Compiled and edited by Bruce Buls, Technical Editor

Gladding-Hearn launches 4,700-hp Z-drive tug

In early-April, the recently launched 4,720-hp shipdocking tug Madeline was tied up at Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding Corp. in Somerset, Mass. The 80'×32'×16'11" tug was being outfitted and getting all systems checked out prior to its sea trials. In late April, the tug was scheduled to be delivered to Wilmington (Del.) Tug, said Peter Duclos, president of Gladding-Hearn.

It’s been at least 15 years since Gladding-Hearn last built a tug, though Wilmington Tug is not a new customer. Three other Gladding-Hearn-built tugs preceded the Madeline. The first one was built in 1977, followed by another in the 1980s, and a third in the early 1990s, said Duclos. The tug built in 1977 was a Preston Gladding design and the first tractor tug built in the U.S., according to Duclos.

The Madeline’s design is from Robert Allan Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia. For propulsion, it has a pair of MTU 16V4000M60 diesels that each produce 2,360 hp at 1,800-rpm. The MTUs are hooked up to Rolls-Royce US205MK-2 Z-drives. The MTU-Rolls-Royce package is designed to deliver a bollard pull of 60 tons. Electrical power comes from two 99-kw gensets.

For winches, the tug has a 50-hp Markey DEPC 48 on the foredeck. Aft there’s a 15-hp capstan that is built into the H-bitt. “That way, it doesn’t take up deck space,” Duclos noted.

There are also two Nabrico barge winches. “She will handle a couple of barges, but shiphandling is her main duty,” Duclos explained.

For accommodations, the tug has two staterooms with upper and lower berths, two heads, a shower and galley.

The Madeline was not only the first tug Gladding-Hearn has built in a long time, it’s also the first steel boat constructed in a number of years at the boatyard, which has been turning out a steady stream of aluminum passenger vessels and pilot boats. But, Duclos said, Gladding-Hearn was able to utilize “all the techniques and module constructions that we’ve developed over the years for aluminum construction.”

The steel tug did test some of the equipment. “The weight of the modules pushed the moving equipment to the limit and the weight pushed the railway to its limits. So we’ve had to do more work on the boat than we would normally have while it is in the water,” said Duclos.

Wilmington Tug is talking building more tugs, according to Duclos, but while he waits to see if that materializes, the boatyard has plenty of work. The yard has contracts to build 19 boats: three 165' excursion boats for Circle Line Sightseeing Yachts Inc. in New York; a 72' water taxi for New York Water Taxi; 12 65-foot patrol boats for the Navy; a 70' pilot boat for Galveston, Texas; a 75' pilot boat for Lake Charles, La., and a 52' pilot boat for Freeport, Bahamas.

“That will keep us busy into 2010,” Duclos said.

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Steiner building 2,000-hp tug

Steiner Shipyard Inc., Bayou La Batre, Ala., is building a 78'×28'×11' tug for Golden Meadow, La.-based HLC Tugs LLC., a division of Marquette Transportation Co. LLC, Paducah, Ky.

The Layla Renee is scheduled for delivery later this month.

The tug will be used for offshore towing to the Caribbean and coastal towing between the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast.

Huey J. Cheramie, HLC’s president, said his family started the business and  then sold it to Marquette about two years ago.

“These boats are going to be subjected to the Coast Guard’s inspection specifications as soon as the Coast Guard gets those out to us,” he said.

Tugs such as the Layla Renee have heretofore been classified as “uninspected” by the Coast Guard. However, new towboats and tugs will be subjected to a Coast Guard inspection as soon as Coast Guard and industry officials agree on what the inspection specifications should be.

“Hopefully when that does happen, there will be a country out there that can use all this uninspected equipment, and we can upgrade the whole industry,” Cheramie said.
Main propulsion for the Layla Renee will come from three Cummins QSK 19 diesel engines, producing 680 hp each. The mains will connect to three 4-bladed stainless steel props through Twin Disc MG-5170 marine gears with 6:1 reduction ratios. The propulsion package will give the boat a running speed of about 10 knots.

“We’ve always been a triple-screw boat company,” Cheramie said, adding that having three engines helps him cut costs. “There are times when you only have to run two, and that saves fuel. If one goes out, I’ve still got two to run on.”

