AUGUST 1, 2018 — Christophe de Margerie, the icebreaking LNG carrier owned and operated by Russia’s Sovcomflot (SCF Group), has crossed the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in a new record time for
JANUARY 18, 2018 – The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) says that recent deliveries of four state-of-the-art vessels, constructed in U.S. shipyards, reflect the U.S. dredging industry’s continued investment in building dredges with
JANUARY 18, 2018 – The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) says that recent deliveries of four state-of-the-art vessels, constructed in U.S. shipyards, reflect the U.S. dredging industry’s continued investment in building dredges with
NOVEMBER 20, 2017 — Dredging services contractor Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation, Oak Brook, IL, has taken delivery of the articulated tug barge (ATB) hopper dredge Ellis Island and tug Douglas
Independent commodity trader Trafigura Group, through its subsidiary Impala, is investing $1 billion in creating the infrastructure for a new multimodal supply chain in Colombia that can transport crude, naphtha, break-bulk cargo, containers, and oversized cargo up and down the country’s main waterway, the Magdalena River.
Impala Colombia currently operates a terminal in the seaport of Barranquilla, where the Caribbean Sea meets the Magdalena River. Some 630 kilometers south of Barranquilla on the Magdalena River, Impala is investing some $450 million in developing a new state-of-the-art inland river port in Barrancabermeja. The inland river port will have an oil terminal with six tanks that can store 120,000 bbls each and a general cargo and container terminal. The port will serve as an intermodal connection between river transport and truck transport. Impala’s fleet of barges will ship product to and from major crude oil production sites as well as major cities such as Bogotá or Medellin.
In addition, Barrancabermeja will also serve as a seaport with bills of lading possible to connect directly with international ports such as Rotterdam or Shanghai.
Part of Impala’s investment includes a fleet of new towboats and barges. Impala’s growing Colombian fleet includes at least 15 new towboats and 68 liquid barges and 45 dry cargo barges. The tank barges are double hulled, with vapor recovery systems for environmental responsibility and safety and can carry up to 10,000 barrels of oil.
This past summer, Eastern Shipbuilding, Panama City, FL, launched the Impala Soledad and Impala Puerto Salgar, the first two in a series of four inland river towboats for IWL River Inc., an affiliate of Impala Terminals Colombia.
Designed by CT Marine, the towboats are are being built to ABS Class Inland River Service. Eastern Shipbuilding expects to finish delivering the boats in 2017.
Impala Soledad and Impala Puerto Salgar along with the other sister vessels in the series, the Impala Mompox and Impala Catagallo, will each be 134 feet long, 42 feet wide, with a depth of 9 feet and minimal operational draft of 6 feet.
Each towboat will be triple screwed, with three Caterpillar 3512C main diesel engines, certified to IMO Tier II. Each will produce 1,280 hp at 1,600 rev/min for a total of 3,840 hp. Karl Senner, Kenner, LA, supplied the three Reinjtes WAF665 reduction gears.
The towboat’s auxiliary power is supplied by two Caterpillar C6.6 125 kW, 220-volt, 3-phase main generators.
The Panama flag vessel will be classed ABS +A1, Towing Vessel, River Service, +AMS, ABCU.
CT Marine also designed the towboats to have a retractable pilothouse. When fully raised, the pilothouse will have a 37 foot 6 inch eyelevel above the waterline. Towboats designed with retractable pilot houses can pass under low fixed bridges along their route. The deckhouse is confined to a single level and only the pilothouse is extended atop a hydraulic ram. When raised, the pilothouse provides excellent visibility for the master to see over top his tow.
NEW TOWBOAT FOR FMT
Another new towboat built with a retractable pilothouse was Florida Marine Transporters’ M/V Marty Cullinan. Built by Horizon Shipbuilding, Bayou La Batre, AL, the M/V Marty Cullinan has an ABS Load Line Certificate to operate in the waters between Chicago to Burns Harbor for fair weather voyages.
The 387 gt towboat is outfitted for service in areas with restricted overhead clearances and draft limitations. With the pilothouse fully retracted, the maximum air draft is 17 ft 8 in.
The 120 ft x 35 ft x 11 ft 6 in vessel is of all steel construction and powered by two Caterpillar 3512 engines, each rated at 2,011 hp at 1,600 rev/min with Twin Disc gears. The boat is outfitted with two 175 kV Tier 3 John Deer 6090 460 V gensets.
Sleeping accommodations and facilities are provided for eight persons and sound dampening systems have been implemented throughout the main deck house.
The towboat was built in 14 months. Project Manager Terry Freeman, who managed the construction of the vessel, said, “Our team exceeded all expectations with regard to the timely production and quality work on this build especially given the new design, ABS requirements and technical expertise required for the retractable pilot house.”
Jeff Brumfield, Senior Manager of Boat Construction and Engineering for FMT said, “We are thoroughly pleased with the boat, and when I talk to the Marty Cullinan crew they are quick to note that she is smooth and very quiet. The sound dampening package has exceeded our expectations.”
“We have worked hard to build one of the best boats on the river and we consider ourselves fortunate to have teamed with FMT and John J. Gilbert to do this,” said Travis Short, President of Horizon Shipbuilding. “Horizon has been building FMT boats for almost a decade and in that time we have been able to assemble a team of master craftsmen that produce a superior product. All the praise goes to those men and women in the yard, taking care to do the job right the first time while working safe, working hard and working together.”
Horizon has two more 120 ft FMT towboats, one standard and the other with a retractable pilothouse, in production with deliveries scheduled for this fall and the spring of 2017.
“LADY” KEEPS ON KEEPING ON
The M/V Lady Loren doesn’t have a retractable pilothouse, but does have a raised one that provides an eyelevel of 35 feet above the waterline. Back in 2008, LA Carriers built the pusher tug Lady Loren at Lockport Fabrication. At the launch, LA Carriers President Russell Plaisance explained that the boat was the result of five years of planning and a lifetime of maritime experience in the Gulf of Mexico. The 82 ft x 28 ft Lady Loren was the seventh boat in the LA Carriers fleet.
