Vigor Fab News

Jayson Robinson has been named Vigor’s Vice President of Fabrication, taking the helm of the complex and marine fabrication divisions with facilities in Clackamas and Portland, Ore., as well as Vancouver, Wash. Robinson joined Vigor, a Titan company, as the director of quality in 2018 and has been serving as the assistant vice president since last fall.“Jayson has been a key part of several highly-successful projects at Vigor during his tenure,” said Titan CEO Jim Marcotuli. “His leadership and expertise will be critical as we enter a period of potential growth for this part of our business.

Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) was recently selected by Vigor Fab as the engineering firm that will provide functional design for the new hybrid-electric Olympic Class ferries for Washington State Ferries (WSF). EBDG is responsible for redesigning the vessels to accommodate the major change in propulsion type without disrupting structural components. The ferries will operate on all-battery power during crossings or can revert to a hybrid, diesel-electric propulsion if required.

Crowley Maritime Corp.’s solutions group announced that it is reorganizing and establishing new leadership to better serve customers in need of engineering, project management and government services. Solutions is the company’s dedicated, full-service engineering, project management and government services team, reporting to Crowley’s Todd Busch, senior vice president and general manager, technical services. Jay Edgar, who is new to Crowley, has been appointed vice president and leader of the company’s newly formed engineering services team…

Nearly 85 years ago, Tidewater pioneered commercial transportation on the upper Columbia Snake River system and opened up one of the nation’s most isolated regions to global markets. Today, Tidewater Holdings is comprised of Tidewater Barge Lines, Tidewater Terminal Company, and since 2014, Tidewater Environmental Services, Incorporated. Tidewater Terminal Company works in conjunction with its Barge Lines, using key intermodal connections to railroads, highways and pipelines.

The newly built tank barge, the Fight A.L.S., was delivered to Harley Marine Services on February 19, 2016. Designed by Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) and constructed at Vigor Fab in Portland, Ore., the 83,000 bbl tank barge joins Harley’s offshore fleet working the Gulf and East Coast to transport clean petroleum products, specifically gasoline and distillates. Fight A.L.S. is the third 83,000 bbl ATB tank barge recently designed by EBDG and built for Harley Marine Services, along with sister barges Dr. Robert J. Beall and Fight Fanoni Anemia.

The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) has awarded the Alaska Class Ferry project to Vigor Alaska shipyard in Ketchikan, Alaska, where construction is currently underway. Providing production design for the ferry is Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy Glosten, who along with Vigor Alaska, are two of Cadmatic’s newest customers in the U.S. Delivering its design in the imperial unit versions of both Cadmatic Hull and Outfitting, Glosten’s production design of the Alaska Class Ferry represents the premiere application of Cadmatic 3D CAD/CAM engineering software in the northern U.S. The 280-foot, 300-passenger, 53-vehicle Alaska Class Ferry will primarily transit the Lynn Canal and shorter AMHS routes in Southeast Alaska.

Tidewater Transportation and Terminals, headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, has taken delivery of Crown Point, a new custom-built towboat commissioned at Portland’s Vigor Industrial. Crown Point is the first of a series of three towboats being built at Vigor for Tidewater, and will join the company’s current fleet of 16 vessels and 160 barges. Marc Schwartz, Maintenance & Engineering Manager at Tidewater, expressed, “The launching of the Crown Point, and the forthcoming Granite Point and Ryan Point vessels, marks an important step for Tidewater.

Fabrication teams at Vigor Industrial’s Tacoma, Wash. shipyard have delivered three 60’ x 24’ x 15.5’ breasting barges to Foss Maritime. The barge system will be used to moor Shell’s drill rigs at Terminal 5 in Seattle, Wash. where the company is scheduled to ready its fleet for Arctic drilling this summer. The project was completed in less than two months and created 60 family wage jobs for the Tacoma yard and its subcontractors. “We are so pleased that our Tacoma shipyard is now building new vessels,” said Bryan Nichols, Vigor Fab sales manager.

Jensen Maritime, a wholly owned Crowley Maritime Corp. subsidiary, has been selected to provide detail production engineering and construction management on an 88' x 25' Super Pumper NFPA Type II Fireboat for the San Francisco Fire Department. Jensen completed the fireboat contract-design for the city in 2012. “We are proud to work with the San Francisco Fire Department again,” said Johan Sperling, Jensen vice president. Vigor Industrial will build the vessel at its 27-acre facility in Seattle.

Seattle-based naval architecture consultancy Glosten has joined the list of North American companies utilizing Nupas-Cadmatic, a CAD/CAM engineering software system for the marine and offshore industry. Glosten will utilize the software to complete the detail design of Vigor’s Alaska Class Ferry, a two-vessel project at their Ketchikan Alaska shipyard. Glosten said a few features of Nupas-Cadmatic made it the best choice for the naval architecture firm. Firstly, the tool was developed in conjunction with world-class shipyards and incorporates the collective experience of a large international user base. Secondly, the tool’s parametric modeling capabilities and embedded shipbuilding resources are a powerful way to reduce design hours.

