Bryan Nichols News

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. announced today the launch of Qamun, a 55,000-barrel shallow draft double hull petroleum tank barge built by Greenbrier Marine, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Greenbrier. Crowley Engineering Services provided on-site construction management using an Alaska-specific design by Jensen Maritime, its recently integrated naval architecture and marine engineering firm.The 350-foot barge, which will form part of an articulated tug-barge (ATB) unit, will be paired with the tug Aurora being constructed by Master Boat Builders Inc., Coden, Ala.

Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm Jensen Maritime Consultants (JMC) has been awarded the contract to design ship assist and escort tugboats for Moran Towing, a tug-and-barge operator on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts.The new boats will be the latest in a series of seven Jensen-designed tugboats for Moran over the past decade, said a press release from JMC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crowley Maritime Corporation.New features on the tugboats include upgrades to meet the latest ABS regulations and U.S. Coast Guard subchapter M regulations, as well as meeting U.S. EPA Tier IV requirements. The upgrades will ensure the vessels meet current and future demands for performance and maneuverability…

Jensen Maritime, Crowley Maritime Corp.’s Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering company, has provided the detailed design for an initial four, with an option for six additional, Tier IV tractor tugboats being built by Nichols Brother Boat Builders for Foss Maritime.The 90-short ton bollard pull tugs are based on Jensen’s popular Valor tugboat design, of which 9 have been successfully built and deployed to date and an additional five remain under design/construction. Once delivered, the Foss tugs will be deployed along the U.S.

Rolls-Royce said it will supply a hybrid propulsion arrangement for installation to a multipurpose tractor tug being built for Baydelta Maritime LLC at the Nichols Brothers Boat Builders shipyard in Washington State, U.S. The 100-foot long tug is due for delivery in the first quarter of 2019, and will feature the same ship assist and tanker escort capabilities of existing Delta Class harbor tugs but with improved towing performance. Rolls-Royce said its hybrid system enhances the vessel’s escort capability…

Crowley Maritime Corp.’s solutions group announced that it is reorganizing and establishing new leadership to better serve customers in need of engineering, project management and government services. Solutions is the company’s dedicated, full-service engineering, project management and government services team, reporting to Crowley’s Todd Busch, senior vice president and general manager, technical services. Jay Edgar, who is new to Crowley, has been appointed vice president and leader of the company’s newly formed engineering services team…

Jensen Maritime Consultants, a Crowley company, said one of its workboat designs will be used by a Pacific Northwest boat builder to fulfill a construction project for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). In support of the project, Jensen will supply a functional and regulatory design package for the 41-foot vessel, which will provide ship- and sub-assist services, as well as other port operational services at U.S. Navy port locations around the world. Jensen’s Bryan Nichols…

EPA Tier 4 regulations (for engines of 804 hp and higher) and propulsion advancements have many manufacturers and vessel designers changing course to adapt to new requirements and customer demands. Jensen Maritime is designing a new 110-ft. harbor class ship assist docking tug with 6,770 horsepower. “It’s a little larger than most. The extra length allows for towing which is secondary use,” says Vice President Johan Sperling. “There will be Tier 4 equipment in it. Bryan Nichols…

Tidewater Transportation and Terminals, headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, has taken delivery of Crown Point, a new custom-built towboat commissioned at Portland’s Vigor Industrial. Crown Point is the first of a series of three towboats being built at Vigor for Tidewater, and will join the company’s current fleet of 16 vessels and 160 barges. Marc Schwartz, Maintenance & Engineering Manager at Tidewater, expressed, “The launching of the Crown Point, and the forthcoming Granite Point and Ryan Point vessels, marks an important step for Tidewater.

Fabrication teams at Vigor Industrial’s Tacoma, Wash. shipyard have delivered three 60’ x 24’ x 15.5’ breasting barges to Foss Maritime. The barge system will be used to moor Shell’s drill rigs at Terminal 5 in Seattle, Wash. where the company is scheduled to ready its fleet for Arctic drilling this summer. The project was completed in less than two months and created 60 family wage jobs for the Tacoma yard and its subcontractors. “We are so pleased that our Tacoma shipyard is now building new vessels,” said Bryan Nichols, Vigor Fab sales manager.

Jensen Maritime, a wholly owned Crowley Maritime Corp. subsidiary, has been selected to provide detail production engineering and construction management on an 88' x 25' Super Pumper NFPA Type II Fireboat for the San Francisco Fire Department. Jensen completed the fireboat contract-design for the city in 2012. “We are proud to work with the San Francisco Fire Department again,” said Johan Sperling, Jensen vice president. Vigor Industrial will build the vessel at its 27-acre facility in Seattle.

The Seattle divisions of Vigor Fab and Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) today announced that the 15,000-barrel tank barge Global Pilot has been delivered to Maxum Petroleum. Designed to balance performance with fabrication cost, the 15,000-barrel tank barge features a recessed machinery space aft for improved visibility and a state-of-the-art tankerman’s office. It also has dimensionally identical cargo tanks, corrugated plate tank bulkheads, and plate seams arranged to maximize material usage of standard 8-foot and 10-foot plates.

