US Fab, a Vigor Industrial company, will soon begin construction on a 250’x70’x15’8” deck barge for Harley Marine Services at Vigor’s Swan Island shipyard in Portland, Oregon. This purpose built barge was designed by Jensen Maritime Consultants to transport a wide variety of cargo between Dutch Harbor and Akutan, Alaska with up to 3 runs per week. “Having the ability to collaborate with Jensen and Harley during the initial production design for this barge, will allow us to have maximum efficiency during construction,” said Bryan Nichols, Sales Manager at Vigor Industrial. “We were able to combine shipbuilding best practices with Jensen’s considerable design expertise and Harley’s requirements to finalize a cost effective, buildable design with quick turnaround.”
The barge, which will be named Iliuliuk Bay, an Aleut name meaning big island, is designed to house a 230 ton lift capacity Manitowoc 4100 crawler crane. The vessels’ unique design features both D-rings to secure containers up to three high as well as eight lashing bars running fore and aft for other cargo such as heavy construction machinery or general equipment. “We needed a workhorse to replace our existing barge,” said Jim Weimer, General Manager of Alaska based Pacific Coast Maritime, a subsidiary of Harley Marine Services. “Having the ability to easily switch back and forth between containers and other cargo will help Harley Marine continue to provide quality and timely marine services to our customers.”