For Plaisance at the time, a key element of his business was diversification. “We do $10 million to $11 million [in gross revenue] per year including some business with the oil industry,” he said, “but we do a little of everything else as well. We barge pipe and we once even towed baseball dirt from Houston to Tampa Bay for spring training. This new boat has a contract to tow corn syrup from Memphis to Tampa Bay.”
Now eight years later, the corn syrup contract has dried up—the plant has been converted to other products. But LA Carriers’ diversity has kept the company healthy even during the current slump in the oil industry.
The Lady Loren, with both towing and pushing capabilities, is currently engaged moving a pair of hopper barges on a run between New Orleans and Tampa.
The Lady Loren is a triple-screw tug powered by three Cummins QSK19-M3 diesels rated at 660 hp each to give a total of 1,980 hp. The engines turn three 63 by 67-inch propellers in kort nozzles.
“The engines had 36,000 hours on them so I decided to rebuild the middle engine,” says Plaisance. “Without removing the engine, my crew, together with Cummins mechanics replaced the shaft bearings, pistons and rods, heads and injectors. When we looked at the wear on the parts that came out of the engine we realized that they could easily have given us another 4,000 hours with no risk of down time.”
As a result, he feels confident in leaving the rebuild of the two outside engines for another year by which time they will have a remarkable 40,000 hours each. Crediting Cummins quality, Plaisance also has a very proactive service and maintenance program on the engines. Oil is changed regularly, and injectors adjusted every 10,000 hours.
LA Carriers has changed some of the fleet in the eight years since the Lady Loren was first launched and they have several different engine makes among its seven boats. Plaisance is unreserved in his praise for the Cummins engines. “In future, if I have to replace an engine in one of my other tugs, it will be with Cummins,” he says.
The commercial fishery has been part of the lifeblood of Eastern Canada for more than five centuries. Adjacency to the fishing grounds was the initial catalyst for the settling of the near countless harbors, coves and inlets throughout the five provinces that border the rich, pristine waters of the North Atlantic. And while the technology and vessels used to prosecute the fishery has changed over the generations, the industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Quebec is more valuable than it has ever been.
The seafood caught and produced in Eastern Canada is now worth nearly $2.4 billion (CDN landed value) annually.
According to the most recent statistics from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), the value of all seafood produced in the five Eastern Canadian Provinces totals an impressive $2,387,424. This number is quite staggering when you think about it. Few industries in this region produce products that contribute this much to the economy and gross domestic product (GDP) in one year.
As one would expect, a wide variety of species contribute to the overall multi-billion dollar total. But it will come as no surprise to anyone associated with the fishery or seafood industry in Eastern Canada what group or species really drives the industry here — shellfish. This group of crustaceans accounts for an impressive $2.37 billion.
Lobster is king in Eastern Canada, with a value in excess of $942 million and shows no sign of slowing down. Lobster catch rates are increasing year-over-year. Combine this with record prices and you have the formula for a very valuable and sustainable fishery.
Next in order of economic importance is snow crab, contributing $534 million, followed closely by Northern shrimp at $369 million. Scallops round out the top four shellfish species at $178 million.
The seafood industry continues to be a strong employment driver in the region, responsible for more than 50,000 direct jobs – both seasonal and permanent – in the harvesting and processing sectors. This, of course, does not include the thousands of spin-off jobs associated with the fishery and millions of additional dollars pumped back into the Eastern Canadian economy.
While the fishing industry is producing literally billions of dollars in product each year, it is not without its challenges. In fact, few industries in Eastern Canada, if any, have faced the adversity the fishery has over the decades – including dwindling stocks, quota cuts, labor shortages, constant conflicts with the federal government and building competition from outside Canada. Those catching and producing seafood in this region have seen and experienced it all – but have always persevered.
Northern Cod Stocks
The biggest story coming out of the Eastern Canadian fishery as of late involves groundfish stocks – cod in particular.
In 1992 the Federal Government of Canada declared a moratorium on the Northern Cod fishery, which for hundreds of years had largely shaped the lives and communities of Canada’s Eastern coast. After it was discovered in the late 1980s that the Northern cod biomass had fallen to one per cent of its historical levels, the fishery was essentially shut down, ending the region’s 500-year dependence on Northern cod.
But cod is making a comeback.
A 2015 study into the state of Northern cod stocks off Newfoundland and Labrador confirmed a dramatic recovery for a species that became virtually commercially extinct in the 1990s — a confirmation that commercial fishermen have been documenting and commenting on for several years.
The study, co-authored by well-known and respected fisheries scientist George Rose, reported that the cod biomass has increased from tens of thousands of tonnes to more than 200,000 metric tonnes within the last decade and shows signs of continued growth. In fact, Canada’s federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) recently reported that according to its research, the spawning stock biomass was actually in the range of 300,000 metric tonnes.
The news of the groundfish recovery has been met with optimism— so much so that DFO just announced in August of this year, the first expanded commercial Northern cod fishery in decades.
Another bright spot for the Eastern Canadian fishing industry is the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union. Once ratified in 2017, this free trade agreement will lead to the dropping of the punishing tariffs now applied to Canadian seafood exported to the member states of the EU. Not only will this agreement increase the profitability of Eastern Canadian seafood companies now shipping product overseas, but will open up a vast array of new, hungry markets, with an appetite for fresh, top quality Canadian seafood.
Shipbuilding Resurgence
When any industry is doing well and its participants are prospering, that good fortune has a tendency to spill over to related spin-off and supply companies – and the Eastern Canadian fishing industry is no exception.
One area that has seen a renewed revitalization in recent years is the region’s shipbuilding industry.
Many Eastern Canadian yards, that a decade ago were either shuttered or only producing a few vessels per year, have sprung back to life and are now at capacity – with many booked up to three-four years. New fishing vessels are in demand in Eastern Canada more than ever and the region’s naval architects and builders are just trying to keep up.
Rick Young is witnessing this growth and resurgence in shipbuilding first hand. Young is a Director and Owner of TriNav Marine Design and Marine Services International – two St. John’s, Newfoundland-based companies that design and provide in-depth technical assistance to the Eastern Canada shipbuilding and marine sectors.
