby Tesoro Alaska Refinery at Nikiski, as well as transporting Alaska North Slope crude from Valdez to the Anacortes refinery.