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Taunton River News

16 Aug 2018

Shipbuilding: “We had shipyard for dinner …”

Brothers and co-presidents Peter Duclos (left) and John Duclos flank sister Carol Hegarty, CFO. Photo: Greg Trauthwein

The Duclos family is iconic in boatbuilding circles, as the Somerset, Mass.-based Gladding-Hearn, Duclos Corporation, has built a strong heritage in the pilot boat and fast ferry sectors, and in total more than 425 vessels have been delivered since it was founded in 1955. Today a trio of second-generation siblings run the yard, brothers and co-presidents John and Peter Duclos with sister Carol Hegarty serving as CFO. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News visited the yard recently…

23 Aug 2016

MN100: Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation

Photo: Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding

For more than 60 years, Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding has built steel and aluminum commercial vessels. Located on 6.5 acres on the deepwater Taunton River in Somerset, Mass., the family-owned and operated shipyard counts more than 417 vessels built as proof of its longevity and vessel reliability. A total of 38 customers own 120 Gladding-Hearn vessels. With in-house naval architecture and engineering capabilities and a cross-trained workforce, Gladding-Hearn is well-known for applying some of the most advanced shipbuilding techniques that rival many bigger yards…

01 Feb 2013

Gladding-Hearn Delivers with Repeat, Proven Business in 2012

When the long-time operators of the National Park Service passenger route from Key West, Florida, to Dry Tortugas National Park were looking to keep that contract and further upgrade the quality of their offerings in that market, they did what most satisfied customers would do: they went back to the builder of their current vessel, Massachusetts-based Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding. The original boat used by Yankee Fleet in this service, built in 1998, provided reliable service over the years, but new contract requirements and changes in certain regulatory regimes ultimately made its replacement necessary. With the new Yankee Freedom III now in service…

07 Jul 2011

Fall River Hess LNG Terminal Plan Terminated

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commissionofficially vacated the certificate issued on July 15, 2005 that approved construction of Hess LNG’s proposed liquefied natural gas terminal. On June 20,  Hess LNG announced iit was withdrawing its application to construct an LNG terminal on the banks of the Taunton River and the related off-shore berthing station that was proposed for Mount Hope Bay in the waters of Somerset.   Source:  Taunton Daily Gazette

07 Feb 2008

Gladding-Hearn Expands Shipbuilding Capacity

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corp., is increasing its metal fabrication capabilities by about 30 percent at its six-acre shipyard on the Taunton River in Somerset, Massachusetts. Construction is underway of a new 12,000 sq. ft. fabrication building, measuring 107 x 110 x 40 ft. (clear height). The heated building will house two 50-foot bays for the manufacture of modules of vessels or complete vessels, weighing as much as 100 tons. Each bay will be equipped with a 5-ton crane overhead for easy movement of modules, materials and equipment through a 50 ft.-wide sliding door.

25 Oct 2007

Coast Guard Finds Weaver Cove LNG Terminal Waterway Unsuitable

The Coast Guard announced its determination that the waterway approach to the proposed Weaver's Cove Liquefied Natural Gas terminal in Fall River, Mass., is unsuitable for LNG tanker traffic due to navigational safety challenges. In his letter of recommendation, the Captain of the Port and Commander of Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England, Capt. Roy Nash, said that a segment of the transit route extending from Sandy Point to the Weaver's Cove site, presents significant navigational safety challenges to the proposed LNG vessels' size and transit frequency. Chief among the Coast Guard's concerns is the limited maneuvering room between the old and new Brightman Street bridges. The bridges are nearly parallel to each other and are only about 1100 feet apart.

21 Aug 2007

Gladding-Hearn Co-Founder Dies at 87

Richard C. “Dick” Hearn, who co-founded Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, died July 3rd at his home in Arizona. He was 87. Born in London, Mr. Hearn emigrated to the U.S. with his family at the age of six. They settled in Rhode Island, where Mr. Hearn later studied business administration at Bryant College before serving with the Army-Air Corps in the Pacific Theater during World War II. After the war, he returned to R.I. where he taught mathematics at a local high school and accounting at Bryant. After serving as treasurer at Blount Marine, Mr. Hearn and Preston Gladding, the shipyard’s naval architect, formed Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding in 1955, to build steel workboats on the Taunton River in Somerset, Mass.

13 Jul 2006

Law to Restrict LNG Tankers from Narragansett Bay

A recently adopted law effectively bans tankers carrying liquefied natural gas from entering Narragansett Bay -- a restriction Rhode Island lawmakers hope will prevent an LNG terminal from being built in nearby Fall River, Mass. Coast Guard officials say the law may prove illegal and could seek to block it. The Boston Globe reported that the bill, signed on July 11 by Gov. Don Carcieri, prohibits LNG tankers from coming within hundreds of yards of multiple obstacles and hazards, including people, docks, waterfront facilities, hunting grounds or anywhere workers are welding. As a result, LNG tankers can't legally enter even the widest entrances to Narragansett Bay, said Rep. Raymond Gallison Jr., D-Portsmouth, the bill's sponsor.

12 May 2006

Proposal: Safety Zone around LNG Tankers

The state Senate of Massachusetts could soon consider a bill that would effectively ban tanker ships carrying liquefied natural gas from moving along Narragansett Bay and the Sakonnet River. Lawmakers in the House passed the bill on May 10. If approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Don Carcieri, the legislation could severely hinder the operations of a proposed LNG facility in Fall River, Mass. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved Weaver's Cove Energy's plan to build a $250m LNG terminal at a former Shell Oil site on the banks of the Taunton River. The terminal would be serviced by tankers that move through Narragansett Bay.

07 Apr 2006

Weaver's Cove Offers Plan for LNG Shipments

Weaver's Cove Energy plans to use liquefied natural gas transports that are even smaller than the second set of vessels it specified in recent updates to its proposal to operate an LNG plant on the Taunton River and newer, stronger tug boats to guide them, the company said. According to South Coast Today, more LNG tankers, however, will sail to Fall River under the change because of the lower capacity of the vessels and because tankers once earmarked to go to a proposed Providence terminal denied by federal regulators will instead head to Weaver's Cove. The changes also require more openings of the new Brightman Street Bridge, the company said.

07 Apr 2006

Hess LNG, USCG Analyze Use of Smaller Tankers

Hess LNG has agreed to give the U.S. Coast Guard more information on its plan to use smaller than anticipated tankers to deliver liquefied natural gas to its proposed Taunton River import terminal. In mid-March, the Coast Guard sent Hess LNG a letter detailing its concerns and seeking more information about the company’s plan to maneuver tankers 725 feet long and 82 feet wide under two Brightman Street bridges; the old bridge has a 98-foot-wide opening for boats. Hess LNG said the company will provide the Coast Guard with additional information and analysis including simulated modeling, information about tugs that would help maneuver the tankers…