2015 Significant Boats

Harvey Gulf’s LNG offshore service vessels named WorkBoat’s Boat of the Year.

At the 36th edition of the International WorkBoat Show held in New Orleans in December, the editors of WorkBoat magazine presented awards to the builders, designers and owners of 2015’s 10 Significant Boats. Also, for the second consecutive year, the editors selected a boat of the year from among the 10 winners. The 2015 Boat of the Year was the Harvey Energy and Harvey Power, the first two of six LNG dual-fuel offshore service vessels owned by Harvey Gulf International Marine. Below are the descriptions, specifications and photos of each award winner.

2015 BOAT OF THE YEAR

Harvey Gulf LNG OSVs

Gulf Coast Shipyard Group, Gulfport, Miss., delivered the Harvey Energy, the first U.S.-flag LNG-burning offshore service vessel, to Harvey, La.-based Harvey Gulf International Marine in February 2015. The second of six dual-fuel OSVs, the Harvey Power, was delivered in October and underwent its first LNG bunkering the same month at Harvey Gulf’s new facility at Port Fourchon, La.

Based on a design by Vard Marine, the 310'×64', 5,200-dwt Harvey Energy, was custom-designed to take advantage of LNG’s low cost while minimizing the fuel’s technological challenges. It’s also the first OSV certified to the new American Bureau of Shipping ENVIRO+ classification. “Fuel cost was only one factor in our decision to build a fleet of LNG vessels,” said Chad Verret, executive vice president, Alaska and LNG operations, for New Orleans-based Harvey Gulf. He cited other advantages of burning LNG, including a big increase in time between overhauls and total running hours. Other benefits include cleaner engines, cleaner machinery spaces and LNG’s inherent safety features.

The low emissions will be a real advantage for oil companies under the new Tier 4 regulations, according to Verret. Tier 4 will apply to rigs as well as vessels, and emissions from standby boats will count against the rig’s total output. As a dual-fuel vessel, the Harvey Energy can travel to and from the rig on diesel and save its LNG for standby operations. When operating on LNG, the OSVs can operate over 19 days in normal Gulf of Mexico rig supply mode between refueling.

The Harvey Energy is powered by three Wärtsilä 6L34DF dual-fuel gensets providing 7,530 kW (10,100 hp) fueled by Wärtsilä’s LNGPac system — a complete fuel gas handling system for LNG vessels. It includes the bunkering station, the LNG tank and related process equipment, as well as the control and monitoring system. The 10,241-cu.-ft. vacuum-insulated LNG tank (about 100' long) is located under the cargo deck just aft of the house. It has a capacity of 73,000 gals. of LNG fuel.

R.W. Fernstrum supplied Weka boxcoolers to cool the Wärtsilä dual-fuel gensets and Wärtsilä bowthrusters.

The task of building a dual-fuel OSV was made easier by basing it on a proven OSV design by Vard, the 300' Harvey Champion-class. However, matching the class’s capacities was a challenge. “A gallon of LNG doesn’t put out as much BTU as a gallon of diesel,” Verret said, “so to get the same range and deadweight, we had to lengthen the vessel 10 feet. Otherwise the hull form took the modifications nicely.”

More than 6,000 alarm points are across all of the systems, 4,000 alarm points on the machinery alone. The third LNG OSV, the

Harvey Liberty, is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2016. All three vessels are contracted to Shell.

Michelle Sloan,

Lela Franco

The twin harbor tugs Michelle Sloan and Lela Franco gave Harley Marine Services a step up in fleet power, with 40% more horsepower and 25% more bollard pull than the company’s last matched set of tugs from a decade ago.

Delivered in March and July 2015, the 80'×36'×16'8", 5,150-hp boats were designed by Robert Allan Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia, and built by Diversified Marine Industries, Portland, Ore. They are a modified version of those older Harley tugs, also designed by RAL and built by Diversified Marine: the 76'×32', 3,800-hp Tim Quigg and John Quigg.

Called an “enhanced” Ramparts 2500 design, the new tugs pack 68 tons bollard pull ahead and 65 tons astern. At the Michelle Sloan’s dedication in March, Franco characterized the new tug as “the most state-of-the-art, best performing, high-performance vessel on the planet.”

