Crowley Fuels has taken delivery of an articulated tug-barge (ATB) to increase oil product supplies in Alaska
Bollinger Shipyards built an Alaska-class ATB with a 5,220-kW tugboat linked to a 122-m long oceangoing oil transportation barge at its facility in Amelia, Louisiana.
Crowley will operate this ATB for Alaska-based Petro Star Inc, a subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corp (ASRC) under a long-term charter. Crowley Shipping’s petroleum services group will operate the ATB on behalf of Crowley Fuels.
Bollinger named the 39-m tug Aveogan and the ocean barge Oliver Leavitt, in honour of ASRC’s former chairman and current member of the corporation’s board of directors.
Crowley Fuels senior vice president and general manager Rocky Smith said Jensen Maritime designed the ATB to meet ice class and Polar Code requirements.
Aveogan-Oliver Leavitt will transport up to 100,000 barrels of oil products in northern Alaska.
This double-hulled barge has a hullform factor to achieve high-cargo capacity on minimal draught. It has a breadth of 26 m and hull depth of 9.8 m.
To meet Polar Code requirements, the ATB has increased structural framing, shell plating and extended zero discharge endurance.
Crowley Fuels Alaska vice president and general manager Rick Meidel said, “The new vessel’s advanced design and environmental protection features mark a new era for fuel transportation services in Alaska.”
Aveogan tug has azimuthing Z-drives to enhance manoeuvrability. It is fitted with two GE 8L250 main engines that meet US Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 4 emissions standards. The generators on the tug and barge meet EPA Tier 3 and IMO Tier II emissions requirements.
The ATB features an Intercon C-series coupling system with a first-of-its-kind lightering helmet and a patent-pending closed-loop, freshwater ballast water management system, whereby the tug’s ballast will be transferred to and from a retention tank on the barge to account for fuel burn.
This design has been approved by the US Coast Guard and will eliminate the need to discharge tug ballast water into the sea.
Aveogan is equipped with a fire monitor and foam proportioner, providing off-ship fire-fighting capabilities to the barge.
Oliver Leavitt barge is outfitted with oil spill response gear and a hydraulic boom reel with 610 m of inflatable boom to prevent pollution in emergencies.
The ABS-classed tug was built with enhanced features to benefit the crew, including 45° sloped staircases, interior sound deadening and dedicated heads in each cabin.
Industry-firsts and achievements in ship construction and operations and marine propulsion systems will be celebrated at Riviera’s Annual Marine Propulsion Awards on 15 July
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