WESMAR (Western Marine Electronics) delivered one of its bow thruster systems to another fireboat this month. This systems will be installed on a ‘super pumper’ for the city of San Francisco. The new fireboat is being built by Vigor Fab, Seattle, a subsidiary of Vigor Industrial, and is scheduled for delivery next year. Per specifications her ability to maneuver and dock in tight situations and to hold steady during fire fighting and rescue operations will be facilitated by WESMAR’s Model V2-20 NS 100 HP stainless steel, dual prop, counter-rotating bow thruster system.

The Seattle divisions of Vigor Fab and Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) today announced that the 15,000-barrel tank barge Global Pilot has been delivered to Maxum Petroleum. Designed to balance performance with fabrication cost, the 15,000-barrel tank barge features a recessed machinery space aft for improved visibility and a state-of-the-art tankerman’s office. It also has dimensionally identical cargo tanks, corrugated plate tank bulkheads, and plate seams arranged to maximize material usage of standard 8-foot and 10-foot plates.

Vigor Fab has been awarded a contract to build a fireboat for the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD). Construction of the 88’x’25x’14’ vessel is scheduled to begin this fall in Seattle. Designed by Jensen Maritime Consultants, the fireboat will have a top speed of 11.5 knots in full load condition and accommodate up to three crew members and four firefighters aboard the vessel. The fireboat engines are EPA Tier III certified Cummins QSK19-M, which have a maximum engine horsepower of 750 bhp at 1800 rpm. Its firefighting system consists of six Stang fire monitors, which will be supplied with water and foam from three 6,000 gpm fire pumps. “We’ve been aggressively ramping up our ability to fabricate complex vessels.

Vigor Fab delivered the Tokitae, the state’s newest ferry, to Washington State Ferry officials this week. The Olympic class Tokitae is the first of three 144-car ferries currently planned. It will enter service this summer on the Clinton-Mukilteo route. The second vessel, the Samish, is currently under construction at Vigor with delivery planned for early next year. State lawmakers have provided funding for a third ferry and construction is expected to start toward the end of this year.

Vigor Industrial has ballooned from a modest shipyard in Portland, Oregon, to the largest shipbuilder in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Vigor increasingly thinks big and builds big. The company’s new floating dry dock will be the largest in the United States. And Vigor wants to get even bigger. CEO and owner Frank Foti expresses an ambition to grow to twice the current size in the “next few years.” Foti, who is also chairman of the Shipbuilder’s Council of America, says he is, “striving for critical mass.

State elected, transportation and manufacturing leaders were on hand today to celebrate the christening of the state’s first 144-car Olympic Class ferry, the M/V Tokitae, at Vigor Industrial’s shipyard in Seattle. Lynn Peterson, Washington’s Secretary of Transportation, served as the ship’s sponsor and broke a bottle to christen the new ferry before a crowd of more than 200 people. Speakers at the ceremony explained that the vessels will ensure safe, reliable ferry service, save taxpayers money and provide jobs for the state’s maritime workforce.

Vigor Industrial announced today that it has renamed two of the company’s subsidiaries. U.S. Fab, Vigor’s fabrication and shipbuilding subsidiary, is now Vigor Fab. Alaska Ship and Drydock, which operates the Ketchikan shipyard in Alaska, is now Vigor Alaska. “It’s about better serving our customers,” explained Frank Foti, president and CEO of Vigor Industrial. •Vigor Shipyards, which provides repair, maintenance and modernization services to the U.S. The changes apply to the names only and do not alter the operating structures of either subsidiary. The new names go into effect immediately.

Vigor Fab has delivered Harley Marine Services’ newest vessel, the 250’x70’x15’8” 'Iliuliuk Bay' (an Aleut name meaning Big Island). The deck barge is purpose-built to enhance quality of service provided to customers living and working in Alaska. Iliuliuk Bay is in transit to Dutch Harbor and will enter service on November 3rd. Her unique design provides a flexible workhorse that can easily switch between containers and other cargo to serve the diverse needs of Harley Marine’s customers. She will transport a wide variety of cargo between Dutch Harbor and neighboring islands.

The Seattle office of Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) today announced the completion of a new 15,000-barrel tank barge design package for Maxum Petroleum, Inc. Designed to balance performance with fabrication cost, the new 15,000-barrel tank barge features a state-of-the-art tankerman's office, recessed machinery space aft for improved visibility, a dimensionally identical cargo tank, plus bulkhead stiffener and plate seams arranged to maximize material usage and simplify fabrication.

Vigor Fab has been awarded a contract by Tidewater Barge Lines of Vancouver, Wash, to construct 3 new tugboats. Construction of the first tug will start on Jan. 24, 2014, with the keel laying (the formal recognition of the start of a ship’s construction) at Vigor’s facility in Portland. Vigor explain that while Tidewater has rebuilt and repowered several of the vessels in its fleet, these tugs will be the first newly built vessels for the company in nearly 30 years. Delivery of the first tug will be in December 2014, with the 2nd and 3rd to follow in 2015.

Vigor Fab has been awarded a contract to build two 83,000 bbl. tank barges for Harley Marine Services, Inc. The 422’x 76’ x 27’ tank barges, designed by Elliott Bay Design Group to be part of articulated tug and barge configurations, will be among the largest vessels constructed for Harley Marine’s fleet. Construction will begin this month at Vigor’s 60-acre shipyard in Portland, Ore. With an 800 foot buildway, 600 ton gantry crane, and 360,000 square feet of covered fabrication areas, the yard is well equipped to handle large projects like these.