Cheramie said it cheaper to buy three 680-hp engines than to buy two 1,000 hp diesels. “In the long run you save money,” he said.

The tugboat’s  hydraulic steering system will come from Gulf Coast Air & Hydraulics, Mobile, Ala.

“After doing this for 35 years, I’ve learned one thing,” said Cheramie, “and that’s you compensate as you go along.”

Steiner is also working on the first of four 3,200-hp pushboats for Southern Towing Co., Memphis, Tenn. The 120'×34' towboats will be notable for having Z-drive propulsion, which will improve maneuverability while eliminating the need for flanking rudders.

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Geo Shipyard delivers 1,000-hp catamaran crewboat

New Iberia, La.-based Geo Shipyard recently delivered the 41'×15'×7' crewboat Mr. Will to Oilfield Marine Contractors, Youngsville, La. The aluminum catamaran will support Oilfield Marine’s near coastal oil-and-gas activities.

The new crewboat, designed by Roger Fyffe, can carry up to 18 passengers and one crewmember in shallow water, if necessary, because Mr. Will has a draft of only 2'10".
“The catamaran gives a much more comfortable ride in high seas than a monohull,” said David LeCompte, the yard’s vice president. “It costs more because you have to build two hulls, but it’s also more stable.”

There is 225 sq. ft. of cargo deck space available on the stern.

Twin Cummins QSC 8.3 diesel engines, each producing 490 hp at 2,500 rpm, provide the boat with its main propulsion. The QSCs are mated with 24"×30" ZF nibral wheels through ZF 286 IV marine gears with 1.5:1 reduction ratios. The combination makes for a cruising speed of 25 knots and a top speed of 28 knots.

Ship’s service power is provided by a 6-kw Northern Lights genset.

The steering system is from Teleflex Marine and the controls are by Kobelt. The electronics suite is from Garmin.

Capacities include 570 gals. of fuel and 40 gals. potable water.

The Mr. Will is USCG certified, near coastal 20 miles, and was delivered in January. “There used to be a lot of [this size] boat in the near coastal oil-and-gas industry. Over the years a lot of these little boats got sold off,” said LeCompte. “I think this boat is a good replacement for those boats — and it’s a lot faster.”

LeCompte said this is the second vessel the yard has built for Oilfield Marine, but that most of his boats are one of a kind. “I’d like to get a contract for a dozen boats at a time,” he said. “Most of the boats we build are one-offs.” 

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Boat Building Bitts

Foss Maritime, Seattle, has had to push back the construction of its first hybrid-powered tug, which will be built at the company’s shipyard in Rainier, Ore. The company had hoped to complete the boat this summer, but now it looks like the fall. To be part of the Dolphin class, the hybrid-powered tug was to be hull #9 of the series, but now it will be #10. The hang-up is batteries. Foss had planned to use nickel-metal hydride batteries, but their chosen supplier is no longer making them. So Foss had to go back to the drawing board on this critical element and decided to switch to gel-based lead acid batteries instead of nickel metal hydride. A Foss official told WorkBoat that switching battery types would decrease the initial cost and increase the weight, from about 7,000 lbs. to about 21,000 lbs. The lead-acids will also need to be replaced sooner than nickel-metal hydrides. When replacement time comes, Foss hopes that battery technology will have advanced enough to provide them with more choices for the next generation of hybrid tug batteries.

Kvichak Marine successfully completed a rollover test of its first RB-M (Response Boat-Medium) production boat in Seattle in March. The test was assisted by the Foss 300 steam-powered crane, which also rolled Kvichak’s RB-M prototype several years ago. Kvichak and Marinette Marine will build up to 250 of the aluminum 1,650-hp 45-footers in Seattle and Marinette, Wis., for the Coast Guard.

Washington state’s attempts to get replacements for the permanently tied-up Steel Electric ferries hit a snag when the state DOT rejected the only bid for the first of three new ferries to be built specifically as replacements for the Steel Electrics. Expecting a bid in the $17 million range, the single bid, which was from Todd Pacific Shipyards, was $26 million. The state will reissue the proposal and ask for another round of bids. By law the boat must be built in Washington. The new boat will be almost identical to the design of the Steilacoom II, a double-ender designed by Elliott Bay Design Group, Seattle, and built by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Freeland, Wash., in 2006 for about $12 million. Built for Pierce County, Wash., the Steilacoom II has been chartered by Washington State Ferries to serve as a temporary replacement for the Steel Electrics on the Port Townsend-Keystone route.

