Oil Replenishment News

In today’s marine-scape of declining newbuild activity, many boatbuilders are seeking to buoy up productivity by reducing time to market. But how do you go about contracting intricate concurrent design and production flows without loss of quality, let alone the risk of production spiraling out of control? The general tendency is to overlap design phases. However, this potentially creates a greater number of uncertainties. Ship design includes multiple disciplines and specialties in spiraling activity cycles.

Case study: Chantier Davie Shipyard invests in AVEVA technology to keep competitive. Established in 1825, Chantier Davie Shipyard is Canada’s oldest, and still today one of its most innovative, shipyards. Situated in Quebec, the yard has been expanding in both working and production capacity, and its 1,300 workers now have the capability to handle 1,200 t / month of steel production at its 570,000 square meter facilities. Chantier Davie (Davie) is a diversified shipbuilder, building various types of ships for both naval and commercial clients.

Admiral Mark Norman, Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), informed a recent news conference that the RCN begins its transition to the future fleet. The four ships to be taken out of service are Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Protecteur and Preserver, two auxiliary oil replenishment ships; and HMC Ships Iroquois and Algonquin, two Iroquois-class guided missile destroyers. The retirement of these vessels has been anticipated for some time and is a step towards the introduction of new ships and capabilities set to be delivered through the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS), as well as recognition of the RCN’s commitment to the responsible use of public funds while maintaining Canada’s naval readiness.

The U. S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration has signed fee-for-service contracts to recycle three more of its obsolete ships. Two ships, the Hattiesburg Victory and the Pioneer Contractor, are from the Beaumont Reserve Fleet in Texas, and one, the oiler Savannah, is from the James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia. The Maritime Administration has moved 118 ships out of its National Defense Reserve Fleet sites since 2001. With the contracts announced today, there are only 24 ships left in the James River waiting to be disposed of and without disposal contracts, and 10 such ships in the Beaumont site. The Hattiesburg Victory is one of the few remaining Victory ships built during World War II to carry cargo needed by U.S. forces all over the world.

By Capt. Four Canadian ships completed training with the George Washington Carrier Strike (GW CSG) Group Feb. 29 following the completion of their Task Group Exercise 02-08 while at sea off the coast of Florida. The destroyer HMCS Iroquois (DDG 280), frigates HMCS Ville de Quebec (FFH 332), HMCS St. John's (FFH 340), oil replenishment ship HMCS Preserver (AOR 510), and the submarine HMCS Corner Brook (SSK-878) trained cooperatively with USS George Washington (CVN 73), USS Farragut (DDG-99), USS Boone (FFG-28) and USS Kauffman (FFG-59). Two haze-gray ships, Farragut and Boone, slipped out of the Mayport, Fla., basin to join four others of a slightly different color.

Ingram Barge Lines operates one of the largest towboat fleets on the U.S. inland waters, with 70 towboats ranging from 600 to 9,200 hp and over 1,800 barges. The company operates on the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee, Kanawha, Illinois and the Monongahela Rivers as well as the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Under the direction of David O'Neill, Assistant Vice-President of operations based in Paducah Kentucky, the firm is undertaking a repower and engine standardization program in the 16 vessels of their Ingram Support Services division. These boats, in the 600 to 1,800 hp range, are employed primarily in demanding short haul and fleeting operations. Currently powered with four different makes of engines, the company is working to standardize to Cummins marine engines.