Coupler Systems News

Marcon International has announced to report the recent sales of the following two U.S. flag tugs as sellers continue to upgrade their fleets.The U.S. flag, 4,800 HP twin screw, flush-deck, articulated pusher tug “Java Sea” has been sold by Kirby Offshore Marine of Houston, Texas to private buyers. The tug was originally built by the well-respected Main Iron Works of Houma, Louisiana as the “Patriot” (Hull 360) - a 3,000 HP, EMD 12-645E6 powered, conventional twin screw tug with a raised 49.3’ height of eye pilothouse.

The view from the Bouchard Boardroom and … beyond.The roots of the now familiar and reliable articulated tug and barge (ATB) business are deep and stretch all the way back to the 1800’s. Along the way, various patents to connect a tug and a barge with a secure mechanical connection were filed. The concept began to gather momentum in the late 1960’s when Edwin Fletcher with ARTUBAR, and the Bludworth family of flexible pushing systems were pioneering efforts to marry the economies of pushing with the safety and seakeeping inherent in mechanically linking the tug and barge at sea. Other systems were developed and tried; not all were successful.As a baseline…

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation has taken delivery of the newly built ATB hopper dredge Ellis Island and tug Douglas B. Mackie following completion of U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) regulatory sea trials. The Jones Act dual mode articulated tug/barge (ATB) trailing suction hopper dredge was built by Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. David Simonelli, President of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation's dredging division, said, “This advanced vessel which improves the competitiveness of our hopper group and represents a substantial reinvestment in our fleet.

If you drive just south of I-10 in Pascagoula, Miss., within 10 minutes you find yourself on the doorstep of VT Halter Marine, arguably one of the more diverse and active shipyards in the U.S. The company, which is a subsidiary of Vision Technologies Systems, Inc. (VTS), operates three facilities in Jackson County, Miss., and today supports about 1,600 full time employees as well as about 1,600 vendors and subcontractors. •    A pair of 250,000 barrel ATBs and a pair of 6,000 hp ATB tugs for Bouchard Transportation, a long-tenured and important client for VT Halter.

VT Halter Marine launched ATB tug Kim M. Bouchard for Bouchard Transportation at Moss Point Marine facility on February 26, 2015. Measuring 150 feet long, the 10,000hp twin screw ATB tug is classed by ABS as A1 Towing Vessel, Dual Mode ATB, USCG Subchapter M, is equipped with Intercon Coupler Systems, and will pair up with Barge B. No. 270. The barge measures 625 feet by 91 feet by 47 feet and has a 250,000-barrel capacity. Used to transport liquid petroleum, the barge is ABS and USCG certified for Jones Act service.

Eastern Shipbuilding is pleased to announce that on, Monday, September 15, 2014, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC “(Great Lakes”) (NASDAQ: GLDD) and Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) cut steel starting the construction of a new Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge ATB . The cutting ceremony of the 433’ Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge Barge took place in Eastern’s under roof pre-fabrication building at its Allanton facility in Panama City, Florida. This indoor facility supports both of Eastern’s new construction facilities with state of the art equipment and a highly skilled workforce.

Eastern Shipbuilding is pleased to announce that on, Monday, September 15, 2014, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC  and Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) cut steel starting the construction of a new Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge ATB . The cutting ceremony of the 433’ Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge Barge took place in Eastern’s under roof pre-fabrication building at its Allanton facility in Panama City, Florida. This indoor facility supports both of Eastern’s new construction facilities with state of the art equipment and a highly skilled workforce. • WHEELOBRATOR Automatic Shot-blasting and Painting Machine for steel plate and shapes. • MESSER MG CNC (NC) plasma cutting and burning machine with four (4) 10’x40’ dry cutting tables.