Great Lakes Shipyard has successfully completed sea trials of the Handy-One, the first tug of the new Handysize class to be delivered to TUGZ International LLC, the owner and charterer of a fleet of Z-class tractor tugs. Both the new Handysize class and the Z-class tugs were designed for TUGZ by Jensen Maritime Consultants, Seattle. Measuring 74'×30' and powered by a pair of Cummins QSK 38 diesels each developing 1,400 hp at 1,800 rpm, the tug’s estimated bollard pull is 36 short tons and has a free running speed of 12 knots. The first Handysize tug has 72" Kaplan type propellers inside Type 37 stainless steel-lined nozzles, but Z-drives are an option. Great Lakes Shipyard builds the Handysize class tugs for sale, or the tugs are available for charter through TUGZ.
Master Boat Builders, Bayou La Batre, Ala., recently delivered the second of four 190'x46'x16' steel supply boats to SEACOR Marine, Houma, La. The SOLAS-compliant, DP-2 SEACOR Cabral features capacities of 165,000 gals. of fuel and 5,000 cu. ft. of bulk mud. Main propulsion comes from two Caterpillar 3512B-HD diesels, producing 1,911 hp at 1,600 rpm each. The Cats connect to Rolls-Royce Hung Chin 82"x70" 5-bladed bronze propellers through Twin Disc MGX-5600 marine gears with 5.04:1 reduction ratios. 

Blount Boats, Warren, R.I., has signed a contract with the Puerto Rico and Municipal Islands Maritime Transportation Authority (PRTMA) to construct a 75'x22' aluminum passenger-only ferry. The vessel will be certified USCG Subchapter T and have a capacity of 150 passengers. Funding for the project will come from the Federal Transit Administration and Federal Highway Administration. The ferry will be powered by twin MTU/Detroit Diesel 8V-2000 M72 main engines each rated at 965 hp at 2,250 rpm for a service speed of 18 knots.

Shearer & Associates Inc., a naval architecture, marine engineering and marine surveying firm with offices in Houston and New Orleans, has finished design and contract specifications for 20 new tank barges being built at JamesBuilt in Paducah, Ky., for Ingram Barge Co., Nashville, Tenn. The new double-skin tank barges measure 200'x35'x2'6" and will have three cargo tanks. The barges will be certified as Type II and III hulls and receive a limited load line certificate between Carrabelle and St. Marks, Fla. The barges will be complete with vapor control systems, cargo heating systems and Tier II diesel engines driving the cargo pumps. The barges will be able to carry up to 15 lbs./gal. products.

Campbell Transportation Co.’s Dunlevy, Pa. shipyard is completing the rehulling of the R.L. Ireland. Built in 1952 by the Dravo Corp., Neville Island, Pa., the 108'x26'6"x9', twin-screw towboat is powered by twin Cat 3508E engines with a combined 1,710 hp. The vessel’s bow, stern and sides are being completely replated with 1/2" steel plating. Campbell Transportation and its sister company, C&C Marine Maintenance, operate 30 towboats and 420 open hopper barges hauling bulk commodities on the Ohio River system. In addition to transportation and fleeting services, the companies provide full shipyard services from routine maintenance and barge cleaning to full repowering, refurbishing and rehulling at facilities in the Pittsburgh area.

In late February, Austal USA received the Engineering Project of the Year award from the Mobile (Ala.) Area Council of Engineers for the design and construction of the Alakai, the 350' passenger/vehicle ferry built for Hawaii Superferry. At the time of the announcement, the ferry was in drydock in Hawaii for rudder repairs. However, the repair work was significantly increased by damages sustained during the drydocking. First, a tug accidentally punctured the side of the ferry and then the blocks were set incorrectly inside the drydock, which damaged some of the hull structure when the drydock was pumped out. All repairs have now been completed, and the controversial ferry was scheduled to return to service between Honolulu and Kahului Harbor on Maui in early April.                                 

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