Marine Engineering Subsidiary News

Vancouver, Wash. based Tidewater Transportation and Terminals announced Friday it has hired Johan Sperling as its new Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.Sperling will have direct oversight and responsibility for the maintenance and engineering department, vessel operations, dispatch and terminal operations. Additionally, he will work closely with Tidewater Environmental Services and Tidewater’s Canadian entity, Island Tug and Barge, to support their efforts for safe and reliable operations.

Crowley Fuels took delivery Tuesday of its new Alaska Class 100,000-barrel, articulated tug-barge (ATB), which will be used to transport petroleum products for the Alaska market, from Bollinger Shipyards.Crowley will operate the 483-foot ATB for Alaska-based Petro Star Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) under a long-term charter. Crowley Shipping’s petroleum services group will operate the ATB on behalf of Crowley Fuels.The ATB is the first in Crowley’s fleet to be dedicated to the Alaska market.

The U.S. towing and tug business is 5,500 boats, more than 31,000 barges with an estimated total impact on U.S. GDP of $33.8 billion.“At a macro level, the bigger ships are causing downward pressure on the ship assist business because there are fewer ship calls given the increased capacity of these vessels. However, certain ports have seen tremendous growth, based on strategic location and infrastructure investments that have attracted these larger ships and been a net plus for these areas.”Kate Fuhrman…

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Crowley Maritime Corporation 's naval architecture and marine engineering subsidiary Jensen Maritime completed a pilot project using three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided design (CAD) models to support the class design review process.The joint project, focused on tug and barge designs, used a detailed 3D-model environment that seamlessly integrates with the ABS classification processes. This initiative eliminates the requirement to create 2D drawings for design review, helping designers achieve a time savings of up to 15 to 25 percent.

Crowley Maritime Corp. has announced that Tim Bush has been promoted to vice president and deputy general counsel. In his new position, Bush will help support the company’s growth as a provider of solutions for the U.S. government and various public-sector agencies. He will be based in Houston and report to Michael Roberts, senior vice president and general counsel. “Tim is an outstanding lawyer, and adds a great deal of value to the Crowley team,” Roberts said. Bush will continue to serve as Crowley’s lead attorney on several large projects for the U.S government, including the Defense Freight Transportation Services (DFTS) contract for the U.S.

Crowley Fuels LLC has signed a contract with Bollinger Shipyards for the construction of a new 100,000-barrel-capacity articulated tug-barge (ATB) to transport multiple clean petroleum products in the Alaska market. The Alaska-class vessel will be built at Bollinger Marine Fabricators Shipyard, in Amelia, La., with an expected delivery in the fourth quarter of 2019. The build contract includes an option for a second ATB. Once built and deployed, Crowley will operate the ATB under a long-term charter with Alaska-based Petro Star Inc.…

Crowley Maritime Corp. appointed four industry veterans to oversee the consolidated lines of business under the recently formed Crowley Shipping group, which provides petroleum and chemical transportation, commercial ship management, offshore energy support and ship assist and tanker escort services in the U.S. and international markets. Crowley said the new business unit structure better aligns vessel operations and services with customers, positioning the company for greater growth and efficiency under Rob Grune, senior vice president and general manager.

DEME Group’s offshore marine engineering subsidiary GeoSea said that, following successful completion of the design, it also received the Notice to Proceed for fabrication and offshore installation of 16 wind turbine foundations and 1 Offshore Transformer Module (OTM) for the EnBW Albatros offshore wind farm, for which GeoSea is Siemens’ EPCI partner. This partnership enables Siemens to provide a full-scope project (offshore wind turbines and OTM, incl. foundations) to EnBW. The Albatros offshore wind farm is located in the so-called “exclusive economic zone” of the North Sea, in the  immediate vicinity of the EnBW windfarms Hohe See and He Dreiht, approximately 90 km north of the island of Borkum in the German North Sea.

Three new ship-to-shore cranes that were constructed in Ireland were delivered to Crowley Puerto Rico Services’ Isla Grande Terminal in San Juan on Wednesday. The cranes are a key element of the $130 million Crowley is investing in infrastructure improvements to its Isla Grande Terminal, and their arrival marks the first time new, specialized gantry cranes have been received for operation in the San Juan Harbor in five decades. “With the delivery of these state-of-the-art cranes…

Crowley Maritime Corp.’s newest combination container/Roll on-Roll off (ConRo) ship has been launched at the VT Halter Marine shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. for the Crowley’s service between Jacksonville, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Named El Coquí after a beloved frog native to Puerto Rico, the ConRo is one of the world’s first to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The ship will now proceed through the final topside construction and testing phase before beginning service in the U.S. Jones Act trade during the second half of 2017.

