Bender To Start Conversion of Barge and MMA Training Ship

Bender Shipbuilding & Repair of Mobile, Ala., has been awarded the conversion of the 400 x 102 ft. Sea Sorceress.

The barge, which will be converted from a manned fuel barge to a DP-II construction barge for Cal Dive International of Houston, Texas, will receive eight 850 kW retractable Z drives. These drives will be powered by four Wärtsilä generators providing 6.6kV of power.

A new engine room on the dynamically positioned barge will be used for the vessel's main source of power, as well as ancillary equipment. A 31 x 102 ft. (9.4 x 31 m) stern piece will be removed and replaced by a new stern housing for four of the thrusters - the other four will be positioned forward in the bow. Bender will also implement a Kongsberg Simrad SDP 22 Dynamic Positioning System and in conjunction with ABB, an integrated control and monitoring system. A 380 ton Huisman crane will be installed along with various mission equipment to complement the pipe lay and underwater construction equipment. Bender is also working on $24.4 million contractawarded in December 2000 by Interocean Ugland Management Corp., Vorhees, N.J., a U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) general agent. The contract specifies Bender to convert the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) vessel Cape Bon into a schoolship for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA).

Under the contract, Bender will implement living quarters and lifesaving equipment for 600 cadets, officers, faculty and crew; expand galley and stores arrangements; and provide extra electric generating requirements in an auxiliary machinery room uniquely designed for diesel training. The converted vessel will also be utilized as an auxiliary troopship in the Ready Reserve Force - a fleet of 76 militarily useful ships that are key to DoD's strategic sealift.

The vessel, which will be renamed Enterprise in honor of the MMA's first training ship, departed the Academy campus on December 29. Conversion began in January and is expected to last approximately one year. Subsequent to this, Academy students and instructors will participate in the first training course onboard the vessel during late spring.

Cape Bon is a general cargo ship, which was originally constructed for the Lykes Bros. Steamship Company by Avondale Shipyards in 1967. The conversion will transform it from a conventional general cargo ship into a fully-equipped training ship for 600 passengers. Considered a major project for the U.S. Coast Guard, the cargo ship is currently configured with six holds to carry various breakbulk and cargoes. Although the ship's existing steam propulsion plant will remain, an auxiliary machinery space will be created in the number four cargo hold, centered around a new Wärtsilä 8L20 medium speed, heavy fuel diesel generator. This space will be equipped and arranged to simulate a modern diesel propulsion plant, and may ultimately be equipped with control systems for use as a diesel simulator. The vessel will therefore be uniquely configured to offer practical training in both steam and diesel propulsion.

The ABS-classed Enterprise will be certified by the USCG as a Public Nautical School Ship, and will also serve in an auxiliary capacity as one of two RRF troopships.