“There was considerable vessel construction activity in Newfoundland and Labrador from 1995 to about 2005, mostly related to changes in the industry from harvesting groundfish to harvesting shellfish. Nova Scotia and the other Eastern Canadian provinces have seen a steady growth in vessel construction in the past five years or so due to strong market prices for lobster and also because much of the fleet was getting old and required replacement,” Young said.
He noted that fishermen have lobbied hard over the years and have been successful to have DFO change many of their vessel size restrictions.
“This has allowed fishermen to construct larger and safer vessels that can travel further offshore for longer periods of time, while increasing quality with such features as live wells and refrigerated sea water tanks.”
Now with the potential for a renewed groundfish fishery in the near future and continued strong prices for shellfish, fishermen are willing to invest further in newer and multi-purpose vessels, Young added.
“This will allow them to be more diversified, have a longer fishing season and be more profitable. Fishermen it seems, always find a way to adapt to the changes in the industry and persevere. We will be there with them side-by-side to help make this happen.”
The optimism expressed by industry leaders, such as Rick Young, seems to be contagious throughout the Eastern Canadian fishery.
After years of uncertainty, combined with the constant nattering of the naysayers mumbling about how the fishery will soon be no more, the industry is on the upswing – driven by positive factors that could help this still valuable business turn the corner and further increase in value.
Just as sure as the strong Northeast winds will continue to buffet the shores each year, those prosecuting the seafood industry in Eastern Canada will stand by their resolve and continue to produce the products that continue to drive the growth and evolution of this critically important, multi-billion dollar machine called the fishery.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kerry Hann is the Managing Editor of The Navigator Magazine, the largest publication covering the marine and fishing industries in Eastern Canada. Hann, based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, has been covering the North Atlantic fishery and other natural resources-based issues in various capacities for nearly 25 years.
The current downturn in the offshore oil market is probably one of the most severe since the 1980s. Oil companies are deeply cutting E&P spending for 2016. During its midyear analysis of the oil market, investment banker Cowen & Company reported that it expected global E&P expenditures in 2015 are now estimated to be down by 22% from the 2014 level to $545 billion. The “Original E&P Spending Survey,” initiated by Cowen’s James Crandell, estimates a 13 percent decline in E&P spending by the super majors— ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, BP, ENI, ConocoPhillips and Total—for next year.
Offshore drillers are feeling the pinch—as are the shipyards that support them. Last month, another South Korean shipbuilding giant was hit with the cancellation of an offshore drilling unit order.
Pacific Drilling S.A. exercised its right to rescind the construction contract for the ultra-deepwater drillship Pacific Zonda “due to the failure by Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) to timely deliver a vessel that substantially meets the criteria required for completion of the vessel in accordance with the construction contract and its specifications.”
Pacific Drilling says it made advance payments totaling $181.1 million under the shipbuilding contract, and will be seeking a refund of the installment payments.
The company inked a contract for the drillship with Samsung Heavy on January 25, 2013 that provided for a delivery date of March 31, 2015.
The cancellation comes after the October 27 news that Fred Olsen Energy had cancelled an semisubmersible drilling rig order at Hyundai Heavy Industries and the October 26 announcement that Transocean, Shell and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) had agreed to push back the operating and delivery contracts of two newbuild ultra-deepwater drillships – the Deepwater Pontus and the Deepwater Poseidon – by 12 months each.
Transocean is also scrapping rigs. Cowen & Company reports that the latest is GSF Rig 135, bringing the total number of scrapped rigs by company since October 2014 to 21, by far the largest number of retired units by any company this down cycle. Cowen and Company says, “With 14 rigs still cold stacked, we expect further rig retirements are likely.”
OSV operators hunker down
To survive in such a challenging environment, offshore support vessel operators have been hunkering down, enacting cost controls, including cold stacking vessels and preserving cash.
That was the strategy outlined last month by Hornbeck Offshore Services Chairman Todd Hornbeck during a recent conference call discussing the company’s third quarter of 2015 results. Hornbeck Offshore Services (HOS), with a fleet of 66 offshore support vessels (OSVs) and Multi-purpose Support Vessels (MPSVs), currently has 27 vessels stacked and expected to stack an additional 3 vessels by the end of the year.
When you cold stack a vessel, it means that you preserve that asset until there is an upturn in the market (and a rise in dayrates) that justifies putting that piece of equipment back in service. Cold stacking cuts OPEX costs. The downside is that you lay off valuable mariners and shoreside staff that are involved in operations.
CFO Jim Harp says that those 30 stacked vessels would save about $125 million in costs on an annual basis. HOS had also delayed cash outlays of $10 million on regulatory dry docks in 2015 by stacking vessels and expected to save $15 million in regulatory dry docking costs in 2016.
On a deadweight tonnage basis, the 30 stacked vessels represent 81,000 dwt or 28 percent of the company’s 295,000 dwt fleet. Hornbeck’s entire remaining operational fleet will be high spec 300 Class vessels and Multi-Purpose Service Vessels, all 6,000 dwt and above, DP2 Jones Act vessels.
Hornbeck believes that market conditions will continue to deteriorate and that the next two quarters are “going to be choppy.”
HOS has taken delivery of 17 of the 24 vessels under its HOSMAX newbuild program and another three OSVs will be delivered before the end of this year. There are an additional four MPSVs under construction for delivery in 2016. HOS has newbuild programs at Eastern Shipbuilding in Panama City, FL, Leevac Shipyards in Jennings, LA, and VT Halter Marine at Moss Point, MS.
HOS is trying to push back the delivery dates from the shipyards. “We are delaying their delivery as much as we can. We’re slowing the build process down to better align for the market recovery,” says Hornbeck, “and tweaking systems to make sure they are going to be the most optimal for the customer.” Hornbeck says the system modifications are based on the operational experience of the previously delivered HOSMAX vessels in the newbuild program.
