Crowley Maritime Corporation yesterday christened the Marty J, the first of three Heavy Lift 455 Series barges, which have been under construction at Gunderson Marine in Portland, Oregon. The three 400-foot by 105-foot-wide deck barges are being built to be utilized for project work in the offshore energy industry in the Gulf of Mexico. The addition of these vessels will expand and keep current Crowley's fleet for customers of the company's marine services business segment. During a ceremony held at Gunderson Marine on Northwest Front Avenue, Nicole Murphy, sister of Fontain Martin "Marty" Johnson III, christened the barge. The Marty J was so named as a tribute to Johnson, a nine-year Crowley employee who died while on a salvage assignment onboard the Cougar Ace in July of last year.
