Bollinger, K-Sea Agree On Barge Construction Program

Bollinger Gretna, L.L.C., Harvey, La., a Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. company, and K-Sea Transportation Corp. of New York have signed a contract for the construction of four double hull, ocean service, OPA ‘90 oil barges. The barges will have capacities of 80,000 to 100,000 barrels. Terms were not disclosed.

The barges will be built primarily for oil service on the Northeast U. S. coast. They will be coupled with existing K-Sea tugs using a connection system designed and delivered by Acomarin Engineering. The system will provide increased operating efficiency and will enhance the safety and reliability of the units. The new barges will feature double block cargo segregation, segregated ballast, cargo monitoring and vapor recovery systems as well as advanced electrical and hydraulic systems.

Walter Berry, executive vice-president and COO of Bollinger said, “K-Sea has been a valued customer for service, repairs and regulatory inspections. This is our first opportunity to demonstrate to them why Bollinger is also a leader in construction of double hull barges and other vessels. We are also pleased to announce the return of new construction work at Bollinger-Gretna as Kenneth Boothe, Sr., its general manager, and his shipbuilders have built numerous large double hull barges and many other barges and boats in the yard’s long history.”

Formerly known as Gretna Machine & Iron Works, a multi-use construction and repair/conversion shipyard, its previous owner had dedicated the 66 year-old facility exclusively to repair and conversion work in October 1997. Modules for all four barges will be fabricated at Bollinger Marine Fabricators Amelia, La and shipped to Bollinger-Gretna where they will be joined to other components produced at Bollinger-Gretna, where final assembly and installation of piping and other systems will be completed.

Delivery of the first barge is planned for summer of 2002, with delivery of the remaining three barges scheduled at regular intervals.

Timothy J. Casey, president of K-Sea Transportation Corp., said, “This newbuilding project demonstrates K-Sea’s continuing commitment to provide safe and modern marine transportation services to our customers. We selected Bollinger to build these vessels because of our positive experiences with them in the past, and because of their excellent reputation as a leading Gulf Coast builder.” The four barges will replace equipment owned by K-Sea that is to be phased out by the year 2005 as required by OPA ‘90 legislation.