A silver lining for HOS has been the sale of four 350 EDF Class OSVs to the Navy. During the quarter, HOS received $38 million for the sales of the fourth vessel to the U.S. Navy. As a result, HOS received $152 million for the purchase of the vessels and continues to operate them under contract. “It was a timely development during the industry downturn,” says Harp.
Investment analyst J.B. Lowe of Cowen & Company rates HOS as an “outperform.” In his latest equity research, Lowe outlines some of the highs and lows for the company during the quarter. “Effective utilization across the 41.5 average vessels that were active during the quarter (i.e., excluding the 18.1 average stacked vessels) was 72.2%, below our forecast for 43.0 average vessels and 76.8% utilization. Average OSV dayrates of $25,699 fell 3% shy of our estimate of $26,428, while off-hire days were 17% higher than we had forecast. While the company continued to withhold data on its MPSV segment for competitive purposes, we note that our estimated MPSV segment revenue of $37.5mm was 7% below our $40mm forecast. The OSV segment was even weaker, by our estimate, with revenues of ~$71mm trailing our ~$80mm forecast by 12%.”
Continues Lowe, “Although cost guidance for full-year 2015 was lowered by ~7% at the midpoint (to $223.9-$228.9mm from $238-$248mm), we do not expect it will be enough to alleviate investor concern over the weakness of the GOM market.
“Additionally, 2016 cost guidance was not released and will likely be a focus on the call this morning. Full-year 2015 G&A guidance was also lowered to $49.1-$50.1mm (from $50-$53mm).”
Shares of publicly traded OSV operators have been under pressure and are now trading substantially lower than they were one year ago (see Table 1). Last month, GulfMark Offshore, Inc., went so far as to part ways with its Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer David Rosenwasser.
It would be no surprise during this downturn to see some consolidation among OSV operators as well as the shipyards that support them.
Harvey Gulf International Marine, New Orleans, LA, which purchased the Gulf Coast Shipyard Group, in June, has put the Trinity Yachts business up for sale. The sale would include the New Orleans facility, 20 fully engineered designs and a partially built 168 ft megayacht.
Squeezing out old tonnage
The current conditions are squeezing out older tonnage that might not ever return to the market.
According to Clarksons Platou, there are currently 5,301 OSVs in service and another 602 on order. The average fleet growth over the last 10 years has been 7 percent.
In its monthly blog examining the surplus of offshore support vessels in the market, Clarksons questions whether OSV operators will follow the lead of Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) operators are begin to scrap vessels.
“OSV demand has fallen—at least 11% of the total fleet was laid up at start September,” writes Clarksons. “So far in 2015, 23 removals have been recorded from the OSV fleet (18 AHTS/AHT and 5 PSV/Supply vessels). For AHTS/AHTs this is a 29% increase on 2014 on an annualized basis. PSV removals, however, are down by 46%. In either case, the number of removals seems below what might be expected given the challenging market conditions.”
Clarksons points to several reasons for the low number of removals from the OSV market. It says the “likely reason for the low uptake in OSV removals relative to the MODU sector is that there is comparatively more value in scrapping rigs (in particular, floaters), compared to OSVs, on account of their larger size and steel content.
“Furthermore, it is relatively easy and cost-effective to lay-up or stack OSVs, which has been the preferred option for owners—at least 340 AHTSs and 254 PSVs are estimated to be laid up, although in reality this number may be even greater. Similarly, the sale of vessels for use in other sectors (e.g. utility support) provides some means of reducing active vessel numbers, although sales activity for OSVs in 2015 is currently down by 25% on an annualized basis.”
But Clarkson sees stacking as a temporary solution because the current size of the orderbook is “equivalent to 11% of the active fleet and, although some slippage is expected, 293 units are slated for delivery by end 2015.”
Clarksons concludes that with no significant upturn in oil prices likely in the near term, it expects pressures to continue. It says that fleet growth stands at 2.3% year-over-year, and “the issue of OSV oversupply is expected to remain significant. Against this background, the discussion of removals is likely to be ongoing theme.
But like many ferry services in the U.S., the SSA’s workhorse fleet is aging. The nine vessels in the authority’s fleet have an average age of 30 years old. The 60-year-old Governor, which in a previous life served Governors Island in New York Harbor, will be replaced in 2017 by the M/V Woods Hole, a new ferry under construction at Conrad Shipyard in Morgan City, LA. Conrad Shipyard won the tender to build the ferry with a $36,448,000 million bid.
The ferry is designed by Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG), Seattle, WA, whose name is synonymous with ferry design in the U.S. Besides the SSA ferry project, EBDG naval architects are currently working on the Alaska Class Day Boat, the Fisher Island ferry, and the Staten Island Ferry.
EBDG’s Brian King, Vice President of Engineering, says the construction of the new SSA ferry has now reached a significant construction milestone with the launching of the hull. The hull was launched upside down and then righted while in the water by use cranes. Pre-built superstructure assemblies are now being installed on the deck.
When MARINE LOG visited Conrad Shipyard in August, the Woods Hole had yet to be launched, but its highly shaped bulbous bow was in place.
When designing the Woods Hole, particular attention was focused on ship’s planned powering and seakeeping characteristics, as well as efficiency.
King says the ferry is designed to achieve sprint speeds of 16 knots but will more typically operate at 12 to 14 knots. The ferry’s highly shaped bulbous bow was designed to minimize wake and improve fuel efficiency. EBDG used Computational Fluid Design (CFD) analysis to optimize the hull and bulbous bow design.
The results of the CFD analysis was validated and further optimized in FORCE Technology’s towing tank in Denmark. While there are many fuel efficiency design features, the bulbous bow alone is estimated to provide fuel efficiency improvements of 3% over a conventional bow, according to King. Test results on a custom-made model built by FORCE Technology indicated that the vessel’s hull deign will be very efficient, requiring less than 2,500 hp to operate at a service speed of 14 knots, and that the vessel’s wake is expected to be minimal, even at speeds of 9 knots.
King says the Woods Hole has been specially designed to carry freight, but is also suited for walk-on passenger and car traffic. The freight-vehicle deck is designed to carry ten 100,000 lb tractor-trailers with straight through end-to-end loading. When not carrying a full load of tractor-trailers the freight-vehicle deck can accommodate approximately 55 standard passenger vehicles. Passenger plus crew capacity is 384.