“They’re able to operate with a winch at the bow or at the stern,” said RAL President Ken Harford. “It’s been a decade since the first Quiggs were commissioned, and the demand for powerful tugs to work in small harbors with bigger ships has increased but the working space for the tug hasn’t.”

Pairs of Caterpillar 3516s, each rated at 2,575 hp power the harbor tugs. Because they do a lot of ship-assist and towing on the hip, it has hawser winches on both the bow and the stern. Both are electric, and both are from Markey Machinery, Seattle. The bow winch is a DE PCF-48 with 600' of 8" Spectra line (400,000-lb. breaking strength), and the stern winch is a DEPC-32 with 250' of 6" Spectra line (200,000-lb. breaking strength).

Adding all that additional power required making the tug more stable by increasing the beam from 32' to 36', in turn allowing for more spacious crew accommodations. Another crew comfort that also saves energy areductless heating and cooling systems.

A pair of Daikin heat pumps mounted between the exhaust stacks on the aft side of the pilothouse use a refrigerant vapor cycle to collect heat from outside and deliver it inside on the heating cycle. In the cooling mode, the system moves heat inside to the outside — the primary concern for working in Los Angeles and other California ports. “A lot of tugs up here [in Seattle] get built for Alaska, so they’ve got heaters everywhere,” said Josiah “Si” Layfield, captain of the Michelle Sloan. “Down in L.A., we need cooling and sometimes all we have are little fans. This boat has great cooling.”

Another change to the enhanced version of the RAL design is the modified skeg. While the Tim Quigg and John Quigg have larger, escort-style skegs for seldom-used indirect towing, the Michelle Sloan has a smaller skeg that reduces the drag when moving sideways, Layfield said.

“This is a great handling ship-assist tug,” said Layfield. “The smaller skeg slides sideways much more easily.”

But the biggest difference is the added power and higher bollard pull, said Jim Hyslop, project manager at RAL.

Arcticus

It’s a new boat with a spiffed-up edition of its predecessor’s name, and the U.S. Geological Survey’s Great Lakes Science Center expects the Arcticus will be counting fish for the next 40 to 50 years.

Burger Boat Co., Manitowoc, Wis., delivered the 77'5"×26'×8'9" Arcticus to the USGS in Cheboygan, Mich., in October 2014. The new fisheries research vessel boat replaces the Grayling, which after 38 years of service had outlived its scientific usefulness, said Russell Strach of the Great Lakes Science Center.

The old boat was named for the Arctic grayling, members of the salmonid family of fish and native to the Great Lakes until they died out in the 1930s. Thymallus arcticus is the scientific name for Arctic grayling.

“Arcticus means grayling in Latin,” Strach noted. “So it’s still the Grayling, in honor of the good service the old boat had.”

A big part of the research work is to “access the prey-fish communities” – populations of smaller fish that the lakes’ sport fish species feed on, Strach said. “The other important task is assessing lake-trout populations.” Data from this work plays a major role for fisheries management throughout the Great Lakes.

To study fish behavior, the new boat has hydroacoustic capability with retractable transducers. “This wasn’t available on the old Grayling. We can access prey-fish populations without handling them. We can do bottom trawling to access abundance and in parallel do hydroacoustics,” Strach said.

When Arcticus researchers need fish on board, deck equipment includes a gillnet lifter and a pair of hydraulic trawl winches holding 1,500' of 3/8" wire rope.

JMS Naval Architects in Mystic, Conn., developed the Arcticus’s preliminary design and Burger Boat finalized the design and the construction drawings. The layout has dry and wet labs located on the main deck, with the ability to freeze and store samples. The three-man crew has two berths on the main deck and six below for scientists.

Propulsion for the Arcticus comes from a pair of 454-hp Caterpillar C12s that gives the boat a top speed of 10.2 knots and a cruising speed of 9.5 knots. A hydraulically powered 50-hp Wesmar bowthruster is set in the bulbous bow.

Cairo

The Carline Companies, Gonzales, La., took delivery in December 2014 of its first Z-drive towboat, designed expressly for handling tricky fleeting operations out of Carline’s locations on the Lower Mississippi River in Louisiana.

