Bouchard orders ATB tug at VT Halter Marine

VT Halter Marine, Inc. reports a new contract to build a 112-foot ATB offshore tug for Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc.  It says the tug will be similar to others built for Bouchard in previous years by Halter Marine.

Measuring 112 feet by 35 feet by 17 feet, the 4,000 hp tug is classed by ABS as A1 Towing Vessel, Dual Mode, and it will be equipped with an Intercon Coupler System.

Construction of the vessel is set to begin in June 2011 at VT Halter Marine’s Moss Point Marine shipyard in Escatawpa, Miss., with delivery expected in September 2012. The vessel will enter into Bouchard’s fleet service in New York, N.Y.

“Bouchard is pleased to have renewed our long-standing relationship with Halter which was started by my father, Morton S. Bouchard, Jr., in 1970 with the building of the Morton S. Bouchard Jr. and Frederick E. Bouchard. Halter went on to build several barges and tugs for Bouchard over the next three decades and they met the high quality standards demanded by Bouchard. I look forward to the same standards today as in the past, which I know VT Halter Marine will deliver,” said Morton S. Bouchard III, President and CEO, Bouchard Transportation

“We are very pleased to welcome back to our shipbuilding family a long-standing and valued customer, Bouchard Transportation. Our team looks forward to delivering this quality built vessel,” said Bill Skinner, Chief Executive Officer, VT Halter Marine

May 23, 2011