The Woods Hole is 235 ft long, with a beam of 64 ft, and maximum draft is limited to 10 ft 6 in. at full load due to port restrictions. For simplified maintenance and crew oversight, passenger accommodations are all on a single deck above the freight deck with seating indoors and outside. Food service, Wifi, cell service and television will be provided. Crew accommodations are located on the deck above the passenger deck located behind the wheelhouse, which has been elevated for excellent visibility all around.
The main propulsion power is supplied by two EPA Tier 3-compliant, 2,680-hp MTU 16V4000 engines connected to Hundested controllable pitch propellers. Controllable pitch was chosen to allow propeller pitch and shaft RPM combinations that provide excellent low speed maneuvering responsiveness and still provide optimized fuel efficiency at all speeds.
Radiated noise is minimized through use of resiliently mounted main engines and generators and critical grade silencers.
Fuel, oil and waste tanks are all safely isolated from the hull.
Maneuverability and efficiency
King says that special attention has been devoted to fuel efficiency, least environmental impact and low speed maneuvering. For maneuvering and steering, the ferry will be fitted with Becker high-lift rudders located in line with the propeller shafts to improve fuel efficiency. A vectorable Tees—White Gill bow thruster in combination with the controllable pitch propeller system and high lift rudders will provide the Woods Hole with extremely good maneuverability in a tight quarters. King says the bow thruster, rudders, and CP system will also allow the ferry to turnaround and accelerate with very little wake wash.
The Woods Hole is expected to be delivered in May 2016 and enter service in 2017.
New ferry for Texas
When you are driving on Texas State Highway 361, the only way to get across Corpus Christi Channel from Aransas Pass to Port Aransas, is by the Port Aransas ferry. The ferry service runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The quarter-mile route typically takes less than 10 minutes across, although peak summer hours may require drivers to wait longer.
Each ferry can carry up to 20 regular passenger vehicles. Combined vehicles, such as a truck towing a boat, may not be longer than 80 feet, wider than 13 feet or taller than 13 feet 6 inches. Single-axle vehicles may weigh no more than 20,000 pounds, tandem axles no more than 34,000 pounds and combination vehicles may not exceed a total of 80,000 pounds.
The ferries are owned by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), which recently awarded a contract to Southwest Shipyard, Houston, TX, to construct a 28-car ferry. When delivered in February 2017, the new ferry will be the third of a class designed by EBDG. EBDG, which will act as the owner’s representative for the project when construction begins this fall, signed a deal with TxDOT in 2014 to provide four years of on-call service. This is the first contract under the service agreement.
Unlike the two previous ferries built to this design and delivered in 2011, the new ferry will be a diesel-electric ferry. It will be classed by ABS and will have a length of 161 feet overall, a beam of 52 feet, a depth of approximately 11 feet and a draft of 8 feet.
Design updates to the interior, including the propulsion system, will translate into a vessel that has greater built-in redundancy and requires less maintenance over its lifetime.
North Carolina DOT looks at adding passenger-only ferry
Meanwhile, North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is conducting a Passenger Feasibility Study that could lead to a new passenger-only ferry service between Hatteras Village and Oracoke’s Silver Harbor by the summer of 2017. The new service would start with either two 80-passenger ferries or one 150-passenger vessel. The passenger-only ferries would be in addition to the Ferry Division’s current car ferry service.
The passenger-only ferry service is seen as a possible way to boost tourism to Oracoke Island, which has seen a 250,000 visitor drop off from its peak of about 1 million in 2007. The passenger-only ferry service will also reduce long lines of autos during the summer for the car ferries. Parking on the island is scarce, too.
The study says the new ferry service would make four round trips per day, carrying 125,000 passengers in the first year at a cost of $15 per round trip. New visitor spending would reach $500,000 in the first year.
By 2020, the construction of permanent docking terminals would be complete and additional passenger-only vessels would be added.
This past summer, the NCDOT Ferry Division held meetings in Oracoke and Hatteras to gather the public’s input.
The passenger ferries would drop visitors off directly in Ocracoke Village, where Hyde County would provide tram service around the village and to attractions such as the Ocracoke Lighthouse and the British Cemetery.
“There are a lot of moving parts here, but if they all come together, this could solve a lot of the issues for Ocracoke visitation,” says Ferry Division Director Ed Goodwin. “It would ease the backups we have on the car ferry route, and bring more visitors with fewer cars into the village. On the surface, it seems like a win-win all around.”
Other solutions are included in the study as well, such as year-round dredging of the now-closed “short” car ferry route, putting more car ferries into service on the current route, or loading more walk-on passengers onto the existing departures. But each of those comes with its own expense and logistical issues.
The Passenger Ferry Feasibility Study being conducted by Volkert Inc., Raleigh, NC, for the state began earlier this year and has included test runs of the possible ferry route, passenger surveys, and meetings with the public and stakeholders. It has also identified the kind of infrastructure and parking improvements that would be needed before service begins. The study is due to be completed by the end of this year.
Staten Island Ferry draws interest
Any time you board the Staten Island ferry at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal in lower Manhattan for the five-mile trip across New York Harbor, you are bound to hear at least four different languages spoken by your fellow passengers. The iconic orange ferry fleet is one of the city’s biggest annual tourist attractions, providing a free ride with priceless views of Governors Island, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and the Verrazano Bridge. The New York City Department of Transportation, owner and operator of the fleet, is in the process of developing a new class of boats to replace the 1965-built John F. Kennedy and the 1980’s vintage Andrew J. Barberi and Samuel I. Newhouse.
NYCDOT held an industry day on September 16 in New York outlining the project scope, bid process, and development and construction timeline for the 4,500-passenger New Kennedy Class ferries for the Staten Island Ferry. EBDG, lead naval architect on the project was on hand, along with representatives from Conrad Shipyard, Morgan City, LA, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, WI, Eastern Shipbuilding, Panama City, FL, VT Halter Marine, Pascagoula, MS, Dakota Creek Industries, Anacortes, WA, Leevac Shipyards, Jennings, LA, Vigor Industrial, Portland, OR, and General Dynamics NASSCO, San Diego, CA, and some key suppliers.