“This is the first boat that we’ve had built that is specifically for fleeting operations,” said Clay Harmon, Carline’s vice president. “We’ve always used some of our older linehaul boats as fleet boats, and they work fine. But this boat increases the efficiency in the fleet.”

It also increases safety because it’s two Z-drives give the vessel added control. Working out of Burnside, Geismar and Plaquemine, the 1,500-hp, 68'×34'×10' Cairo was designed by CT Marine,Edgecomb, Maine, and built by Carline and Raymond & Associates, Bayou La Batre, Ala.

Power comes from two Cummins QSK19-M Tier 2 diesels, producing 750 hp at 1,800 rpm each. A pair of Thrustmaster of Texas TH750MZZ-drives provide more control from the wheelhouse, where all-around visibility was a prime directive for the design team.

People at Carline liked the visibility in the wheelhouse of a CT Marine-designed Parker Towing linehaul towboat, and contacted CT in late 2012 about building a towboat with similar views. They sealed a deal at that year’s International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans. “I think we were just going to design the wheelhouse at first,” said CT’s Christian Townsend. “Then we wound up designing the whole boat. It was the first Z-drive towboat for us.”

The wheelhouse is octagonal, set as close to mid-ship as possible, and features floor-to-ceiling windows for a 360° view. “It’s as close to 360 degrees as we can get it,” said Townsend.

The challenge was to take a design that was already proven and put it into a much smaller package. “It was one of the more difficult boats for us to design, putting all that equipment, like the pumps, into a much smaller envelope,” said Townsend.

That visibility and maneuverability is key for downstreaming, moving a towboat downstream in fast water to pluck a barge out of a fleet.

The Cairo is strictly a day boat, with no berths, but Carline has taken to heart the new industry wisdom about the value of amenities for recruiting and retaining crews. There is a full galley with gleaming stainless steel appliances, a large screen television, two heads and a training room.

Molly Pitcher,

Betsy Ross

NY Waterway’s new 109' fast catamaran ferry Molly Pitcher has been a big hit with commuters on the 40-minute route up lower New York Harbor from Belford, N.J., to Pier 11 near Wall Street and other Manhattan landings.

Built by Yank Marine, Tuckahoe, N.J., the all-aluminum Molly Pitcher and sistership Betsy Ross step up the game in comfort and style for the New Jersey-New York passenger trade.

Designed by LeMole Naval Architecture, the ferriescarry up to 400 passengers at 28 knots loaded service speed. Propellers recessed in tunnels help reduce draft to just 6' so the boats can manage the shoal harbor at the Belford terminal in most conditions.

A pair of Tier 3 compliant Caterpillar 3512C engines, each rated at 2,367 hp at 1,800 rpm powers the boats. The engines turn ZF 4-bladed 56"×66" propellers through ZF 7600 remote mount gear, 2.905:1 ratios, with Vulkan couplings. Initially equipped with 5-bladed 56" ZF propellers, the Molly Pitcher was switched out to 4-bladed props after operators observed a slight cavitation rumble from the skeg shadow.

In the cabin, passengers have public Wi-Fi connections for their laptops, tablets and smartphones, with flat screen video and LED lighting throughout the two-deck cabin. A stone top service bar offers coffee for the morning commute and cocktails on the evening runs, and there are tiled bathrooms on both decks.

The Betsy Ross will be commissioned in January 2016. Together the boats represent a more than $10 million investment by NY Waterway.

Crown Point

The Crown Point is the first of three custom-built, state-of-the-art river towboats built for Tidewater Transport & Terminals, based in Vancouver, Wash.

Designed by CT Marine, Edgecomb, Maine, and built by Vigor Industrial, Portland, Ore., the 102'×38'×11' Crown Point is an environmentally friendly vessel with reduced air emissions and improved fuel efficiency. The vessel features a wheelhouse with 360˚ visibility through full height windows, leading edge navigation and communications equipment, and enhanced accommodations for the captain and crew.