Vigor Fab has been awarded a contract to build a fireboat for the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD). Construction of the 88’x’25x’14’ vessel is scheduled to begin this fall in Seattle. Designed by Jensen Maritime Consultants, the fireboat will have a top speed of 11.5 knots in full load condition and accommodate up to three crew members and four firefighters aboard the vessel. The fireboat engines are EPA Tier III certified Cummins QSK19-M, which have a maximum engine horsepower of 750 bhp at 1800 rpm. Its firefighting system consists of six Stang fire monitors, which will be supplied with water and foam from three 6,000 gpm fire pumps. “We’ve been aggressively ramping up our ability to fabricate complex vessels.

Vigor Fab has been awarded a contract to build two 83,000 bbl. tank barges for Harley Marine Services, Inc. The 422’x 76’ x 27’ tank barges, designed by Elliott Bay Design Group to be part of articulated tug and barge configurations, will be among the largest vessels constructed for Harley Marine’s fleet. Construction will begin this month at Vigor’s 60-acre shipyard in Portland, Ore. With an 800 foot buildway, 600 ton gantry crane, and 360,000 square feet of covered fabrication areas, the yard is well equipped to handle large projects like these.

Vigor Fab has been awarded a contract by Tidewater Barge Lines of Vancouver, Wash, to construct 3 new tugboats. Construction of the first tug will start on Jan. 24, 2014, with the keel laying (the formal recognition of the start of a ship’s construction) at Vigor’s facility in Portland. Vigor explain that while Tidewater has rebuilt and repowered several of the vessels in its fleet, these tugs will be the first newly built vessels for the company in nearly 30 years. Delivery of the first tug will be in December 2014, with the 2nd and 3rd to follow in 2015.

Vigor Fab has delivered Harley Marine Services’ newest vessel, the 250’x70’x15’8” 'Iliuliuk Bay' (an Aleut name meaning Big Island). The deck barge is purpose-built to enhance quality of service provided to customers living and working in Alaska. Iliuliuk Bay is in transit to Dutch Harbor and will enter service on November 3rd. Her unique design provides a flexible workhorse that can easily switch between containers and other cargo to serve the diverse needs of Harley Marine’s customers. She will transport a wide variety of cargo between Dutch Harbor and neighboring islands.

U.S. Fab, a Vigor Industrial company, has delivered the purpose-built vessel to Washington’s King County for the use of its passenger ferry fleet. The 140’x40’x7’6” barge features moorage for up to four vessels and two steel structures, one that houses a well-equipped maintenance workshop and the other a two-story office and crew quarters. “This was an interesting project that required teams to integrate two different building classification standards while maintaining optimal cost efficiencies,” explained Bryan Nichols, Sales and Marketing Manager for Vigor Industrial.

Vigor Industrial made two promotions in its sales and marketing team, advancing Bryan Nichols to Manager of Sales and Marketing and Grant Fosheim to Sales and Marketing Associate. Bryan Nichols joined Vigor Industrial in 2011 as a sales representative. He will now serve as Manager of Vigor’s Sales and Marketing division, which is focused on the new build and major refit markets. He will supervise Vigor’s sales staff and play a key role in developing the company’s overall sales and marketing strategy.

Jensen Maritime, Crowley Maritime Corp.’s Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering company, recently completed the designs of two new ASD tugs, based on the popular Valor tugboat design, and a 250’ x 70’ x 15’ 8” deck barge for customer Harley Marine, a Seattle-based marine transportation provider. The tugs, named Robert Franco and Ahbra Franco, will provide tanker escort and ship assist services along the U.S. West Coast once delivered. The barge, Iliuliuk Bay, will transport a wide variety of cargo between Dutch Harbor and Akutan, Alaska, with up to three runs per week. Jensen designed the two new industry-setting tugboats similarly to the classic Valor concept, but upgraded them with Tier 3 Cat 3516C engines and Rolls-Royce US 255 Z-drives.

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.

Bryan Nichols, one of the leading maritime business development professionals in the Pacific Northwest, is joining forces with VIGOR Industrial, which owns and operates the premier shipyards in the region. Nichols joins VIGOR as a sales representative for the company, which builds, repairs and modernizes commercial fishing and cargo vessels, ferries and military ships at six locations in the Northwest. Nichols had been sales and marketing manager at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Whidbey Island, Wash. “Joining VIGOR is an exciting next step for me,” Nichols said.

Vallejo Baylink, the San Francisco Bay community’s municipal commuter operation that was initiated five years ago, is now carrying some 800, passengers a year. With thousands of miles on the operation’s first catamaran ferry, originally known as the “Jet Cat Express,” an InCat vessel built by Gladding Hearn Shipbuilding, Vallejo Baylink management decided to send the well-used boat to Nichols Brothers Boat Builders’ Washington yard for a complete rebuild. In December, after nine months in Nichols Brothers’ Whidbey Island yard, the thoroughly renovated and enlarged vessel headed back home with a new name: M/V Vallejo. Marty Robbins, general manager of Vallejo Baylink…

The passenger vessel industry continues to be mired in a construction malaise with high-speed passenger only ferries and more conventional passenger auto ferries the only bright spot. The epicenter of the passenger vessel ferry business is the New York City metro area where dozens of new ferries have been added to replace the PATH and other subway lines destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Suddenly "the way to work" for thousands of commuters was severed. Recent deliveries into the area include five 79-foot catamarans for NY Waterway. They are single deck, 149-foot passenger only ferries. The company also has purchased two 340-passsenger fast ferries from NY Fast Ferry. The ramp up in New York City ferry services has not been without difficulties, however.