The city has received funding of $309 million towards the three boats, which will be 320 ft long by 70 ft, with EPA Tier 4 compliant diesel engines and a Voith Schneider propulsion system. The ferries are expected to retain some of the design elements of the beloved Kennedy Class, while incorporating energy and fuel-saving technologies.
Once the construction contract is finalized in the fourth quarter of 2016, all three ferries must be completed within a four-year time frame.
Expanding East River ferry service
Some of New York Mayor Bill deBlasio’s policies and initiatives have been downright forehead slapping. His handling of the homeless and push towards removing horse-drawn carriages from city streets have been baffling. His consideration of tearing up pedestrian plazas in Times Square to reopen up them to vehicle traffic as a means of removing painted topless women from the area is just plain dumb.
But the Mayor should be given credit for announcing the launching of expanded citywide ferry services in 2017 and 2018 that would connect neighborhoods that are “starved of adequate mass transit,” in the words of State Senator Michael Gianaris. The expanded ferry services across the East River to Astoria, the Rockaways, South Brooklyn, the Lower East Side and Soundview would run seven days a week and cost $2.75 each way—the same as a city subway or bus. Future service would connect Coney Island and the Stapleton section of Staten Island.
Washington State gets funding for fourth ferry
The good news for Washington State Ferries is that this past summer Washington Governor Islee approved $122 million in the state budget for the construction of a badly needed fourth 144-car Olympic Class ferry.
WSF is building new Olympic Class ferries to replace some of the fleet’s oldest vessels. The Olympic Class design is based on the Issaquah class—the same ferries that have been the subject of a proposed midlife conversion to burn Liquefied Natural Gas.
Designed by Seattle-based Guido Perla & Associates, Inc., the Olympic Class vessels have a capacity of 144 cars and 1,500 passengers and are 362 ft 3 in long x 83 ft 2 in wide. Main propulsion is by two Electro-Motive Diesel engines developing a total 6,000 hp and giving the vessels a speed of 17 knots.
Two of the Olympic Class ferries, the Tokitae and Samish, are in service, and a third is under construction at Vigor in Seattle for delivery in 2017. As in the first two ferries, Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Whidbey Island, WA, is building the superstructure. The fourth is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2018.
WSF is building new vessels to replace our 1950s-era Evergreen State Class ferries. Nine of 24 vessels in its fleet are between 40 and 60 years old. These older ferries are approaching the end of their service lives and must be replaced with newer ones in the coming years.
New King County ferry starts service
King County’s newest vessel, the M/V Doc Maynard, started service on the Vashon route on September 29 sailing from Pier 50. The ferry replaced her sister ship, the M/V Sally Fox, which is being removed from service for scheduled warranty work.
Both the Sally Fox and Doc Maynard will built by All American Marine, Inc. (AAM), Bellingham, WA. The 105 ft x 33 ft aluminum catamaran ferries are the first U.S. Coast Guard Sub-chapter “K” inspected passenger vessels built and delivered under new guidelines that make it possible for boat builders to design and implement suitable structural fire protection in very low fire load spaces in the construction of weight-sensitive high speed passenger vessels.
AAM partnered with naval architecture firm, Teknicraft Design Ltd., of Auckland, New Zealand for the hull design. The advanced hull shape was custom designed using digital modeling and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis testing.
The hull design is complemented by Teknicraft’s signature integration of a wave piercer positioned between the catamaran sponsons to break up wave action and ensure reduced drag while enhancing passenger comfort.
All American Marine is the exclusive builder for Teknicraft Design Ltd. catamarans in North America.
Each ferry is powered by two Cummins QSK-50 Tier 3 diesel engines, rated at 1,800 bhp at 1,900 rev/min and driving twin propellers to provide a service speed of 28 knots.
The ferries also burn a 10 percent biodiesel blend and have LED lighting onboard.
The design features interior seating for 250 with 28 additional outdoor seats available on the upper aft deck.
With traffic congestion on roads and bridges continuing to plague area commuters, King County is also exploring a plan to possibly add ferry service on Lake Washington, something that has happened since the 1950s.
MARINE LOG FERRIES 2015 Exclusive: Tour the new boat
All American Marine is sponsoring a tour of the Doc Maynard at MARINE LOG’S FERRIES 2015 Conference & Expo, set for November 5-6, 2015 at the Hyatt Olive 8 in Seattle. As part of the tour, Joe Hudspeth, Vice President of Business Development, All American Marine and Paul Brodeur, Director of King County Marine Division, will jointly discuss the features and capabilities of the new ferries. Those interested in the tour should sign up early as space is limited. See marinelog.com/events for more details.
-By John R. Snyder, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
But like many ferry services in the U.S., the SSA’s workhorse fleet is aging. The nine vessels in the authority’s fleet have an average age of 30 years old. The 60-year-old Governor, which in a previous life served Governors Island in New York Harbor, will be replaced in 2017 by the M/V Woods Hole, a new ferry under construction at Conrad Shipyard in Morgan City, LA. Conrad Shipyard won the tender to build the ferry with a $36,448,000 million bid.
The ferry is designed by Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG), Seattle, WA, whose name is synonymous with ferry design in the U.S. Besides the SSA ferry project, EBDG naval architects are currently working on the Alaska Class Day Boat, the Fisher Island ferry, and the Staten Island Ferry.
EBDG’s Brian King, Vice President of Engineering, says the construction of the new SSA ferry has now reached a significant construction milestone with the launching of the hull. The hull was launched upside down and then righted while in the water by use cranes. Pre-built superstructure assemblies are now being installed on the deck.
When MARINE LOG visited Conrad Shipyard in August, the Woods Hole had yet to be launched, but its highly shaped bulbous bow was in place.
When designing the Woods Hole, particular attention was focused on ship’s planned powering and seakeeping characteristics, as well as efficiency.