The boat is designed and built with the Columbia River Gorge’s extreme currents and swells in mind. Powered by a pair of Caterpillar 3516C EPA Tier 3 certified diesel engines producing 2,240 hp each at 1,600 rpm, two 92"×100" fixed pitch, stainless steel propellers spin in CT28 Kort nozzles. The package yields a service speed of 8 knots. An enhanced steering system using four steering and four flanking rudders helps maneuver barges in fast water and approaching navigation locks on the Columbia-Snake river system.

Electrical power is provided by two Caterpillar C7.1, Tier 3 generators, rated at 480v, 200 kW at 1,800 rpm. The generators are controlled through an automatic transfer system that ensures the vessel will recover from a generator power loss in less than 30 seconds. Deck machinery includes seven Patterson WWP 65E-7.5, 65-ton electric deck winches, with pilothouse remote operation and local push button control stations on the main deck. Each winch has Samson 1 3/8” Turbo 75 synthetic line.

The boat is energy efficient, using the newest technology to minimize power usage. Variable frequency drives were used in all major rotating machinery applications, and LEDs are used for both interior and exterior lighting applications. Centralized fire detection and alarms cover both the machinery spaces and accommodations, protected by a Kidde NOVEC 1230 fire suppression system.

Crew endurance was a priority in the design process, said Bruce Reed, chief operations officer and vice president of Tidewater. “We employed Noise Control Engineers (of Billerica, Mass.) to develop a sound and vibration control package for the vessel. By incorporating Christie & Grey vibration control mounts and comprehensive acoustic insulation, noise levels register at less than 60 decibels in the accommodations during vessel operation,” Reed said.

Larry Bartel, a Tidewater captain since 1981, was one of two captains who piloted the Crown Point during sea trials. “Not only is it the quietest tug I have ever piloted, but it has tremendous rudder power so it can turn around a loaded tow precisely and swiftly,” Bartel said.

Trident

Built to go far and fast, the aluminum catamaran research vessel Trident is the first new boat built in 40 years for Texas A&M University.

Geo Shipyard, based in New Iberia, La., delivered the vessel, a $2.3 million, 64'9"×21'6"×9'3" research, academic and training vessel, to Texas A&M at Galveston, Texas, in June. Designed by Roger Fyffe, the boat draws just 4'3" draft, making it ideal for ocean science both in the littoral zone and farther offshore.

University officials called it their “Swiss Army knife of a vessel,” capable of 24-hour operations for up to five days between port calls, and up to 200 miles offshore.

The spacious vessel can handle a variety of mission configurations, with its 240 sq.-ft. dry/computer lab, and big aft deck which holds a wet lab counter with a deep sink with fresh and salt water taps and a fresh water shower. A rear cargo deck measures 375 sq. ft.

The deck is well-equipped with a DT Marine Products DT303EM survey/trawl winch and an aluminum A-frame, a two-ton knuckle boom crane with a 22'6" maximum reach, a fire pump with two fire stations, and a 4.6-meter inflatable rigid hull inflatable boat.

Main propulsion comes from twin Scania D1-13-070M 13-liter diesel engines, producing 500 hp each. The mains are connected to ZF 360 marine gears with 2.48:1 reduction ratios, turning 32"×42" ZF4-bladed nibral wheels.

The propulsion package gives the research vessel a cruising speed of 18 knots and a fast run up to 23 knots. For maneuvering in tight quarters, there are two Wesmar V2, 23-hp thrusters.

Two Westerbeke gensets, sparking 33 kW of electrical power each, handle ship’s service power responsibilities. Capacities include 2,444 gals. of fuel and 325 gals. potable water. Controls are ZF Cruise Command and the steering system is from Kobelt.

There are accommodations for 12 crew and scientists, featuring 12 berths in three staterooms and two full heads with showers. The electronics suite includes two Furuno radars, bottom sounder, AIS unit and Navtex unit; Simrad autopilot, GC80 Gyro w/ three repeaters; and three Icom VHF radios and a SSB radio.

Chandra B.

The double-hull bunker tanker 79'×23'×8' Chandra B. began working around New York City in September 2015, bunkering tour boats, dinner cruisers and other harbor workboats, after it was delivered by Blount Boats, Warren, R.I., to American Petroleum & Transport, Miller Place, N.Y.

