Evening Star News

Mississippi shipbuilder VT Halter Marine, Inc. said it has secured a new contract to build an articulated tug barge (ATB) tug with an option for a second vessel for Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc.Construction of the new vessel, M/V Evening Stroll, begins immediately at the builder’s Pascagoula, Miss. shipyard, with delivery scheduled for December 2019. This vessel will enter into Bouchard’s fleet service in New York, N.Y to transport liquid petroleum products throughout the…

The third generation of the Bouchard family continues within the family business as Buster’s sons Morton S. Bouchard Jr. and Frederick E. Bouchard join the company as Dispatchers in 1955. It was also during this time that Bouchard Transportation Co. furthered the tugboat side of its business with the construction of the Evening Star.   The July 2018 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News will feature a special “Bouchard Transportation Co. Celebrates 100 Years” magazine. For more information contact: Greg Trauthwein, [email protected], t. 516-810-7405.

In 2017, Bouchard Transportation Co. announced its construction plans for ATB unit M/V Evening Breeze and B. No. 252, which is the sister to ATB unit M/V Evening Star & B. No. 250. These Jones Act vessels will include the newest modifications to the Intercon and pin system, and the most technologically advanced equipment in various spaces that are designed to reduce total emissions. Expected delivery is during the early part of 2019. The July 2018 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News will feature a special “Bouchard Transportation Co. Celebrates 100 Years” magazine.

Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. announced the new construction of ATB unit M/V Evening Breeze and Barge B. No. 252, which adds to the company’s fleet expansion plan that began in 2012. The M/V Evening Breeze is being constructed in Pascagoula, Miss. by VT Halter Marine, Inc., and is the sister vessel to ATB tugs M/V Denise A. Bouchard and M/V Evening Star. The Evening Breeze will be 4,000hp meeting U.S. EPA-Tier 4 requirements, measuring 112 feet by 35 feet by 17 feet, and equipped with an Intercon Coupler System. The B. No.

In 2018 one of the U.S. premier vessel owners – Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. (BTC) – celebrates its 100th year in business. Maritime Reporter looks at BTC’s evolution through the years. The year 2018 is a celebration year for the Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc., which was founded in 1918 in New York Harbor by Capt. Frederick Bouchard, and will next year celebrate a century in business. The company’s first cargo was a shipment of coal, and its first oil barge was acquired in 1931.

On Wednesday, June 7, 2017 the Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) awarded 43 Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. operating vessels the Jones F. Devlin Award, recognizing their safety achievements in 2016. These 43 vessels operated a total of 364 years with no lost-time injuries. The CSA grants Devlin Award certificates each year to manned merchant vessels that have operated for two or more years without incurring a Lost Time Injury (LTI). “Bouchard continues to hold safety as a top priority…

The Chamber of Shipping of America awarded thirty- nine (39) Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. operating vessels the Jones F. Devlin Award, at the Annual Safety Awards Luncheon in New Orleans, LA. This award further symbolizes Bouchard’s dedicated commitment to safety, and is a true testament to the hard work and devotion their crew and safety department put forth every day to ensure Bouchard always operates safely. B. No. B. No. M/V Barbara E. M/V J. B. No. B. No. B. No. B. No. M/V Marion C. B. No. B. No. M/V Brendan J. M/V Morton S. B. No. B. No. M/V Ralph E. B. No. B. No. M/V Rhea I. B. No. B. No. M/V Danielle M. M/V Robert J. B. No. B. No. M/V Ellen S. B. No. B. No. B. No. B. No. B. No.

Independently-owned ocean-going petroleum barge company Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. announced the appointment of Brendan J. Bouchard as VP of Sales and Operations, establishing the fifth generation of the Bouchard family. Bouchard Transportation was started by Brendan J. Bouchard’s great great grandfather, Capt. Fred Bouchard, and passed on down to his great grandfather, Morton S. Bouchard Sr., then to his grandfather Morton S. Bouchard Jr.,  and then to his father, Morton S. Bouchard III,  to whom Brendan will report.