King says the ferry is designed to achieve sprint speeds of 16 knots but will more typically operate at 12 to 14 knots. The ferry’s highly shaped bulbous bow was designed to minimize wake and improve fuel efficiency. EBDG used Computational Fluid Design (CFD) analysis to optimize the hull and bulbous bow design.
The results of the CFD analysis was validated and further optimized in FORCE Technology’s towing tank in Denmark. While there are many fuel efficiency design features, the bulbous bow alone is estimated to provide fuel efficiency improvements of 3% over a conventional bow, according to King. Test results on a custom-made model built by FORCE Technology indicated that the vessel’s hull deign will be very efficient, requiring less than 2,500 hp to operate at a service speed of 14 knots, and that the vessel’s wake is expected to be minimal, even at speeds of 9 knots.
King says the Woods Hole has been specially designed to carry freight, but is also suited for walk-on passenger and car traffic. The freight-vehicle deck is designed to carry ten 100,000 lb tractor-trailers with straight through end-to-end loading. When not carrying a full load of tractor-trailers the freight-vehicle deck can accommodate approximately 55 standard passenger vehicles. Passenger plus crew capacity is 384.
The Woods Hole is 235 ft long, with a beam of 64 ft, and maximum draft is limited to 10 ft 6 in. at full load due to port restrictions. For simplified maintenance and crew oversight, passenger accommodations are all on a single deck above the freight deck with seating indoors and outside. Food service, Wifi, cell service and television will be provided. Crew accommodations are located on the deck above the passenger deck located behind the wheelhouse, which has been elevated for excellent visibility all around.
The main propulsion power is supplied by two EPA Tier 3-compliant, 2,680-hp MTU 16V4000 engines connected to Hundested controllable pitch propellers. Controllable pitch was chosen to allow propeller pitch and shaft RPM combinations that provide excellent low speed maneuvering responsiveness and still provide optimized fuel efficiency at all speeds.
Radiated noise is minimized through use of resiliently mounted main engines and generators and critical grade silencers.
Fuel, oil and waste tanks are all safely isolated from the hull.
Maneuverability and efficiency
King says that special attention has been devoted to fuel efficiency, least environmental impact and low speed maneuvering. For maneuvering and steering, the ferry will be fitted with Becker high-lift rudders located in line with the propeller shafts to improve fuel efficiency. A vectorable Tees—White Gill bow thruster in combination with the controllable pitch propeller system and high lift rudders will provide the Woods Hole with extremely good maneuverability in a tight quarters. King says the bow thruster, rudders, and CP system will also allow the ferry to turnaround and accelerate with very little wake wash.
The Woods Hole is expected to be delivered in May 2016 and enter service in 2017.
New ferry for Texas
When you are driving on Texas State Highway 361, the only way to get across Corpus Christi Channel from Aransas Pass to Port Aransas, is by the Port Aransas ferry. The ferry service runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The quarter-mile route typically takes less than 10 minutes across, although peak summer hours may require drivers to wait longer.
Each ferry can carry up to 20 regular passenger vehicles. Combined vehicles, such as a truck towing a boat, may not be longer than 80 feet, wider than 13 feet or taller than 13 feet 6 inches. Single-axle vehicles may weigh no more than 20,000 pounds, tandem axles no more than 34,000 pounds and combination vehicles may not exceed a total of 80,000 pounds.
The ferries are owned by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), which recently awarded a contract to Southwest Shipyard, Houston, TX, to construct a 28-car ferry. When delivered in February 2017, the new ferry will be the third of a class designed by EBDG. EBDG, which will act as the owner’s representative for the project when construction begins this fall, signed a deal with TxDOT in 2014 to provide four years of on-call service. This is the first contract under the service agreement.
Unlike the two previous ferries built to this design and delivered in 2011, the new ferry will be a diesel-electric ferry. It will be classed by ABS and will have a length of 161 feet overall, a beam of 52 feet, a depth of approximately 11 feet and a draft of 8 feet.
Design updates to the interior, including the propulsion system, will translate into a vessel that has greater built-in redundancy and requires less maintenance over its lifetime.
North Carolina DOT looks at adding passenger-only ferry
Meanwhile, North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is conducting a Passenger Feasibility Study that could lead to a new passenger-only ferry service between Hatteras Village and Oracoke’s Silver Harbor by the summer of 2017. The new service would start with either two 80-passenger ferries or one 150-passenger vessel. The passenger-only ferries would be in addition to the Ferry Division’s current car ferry service.
The passenger-only ferry service is seen as a possible way to boost tourism to Oracoke Island, which has seen a 250,000 visitor drop off from its peak of about 1 million in 2007. The passenger-only ferry service will also reduce long lines of autos during the summer for the car ferries. Parking on the island is scarce, too.
The study says the new ferry service would make four round trips per day, carrying 125,000 passengers in the first year at a cost of $15 per round trip. New visitor spending would reach $500,000 in the first year.
By 2020, the construction of permanent docking terminals would be complete and additional passenger-only vessels would be added.
This past summer, the NCDOT Ferry Division held meetings in Oracoke and Hatteras to gather the public’s input.
The passenger ferries would drop visitors off directly in Ocracoke Village, where Hyde County would provide tram service around the village and to attractions such as the Ocracoke Lighthouse and the British Cemetery.
“There are a lot of moving parts here, but if they all come together, this could solve a lot of the issues for Ocracoke visitation,” says Ferry Division Director Ed Goodwin. “It would ease the backups we have on the car ferry route, and bring more visitors with fewer cars into the village. On the surface, it seems like a win-win all around.”
Other solutions are included in the study as well, such as year-round dredging of the now-closed “short” car ferry route, putting more car ferries into service on the current route, or loading more walk-on passengers onto the existing departures. But each of those comes with its own expense and logistical issues.
The Passenger Ferry Feasibility Study being conducted by Volkert Inc., Raleigh, NC, for the state began earlier this year and has included test runs of the possible ferry route, passenger surveys, and meetings with the public and stakeholders. It has also identified the kind of infrastructure and parking improvements that would be needed before service begins. The study is due to be completed by the end of this year.
