Burrard Iron Works News

“We got 59,115 hours on those engines, without ever removing a head,” says Seaspan International’s Port Engineer Kevin Tweedy, “And they were still running. So, at 5,000 to 5,500 hours per year, we could easily have done 60,000 hours.”But the company schedule worked to do a like-for-like repower. The pair of 850-horsepower Tier 1 Cummins KTA38 diesels were pulled out, and a brand-new set of 850-horsepower Tier 2 KTA38s went in.The Seaspan Cavalier was built in 1974, along with three sister ships.

Founded in 1958 as an extension of the Stradiotti family businesses, North Arm Transportation has grown to be a significant fuel company on the BC coast. Over the years, the company fleet has expanded and evolved. With tugs in a range of size and power, as well as cargo and fuel barges, the company services the coast out of its headquarters in Vancouver on the North Arm of the Fraser River. They also have facilities on Mitchell Island in the Fraser and at Masset on Haida Gwaii.

Steady, smooth, powerful, highly maneuverable: these were comments from mariners on board for sea trials of Jones Marine Group’s new tractor tug, David J. The new workboat was put through its paces in fine form. The boat is an A.G. McIlwain-designed 53 by 26.5-foot handy-sized tractor tug with a hefty14-foot molded depth. The beam offers remarkable stability, while the length allows the tug to work in tight spaces. Built by Sylte Marine of Maple Ridge for Jones Marine Group Ltd, of Chemainus, it is, as company president Daryl R.

A steel boat can continue to serve for many years if properly maintained. Seaspan Marine is the largest towing company on the British Columbia coast. Utilizing the services of their sister companies Vancouver Drydock, Vancouver Shipyard and Victoria Shipyards, they do much of their own repair and maintenance work. The upgrade and maintenance of the 25.24 by 7.56-meter (82.8 x 24.8) Seaspan Cutlass was done at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyard, which was the yard that built the tug and her sisters, including the Seaspan Cavalier in 1975. Both tugs have received similar upgrades.

Over their lifetime, fishing vessels are arguably the most robustly constructed maritime structures around, due to their continuous operation in the most arduous of conditions. Marco Shipyard in Seattle — founded in 1953 — built its business and reputation in the fishing industry, producing boats for operation around the globe. In fact, Peter G. Schmidt, company founder and president, was an innovator in the use of steel construction for the fishing vessel market, which previously consisted mostly of wooden boats. "He wanted to bring small boatbuilding into the modern world," said Bob McMahon, vice president. While the market for building new fishing vessels is a far cry from 10 years ago…

Research Winches for R/V Maria S. Seven special winches were supplied by Hatlapa in December 2003 after being tested and demonstrated in the factory. These winches are intended for the new research vessel Maria S. Merian, which will support the vessel Polarstern during operations in the Arctic. Hatlapa has escorted this project for five years, during which time the design of the winches was formed in close cooperation with the order principal BAW (Bundesanstalt für Wasserbau) and the shipyard Krögerwerft in Rendsburg. One specialty is the combination of friction and storage winch for handling the very long and relatively thin measuring cables. The advantage is that the sensitive and expensive research ropes can be spooled on the storage winch free from load.

The newest tractor tug to come out of MARCO Shipyard Seattle is the 105-ft. Millennium Dawn, the third boat in its class designed and built for Harley Marine Services of Seattle, and the twelfth tractor tug from MARCO. It will join her sister ships operating in Long Beach, Calif., part of Harley’s West Coast and Alaska operations that in clued Olympic Tug & Barge, Millenium maritime, Pacific Coast Maritime, Public Service marine and Westoil Marine Services. Like her predecessors, the new tug is a powerful, multipurpose vessel, capable of providing ship assist, inland and ocean towing, and escort services. Her rugged design has evolved from MARCO’s first tractor tug, the Gyrfalcon, operated by Pacific Coast Maritime.

New tractor tug Delta Linda, delivered to Baydelta Maritime, by MARCO Shipyard Seattle, is virtually identical to another tug of the same name built for Baydelta two years ago. Since her delivery in November 1997, the first MARCO-built Delta Linda has been renamed and placed on long-term charter, and the new Delta Linda is her replacement. Like her predecessor, the new tug is 105 ft. long, with a beam overall of 36.8 ft. and a draft of 13-17 ft. She is powered by a pair of Caterpillar 3516B diesels, providing a total of 4,400 bhp to her twin Ulstein 1650H Z-drive units, with 94.5 in. skewed Kaplan-style propellers in Ulstein high-performance nozzles. This propulsion combination has increased the static bollard pull by more than seven percent compared with the earlier vessel.