VT Systems subsidiary VT Halter Marine says it has constructed and delivered the ocean-going 112-ft Articulated Tug Barge (ATB) Tug, 'Denise A. Bouchard', for Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc (Bouchard). Measuring 112 feet by 35 feet by 17 feet, the 4,000hp tug is classed by ABS as A1 Towing Vessel, Dual Mode, and is equipped with an Intercon Coupler System. Construction of the vessel began in March 2013 and the tug was launched in February 2014, at VT Halter Marine’s Moss Point Marine facility in Escatawpa, Mississippi. The Denise A. Bouchard is the sister vessel to the Evening Star which was delivered in October 2012, and is part of a major Bouchard fleet expansion currently underway at VT Halter Marine.

VT Halter Marine laid the keel for Barge B No. 270, which is, in part, one of two Articulated Tug Barge (ATB) units being built for Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. (Bouchard). The barge measures 625 x 91 x 47 ft. and has a 250,000-barrel capacity and will be used to transport liquid petroleum. The barge is ABS and USCG certified for Jones Act service. Construction of the two units began April 2013 at VT Halter Marine’s Pascagoula facility, with delivery scheduled for mid 2015. VT Halter Marine has also scheduled a February 6, 2014 launch for the ocean going 112-ft. 4000 hp ATB Tug “Denise A. Bouchard”, sister tug to the previously built “Evening Star”. Measuring 112 x 35 x 17 ft., the tug is classed by ABS as A1 Towing Vessel, Dual Mode, and is equipped with an Intercon Coupler System.

VT Halter Marine, Inc. delivered the 112-ft. ATB Offshore Tug, Evening Star, for Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc., a tug similar to others built for Bouchard in previous years by Halter Marine. Measuring 112 x 35 x 17 ft., the 4,000-hp tug is classed by ABS as A1 Towing Vessel, Dual Mode, and is equipped with an Intercon Coupler System. Construction of the vessel began in June 2011 at VT Halter Marine’s Moss Point Marine facility in Escatawpa, Miss. Upon delivery, the Evening Star will enter into Bouchard’s fleet service in New York, N.Y. “Bouchard Transportation Co, Inc.

Bollinger Delivers 55,000 Barrel OPA'90 Tank Barget To Bouchard. Bollinger Marine Fabricators, L.L.C., Amelia, La., a Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. company, has delivered the B. No. 250, a newly designed and constructed 55,000 barrel OPA’90 compliant tank barge to Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc., Melville, NY. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. The announcement was made by Bollinger executive vice president of new construction, Chris Bollinger, “We are very pleased to announce the OPA’90 tank barge, B. No. 250, as another successful delivery to the Bouchard family.

There are several quick conclusions you can draw about passenger boat construction in the new millennium. First it is a smaller market than 10 years ago with far fewer boats being built today than a decade ago. Secondly almost all of these vessels are built on the east or west coast. There are virtually no passenger boats being built in the south. Third, the number one vessel type being built is the ferryboat and more specifically the all-passenger ferry that shuttles people at 25 knots or better. In the years between 1987 and 1993 shipyards all over the country were building 600-passenger excursion-dinner boats in great numbers as sightseeing and dining vessels on America’s great rivers, lakes and bays became increasingly popular.

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.

For many years the fortunes of the Great Lakes-based shipbuilders and naval architects was based solidly on the building level of the owners who were also based on the 94,000 sq. mi. of water that makes up the five Great Lakes. That is no longer as true a statement as it once was. While there are many projects in this area designed and build by Great Lakes firms for owners in the area, an impressive number of significant commercial market projects as varied as Staten Island, New York ferries and Gulf of Mexico crew/supply boats were designed and or built on the Great Lakes. The Kennedy Class of double ended auto/passenger ferries is one of the most recognizable images of New York City. Every weeknight millions of people see one during the opening of the David Letterman Show.