Vigor-built barge supports King County ferry operations

APRIL 24, 2013 — A 140 ft x 40 ft x 7 ft 6 in barge built by Vigor Industrial company US Fab has been delivered to Washington’s King County. Moored at Pier 48 in Seattle, it is serving as a maintenance and moorage facility to support the King County Ferry District’s passenger only vessels operating the West Seattle and Vashon Island Water Taxi ferry routes.  

The barge provides moorage for up to four vessels and carries two steel structures, one that houses a well-equipped maintenance workshop and the other a two-story office and crew quarters.

“This was an interesting project that required teams to integrate two different building classification standards while maintaining optimal cost efficiencies,” explained Bryan Nichols, Sales and Marketing Manager for Vigor Industrial.

The barge was designed by Glosten Associates to ABS and Coast Guard standards, while the structures were designed by CH2M Hill to non-marine, commercial construction standards.

US Fab’s teams in Portland built the barge, pump house and all the below deck systems. Once the barge section was complete the vessel moved to Vigor’s Tacoma facility where  project managers worked with subcontractors to construct and integrate the barge’s buildings.

“The vessel came together efficiently and on-budget with the help of innovative planning and excellent subcontractors like Russell Construction and Squires Electric,” said Mr. Nichols.