Crowley Maritime Corp. is deploying two new double-hulled, combination deck cargo and tank barges this week in Western Alaska. The DBL 165-1 and DBL 165-2 barges left Dakota Creek Industries in Anacortes, Wash., earlier this month and made a brief stop in Seward for final outfitting of equipment - including hoses, lines, pumps and other gear - necessary for operating in Western Alaska. The barges are expected to load their first cargoes of petroleum products in Bristol Bay this week and will begin making deliveries to customers along the Bering Sea coast soon afterward.
Both vessels will be home ported in Nome and will be used for shallow draft operations and beach landings for the delivery of fuel and cargo to the remote communities of Western Alaska. The vessels are the first double-hulled, environmentally friendly barges of their kind to operate in
Western Alaska waters, since Crowley's 180-1, a double-hull barge that Crowley deployed in Alaska in 2005.
"We are pleased and excited to announce the delivery and deployment of these barges," said Bob Cox, Crowley's vice president of petroleum distribution. "Engineered with integrity, the DBL 165-1 and DBL 165-2 give Crowley the opportunity to better serve the Alaska market with the enhanced design features that are built into these vessels. This exemplifies our commitment to moving petroleum and petroleum products efficiently and safely."
The barges were specifically designed for the rigors of Western Alaska, with the highest priority given for the safety of the personnel and the environment. Crowley is the only company bringing the safer double-hull vessels to Alaska without any regulatory requirement, because as Crowley Senior Vice President and General Manager Rocky Smith said, "It's just the right thing to do."
Crowley christened the DBL-1 and DBL-2 last month during a small ceremony at Dakota Creek Industries, where the barges were constructed. Customers Janis Ivanoff, president of
Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation, and Debra Shontz, director of operations for Arctic Slope Regional Corporation in Barrow, participated by helping to christen the vessels.