Staten Island Ferry draws interest
Any time you board the Staten Island ferry at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal in lower Manhattan for the five-mile trip across New York Harbor, you are bound to hear at least four different languages spoken by your fellow passengers. The iconic orange ferry fleet is one of the city’s biggest annual tourist attractions, providing a free ride with priceless views of Governors Island, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and the Verrazano Bridge. The New York City Department of Transportation, owner and operator of the fleet, is in the process of developing a new class of boats to replace the 1965-built John F. Kennedy and the 1980’s vintage Andrew J. Barberi and Samuel I. Newhouse.
NYCDOT held an industry day on September 16 in New York outlining the project scope, bid process, and development and construction timeline for the 4,500-passenger New Kennedy Class ferries for the Staten Island Ferry. EBDG, lead naval architect on the project was on hand, along with representatives from Conrad Shipyard, Morgan City, LA, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, WI, Eastern Shipbuilding, Panama City, FL, VT Halter Marine, Pascagoula, MS, Dakota Creek Industries, Anacortes, WA, Leevac Shipyards, Jennings, LA, Vigor Industrial, Portland, OR, and General Dynamics NASSCO, San Diego, CA, and some key suppliers.
The city has received funding of $309 million towards the three boats, which will be 320 ft long by 70 ft, with EPA Tier 4 compliant diesel engines and a Voith Schneider propulsion system. The ferries are expected to retain some of the design elements of the beloved Kennedy Class, while incorporating energy and fuel-saving technologies.
Once the construction contract is finalized in the fourth quarter of 2016, all three ferries must be completed within a four-year time frame.
Expanding East River ferry service
Some of New York Mayor Bill deBlasio’s policies and initiatives have been downright forehead slapping. His handling of the homeless and push towards removing horse-drawn carriages from city streets have been baffling. His consideration of tearing up pedestrian plazas in Times Square to reopen up them to vehicle traffic as a means of removing painted topless women from the area is just plain dumb.
But the Mayor should be given credit for announcing the launching of expanded citywide ferry services in 2017 and 2018 that would connect neighborhoods that are “starved of adequate mass transit,” in the words of State Senator Michael Gianaris. The expanded ferry services across the East River to Astoria, the Rockaways, South Brooklyn, the Lower East Side and Soundview would run seven days a week and cost $2.75 each way—the same as a city subway or bus. Future service would connect Coney Island and the Stapleton section of Staten Island.
Washington State gets funding for fourth ferry
The good news for Washington State Ferries is that this past summer Washington Governor Islee approved $122 million in the state budget for the construction of a badly needed fourth 144-car Olympic Class ferry.
WSF is building new Olympic Class ferries to replace some of the fleet’s oldest vessels. The Olympic Class design is based on the Issaquah class—the same ferries that have been the subject of a proposed midlife conversion to burn Liquefied Natural Gas.
Designed by Seattle-based Guido Perla & Associates, Inc., the Olympic Class vessels have a capacity of 144 cars and 1,500 passengers and are 362 ft 3 in long x 83 ft 2 in wide. Main propulsion is by two Electro-Motive Diesel engines developing a total 6,000 hp and giving the vessels a speed of 17 knots.
Two of the Olympic Class ferries, the Tokitae and Samish, are in service, and a third is under construction at Vigor in Seattle for delivery in 2017. As in the first two ferries, Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Whidbey Island, WA, is building the superstructure. The fourth is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2018.
WSF is building new vessels to replace our 1950s-era Evergreen State Class ferries. Nine of 24 vessels in its fleet are between 40 and 60 years old. These older ferries are approaching the end of their service lives and must be replaced with newer ones in the coming years.
New King County ferry starts service
King County’s newest vessel, the M/V Doc Maynard, started service on the Vashon route on September 29 sailing from Pier 50. The ferry replaced her sister ship, the M/V Sally Fox, which is being removed from service for scheduled warranty work.
Both the Sally Fox and Doc Maynard will built by All American Marine, Inc. (AAM), Bellingham, WA. The 105 ft x 33 ft aluminum catamaran ferries are the first U.S. Coast Guard Sub-chapter “K” inspected passenger vessels built and delivered under new guidelines that make it possible for boat builders to design and implement suitable structural fire protection in very low fire load spaces in the construction of weight-sensitive high speed passenger vessels.
AAM partnered with naval architecture firm, Teknicraft Design Ltd., of Auckland, New Zealand for the hull design. The advanced hull shape was custom designed using digital modeling and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis testing.
The hull design is complemented by Teknicraft’s signature integration of a wave piercer positioned between the catamaran sponsons to break up wave action and ensure reduced drag while enhancing passenger comfort.
All American Marine is the exclusive builder for Teknicraft Design Ltd. catamarans in North America.
Each ferry is powered by two Cummins QSK-50 Tier 3 diesel engines, rated at 1,800 bhp at 1,900 rev/min and driving twin propellers to provide a service speed of 28 knots.
The ferries also burn a 10 percent biodiesel blend and have LED lighting onboard.
The design features interior seating for 250 with 28 additional outdoor seats available on the upper aft deck.
With traffic congestion on roads and bridges continuing to plague area commuters, King County is also exploring a plan to possibly add ferry service on Lake Washington, something that has happened since the 1950s.
MARINE LOG FERRIES 2015 Exclusive: Tour the new boat
All American Marine is sponsoring a tour of the Doc Maynard at MARINE LOG’S FERRIES 2015 Conference & Expo, set for November 5-6, 2015 at the Hyatt Olive 8 in Seattle. As part of the tour, Joe Hudspeth, Vice President of Business Development, All American Marine and Paul Brodeur, Director of King County Marine Division, will jointly discuss the features and capabilities of the new ferries. Those interested in the tour should sign up early as space is limited. See marinelog.com/ferries for more details.
-By John R. Snyder, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
JULY 19, 2015—Work is well underway at Blount Boats in Warren, RI, on what will be the first U.S.-flag vessel built for the U.S. offshore wind farm market. The 21-meter-long aluminum catamaran