Proliferation of energy related transport continues to drive commercial U.S. As the United States aims towards energy independence by the end of this decade, domestic shipyards and vessels owners are reaping rewards from this most unexpected turn of events. Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking, has been the main (and well publicized) culprit in the rapid turn of events. While the proliferation of gas has been widely known for years, the presence of oil, in quantity, was a pleasant…

Morton S. Bouchard III, President and CEO of Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc., today announced the next step in the company’s ongoing fleet expansion with the construction of two 6,000-hp ATB tugs. These newbuilds, the M/V Bouchard Boys and the M/V Evening Light, will be equipped with Intercon Coupler Systems and constructed by VT Halter Marine, Inc. Measuring 130 feet by 38 feet by 22 feet, these 6,000-hp Twin Screw ATB Tugs will be classed by ABS as A1 Ocean Towing, Dual Mode ATB, USCG Subchapter C, both will be built with Tier III engines and Lufkin gears. “I am happy to share the news of Bouchard Transportation’s fleet expansion,” said Mr. Bouchard upon making the announcement.

Morton S. Bouchard III, President and CEO of Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc., today announced the next step in Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc.’s ongoing fleet expansion with the construction of two 6,000-hp ATB tugs. The newbuilds, the M/V Bouchard Boys and the M/V Evening Light, will be equipped with Intercon Coupler Systems and constructed by VT Halter Marine, Inc. Measuring 130 feet by 38 feet by 22 feet, the 6,000-hp Twin Screw ATB Tugs will be classed by ABS as A1 Ocean Towing, Dual Mode ATB, USCG Subchapter C, both will be built with Tier III engines and Lufkin gears.

EBDG’s LNG bunkering barge design receives ABS approvals as the maritime industry increasingly looks to LNG as a fuel of the future. In early June, Federal Maritime Commissioner William P. Doyle told listeners at an LNG Bunkering conference in Vancouver, Canada that “Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) bunkering in North America is moving forward … There is an abundant supply of natural gas in North America. Utilizing natural gas as a marine fuel would help ship owners and operators comply with the MARPOL Annex VI requirements to reduce air pollution from ocean going vessels.” That much is true. It’s also true that there is any number of ways for vessel operators to get to the Promised Land. Nevertheless, LNG – as a fuel – has certainly stepped out into the lead on that mission.

Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La. has added a 220 class offshore supply vessel (OSV) to the company’s continually growing series of OSV’s that provide cargo capacities of much larger vessels while lowering operating costs. Scott Theriot, executive vice president, New Construction said, “Just as our 145 and 166-ft. class boats have capacities of larger OSV’s, this new 220 class has the cargo and drilling muds capacities of vessels up to 240-ft. MNM Boats of Golden Meadow, La., a subsidiary of C&G Boats, has signed a contract for the first of two new 220 designs and will take delivery of the first boat in October 2002 and the second vessel in January 2003.

With the introduction of three new double-hull petroleum barges in 2005, Paul Tregurtha, chairman of Moran Towing Corporation, announced that the company is on track to achieve its goal of operating an all double-hull fleet by the end of 2006. In the first seven months of 2005, Moran introduced two newly built double-hull petroleum barges, New Hampshire and Georgia, both built at Bay Shipbuilding in Wisconsin, and a newly converted double-hulled barge Massachusetts, delivered from Gulf Marine Repair in Florida. The three barges, with a combined cargo carrying capacity of 360,000 barrels, were matched with ocean-going tugs from the Moran fleet, all with articulated (ATB) coupler systems that allow the tug to remain permanently in the barge notch when underway.

The first of its two double-hull, clean product, ocean-going, articulated tug and barge (ATB) units is ready for sea trails and is being outfitted for delivery at Bollinger Shipyards, Morton Bouchard III, President and CEO of Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. "In 1990, our company embarked on a long-term business plan that has been moving forward for over a decade. Our management initiated an aggressive building plan that includes the retrofit of single-hull barges and a new building program which includes two new articulated tugs and barges that will strategically position the organization in the petroleum transportation industry. The new double-hull ATB units are major components of a business plan that will take us to where we want to be by 2005.

Morton Bouchard III, President and CEO of Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc and Bouchard Coastwise Management Corporation, announced that the first of its two double-hull, clean product, ocean-going, articulated tug and barge (ATB) units is ready for sea trails and is being outfitted for delivery at Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana. In his statement to the press, Mr. Bouchard said, "In 1990, our company embarked on a long-term business plan that has been moving forward for over a decade. Our management initiated an aggressive building plan that includes the retrofit of single-hull barges and a new building program which includes two new articulated tugs and barges that will strategically position the organization in the petroleum transportation industry.