Since it started publishing in 1939, Maritime Reporter & Engineering News has recognized excellence in ship construction. Crowley Maritime Corp. took delivery of Texas, the second of four new Jones Act product tankers from Philly Shipyard, Inc. (PSINC). The 50,000 dwt, 330,000-barrel Texas joins sister ship Ohio, which was received by Crowley in October, as the first ever tankers to receive the ABS LNG-Ready Level 1 approval, meaning Crowley has the option to convert the tanker to liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion in the future.

Crowley christens second of four newly built, LNG-ready product tankers for use in U.S. Crowley Maritime Corp. has christened the second of four new Jones Act product tankers yesterday at the South Florida Petroleum Terminal (The Public Dock) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The 50,000 dead-weight-ton (dwt), 330,000-barrel-capacity Texas joins sister ship Ohio, which was christened by Crowley in November, as the first ever tankers to receive the American Bureau of Shipping’s (ABS) LNG-Ready Level 1 approval…

Maritime innovation never stops, and 2015 was certainly no exception, as a number of “world firsts” hit the high seas. In its December 2015 edition Maritime Reporter & Engineering News (http://digitalmagazines.marinelink.com/nwm/MaritimeReporter/201512/) presented its “Great Ships of 2015;” MarineLink.com takes the process one step further, and here confer the “Top Five Ships” of 2015. With a gross tonnage of 168,666, somewhat smaller than the world's largest Oasis class vessels, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Crowley takes delivery of second of four new LNG-ready Jones Act product tankers from Philly Shipyard, Inc. Crowley Maritime Corp. has today taken delivery of Texas, the second of four new Jones Act product tankers from Philly Shipyard, Inc. (PSINC), the sole operating subsidiary of Philly Shipyard ASA. The 50,000 dead-weight-tons (dwt), 330,000-barrel-capacity Texas joins sister ship Ohio, which was received by Crowley in October, as the first ever tankers to receive the American Bureau of Shipping’s (ABS) LNG-Ready Level 1 approval…

Crowley Maritime Corp. today christened the first of four new Jones Act product tankers at the Tampa Cruise Terminal. The 50,000 dead-weight-tons (dwt), 330,000-barrel-capacity ship Ohio is the first tanker ever to receive the American Bureau of Shipping’s (ABS) LNG-Ready Level 1 approval, meaning Crowley has the option to convert the tanker to liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion in the future. More than 100 guests watched as Pamela Beall, president of MPLX, a Marathon Petroleum Corporation subsidiary, broke a ceremonial bottle of champagne across the hull to christen the vessel.

Crowley Maritime Corp. took delivery of Ohio, the first of four new, Jones Act, product tankers this week from Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Inc. (APSI), the wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard ASA. The delivery is momentous not only for Crowley, but also for the industry because it signifies the first time a product tanker has been constructed with consideration for the future use of LNG for propulsion. The remaining three product tankers being built by APSI for Crowley are currently under construction and have planned deliveries through 2016. “We are excited to offer our customers cutting-edge technology available in these new tankers…

Crowley Maritime Corporation’s solutions group announced today that it has received the first two of potentially four, new heavy-lift, ballastable deck barges (HDBs) for use by clients in the Asia-Pacific region. These new barges, which will be contracted and managed from the company’s recently opened Singapore office, allow Crowley to better support regional customers in the oil and gas mining; Engineering, Construction and Procurement Management (ECPM); and Engineering, Procurement, Installation and Commissioning (EPIC) industries who are increasingly embarking on large-scale onshore and offshore projects. These new 400-foot-long, 120-foot-wide (122 meter x 36.5 meter) HDBs, named HDB 01 and HDB 02 are moored in Batam, Indonesia.

The first of four Crowley Maritime Corp. product tankers was celebrated today in a keel laying ceremony held at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Inc. (APSI), the wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard ASA. The 330,000-barrel, Jones Act tankers are being built through a joint venture between Crowley and Aker. Keeping with the long-held shipbuilding tradition, several coins were placed by representatives from Crowley, APSI and others on one of the keel blocks before the unit was lowered into place in the dry dock. The coins are a ceremonial sign of good fortune and safe travels.

Wilhelmsen Marine Engineering won an order from Meyer Werft in Germany to finalize the cruise ship AIDAblu and two new cruise vessels, NB689 (unnamed) and NB690 (unnamed) being built for the German cruise operator, AIDA Cruises. Under the terms of the deal, Wilhelmsen Marine Engineering's subsidiary, Wilhelmsen Callenberg Fläkt will deliver heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and related engineering services. The order has an estimated value of EURO 10.4 million. The company has been involved in AIDA's new building program since 2004 and has delivered HVAC system design and advanced equipment to AIDAdiva, AIDAluna, AIDAbella and AIDAblu.