San Rafael, a 204 x 44 x 16 ft. OSV was recently launched by Eastern Shipbuilding Group. The vessel is being constructed for Naviera Tamaulipas, S.A. de C.V. of Tampico, Mexico, for operations in the Bahia de Campeche fields off Eastern Mexico. Capacities include 110,000 gallons of fuel, 211,000 gallons of drill water/ballast, 7,200 cu. ft. of bulk mud in six tanks, and 3,012 barrels of liquid mud. The propulsion plant consists of a pair of Caterpillar 3516B main engines rated at 2,000 hp each @ 1,600 rpm, complete with Caterpillar Engine Vision Alarm and Monitoring System, coupled to Reintjes WAF-862 gearboxes, with 96 in. diameter, four-blade stainless steel propellers.

The newest tractor tug to come out of MARCO Shipyard Seattle is the 105-ft. Millennium Dawn, the third boat in its class designed and built for Harley Marine Services of Seattle, and the 12th tractor tug from MARCO. It will join her sister ships operating in Long Beach, Calif., part of Harley's West Coast and Alaska operations that in clued Olympic Tug & Barge, Millenium maritime, Pacific Coast Maritime, Public Service marine and Westoil Marine Services. The new tug is a powerful, multipurpose vessel, capable of providing ship assist, inland and ocean towing, and escort services. Her rugged design has evolved from MARCO's first tractor tug, the Gyrfalcon, operated by Pacific Coast Maritime.

California Fish & Game recently took delivery of P/V Thresher, a 54 ft. all-aluminum catamaran, designed by Teknicraft of Aukland, New Zealand, and built by Kvichak Marine, of Seattle, Wash. The partially foil-supported catamaran will be stationed in Dana Point as a Fish and Game Marine Enforcement patrol vessel for Southern California. The cat's beam is 20.2 ft., and weighs nearly 28 tons fully loaded. Powered by twin Caterpillar 3196 DITA diesel engines, driving 30 in. stainless steel propellers through Twin Disc MG 5114A gears, Thresher cruises at 26 knots with a top speed of 30 knots. Deck equipment includes an aft deck A-frame to deploy and retrieve a customer-supplied Hurricane inflatable.

MARCO Shipyard Seattle has signed a contract to construct a third Millennium Class tractor tug for Harley Marine Services. Measuring 105 ft. (32 m), the multipurpose tug will be identical to its sisterships, Millennium Falcon and Millennium Star, delivered in February and August 2000, respectively. Construction of the tug is ongoing, with delivery planned for March 2002. Similar to its predecessors, the MARCO-designed tug will have an overall beam of 37 ft. (11.2 m) and a molded depth of 17 ft. (5 m). It will be powered by a pair of Caterpillar 3516B diesels, providing a total of 4,400 bhp that will drive Ulstein Z-drive units, each fitted with 94.5-in. four-bladed props set in nozzles. Deck machinery will feature headline and tow winches from Burrard Iron Works of British Columbia.

MARCO Shipyard recently made an early delivery of Delta Deanna, the fourth Z-drive tug built for Baydelta Maritime of San Francisco. With the first tug, Delta Linda, renamed and out on long-term charter, Delta Deanna becomes the third of the new generation tugs to enter full-time service for Baydelta. Like sister vessels Delta Carey and the second Delta Linda, the new tug measures 105 x 36.8 x 13 ft. The vessel is powered by twin Caterpillar 3516B diesels, providing a total of 4,400 hp to the Ulstein 1650H Z-drive units, each with a 94.5 in. skewed Kaplan-style propeller in Ulstein's high-performance nozzle. Auxiliary power is supplied by two CAT 3304BT diesels, each driving a 105 kW generator and a hydraulic PTO.

Seattle's MARCO shipyard has been completing a rush job for Great Lakes Towing affiliate TUGZ International and is expected to have three new tractor tugs ready for christening by February 13. At the same time, the yard has just started to cut steel for two slightly larger tractors being built for San Francisco-based BayDelta. The latter will measure 105 ft. and will be powered by twin Caterpillar diesels of 4,400 combined hp driving Ulstein Z-drive units fitted with high-performance Nautican nozzles. Towing winches and headline winches will be provided by Burrard Iron Works Ltd of Vancouver, B.C. The three TUGZ boats, to be christened Z-Three, Z-Four and Z-Five, are 95-ft., and will also make use of Caterpillars turning Ulstein z-drives.