Ocean Tug & Barge Engineering Corp. will design the tug portion of a new AT/B dredge to be built at Signal International, in Orange, TX, for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co.
The “RAPID” Class AT/B’s high speed parent form lines for both the tug and the barge were developed by OT&BE and Taisei Engineering, of Tokyo. MARIN is adapting the lines to the specific dredge requirements and engaging in the associated optimization. The design feathers near-ship speeds with ship-like horsepower and is a great advance in AT/B design. Container AT/B’s under design with the same hulls will be capable of 16+ knots at near-ship HP levels.
OT&BE will also design the supporting structure in the notch area of the barge to accept the Articouple connection system that will be used to connect the tug and barge.
The 14,000 HP tug has a large and high quality accommodation for 20 people, a crew size that is a rarity in AT/B design. The amount of berthing space will be necessary to provide for various operational and navigational crew members and support staff. The tug will be tow-capable and will be classed by ABS. The tug will utilize a full-length forecastle design first applied in the marketplace in the AT/B’s OT&BE designed for and delivered in 2010 to OSG. The most recent FacetTugs building at Senesco Marine for Reinauer also have this feature, as will three other AT/B tugs currently under design.
Signal International is currently building two AT/B’s of OT&BE design which are 27,000 DWT bulk carrier designs, with 6,000 HP tugs.