The Chandra B. replaces AP&T’s venerable 57'×51' Capt. Log, for many years a familiar sight around the harbor, with a modern vessel that has nearly triple the capacity, at 56,450 gal. in six tanks.

“We’ll be doing the same thing we did with Capt. Log,” but with less time for loading, said AP&T president Steve Bragoli. “We were constantly running back and forth, two or three times a week.”

“We can do more bunkering for our customers, and some of the dredges,” with the capacity now to make those 30,000- to 40,000-gal. deliveries, Bragoli said. “It’s a little deeper draft, so for some of the places we go into, we’ll have to wait on the higher tide.”

Designed by Farrell & Norton Naval Architects, Newcastle, Maine, the Chandra B. is powered by a pair of EPA Tier 3-compliant Cummins QSL9 engines that each put out 330 hp at 1,800 rpm. The engines drive ZF W325 marine hydraulic gears with 4.91:1 reduction ratios turning 48"×54" 4-bladed nickel-aluminum-bronze propellers from HS Marine Propulsion on 3.5" Aquamet shafts. Top speed is 8.5 knots, 7 knots fully loaded, at 1,600 rpm.

Beyond the twin engines, the Chandra B. is even more maneuverable than the old single-screw Capt. Log, with a 50-hp, 18" Wesmar hydraulic bowthruster. At less than 100 tons, it can operate with a crew of two to four. Tankage for the vessel is 5,000 gals. of diesel fuel, 200 gals. fresh water and 200 gals. waste water. Ship’s service power is provided by two 29-kW CumminsMDKDS Tier 3 gensets. Wheelhouse electronics include a Furuno suite made up of a Navnet color chart plotter, radar and GPS Navigator.

Rick Calhoun

A rare sight on the Mississippi River — a big, high-horsepower newbuild towboat — appeared in August 2015 when Marquette Transportation Co., Paducah, Ky., took delivery of the 180'×48'×11'6" Rick Calhoun.

Designed and built by Gulf Island Marine Fabricators, Houma, La., with design assistance from CT Marine, Edgecomb, Maine, and Ship Architects Inc., Daphne, Ala., the linehaul towboat’s propulsion package features twin EMD 20-710 G7C Tier 3 diesels, putting out a total of 9,200 hp at 900 rpm. The mains are connected to 5-bladed, stainless steel Sound Propeller wheels in Kort nozzles through Lufkin RHS3200HG gears. This gives the steel-hulled Rick Calhoun a running speed of 8 knot. Steering controls are by EMI.

“Large horsepower, new construction is rare,” John Paul Eckstein, president and CEO of Marquette, said at the boat’s christening in New Orleans.

“We signed the contract in July 2014 and took delivery in August 2015,” Joshua D. Esper, Marquette’s senior vice president, said at the christening. “Actual construction was less than a year.”

The Rick Calhoun is unusual too in being the first Marquette towboat in 37 years named for someone who is not a member of the Eckstein family. Calhoun is president of Cargo Carriers, Wayzata, Minn., a subsidiary of Minnetonka, Minn.-based Cargill Inc., and is in charge of Cargill’s barge and marine operations in North America.

Capacities include 136,000 gals. of fuel; 31,500 gals. potable water; and 1,600 gals. lube oil. Significant ancillary equipment includes a Furuno electronics suite, and deck winches from Patterson and Nabrico.

Inside there is a CO2 fire suppression system from Herbert Hiller, a Honeywell Fire Lite (MS-4) fire alarm system, and a Carrier air conditioner. Ship’s service power comes from two John Deere-powered gensets, sparking 22 kW of electrical power each.

A pair of Gulf Island sisterships to the Rick Calhoun are scheduled for delivery in February 2016 and August 2016. The only difference is that the third boat will feature Reintjes reduction gears instead of Lufkin.

Breeze, Thunder,

Lightning, Squall

A new series of reimagined offshore service vessels debuted in September 2014 when BAE Systems Southeast Shipyard, Jacksonville, Fla., delivered the 252'×60'×25.7' offshore service vessel Breeze to New Orleans-based Jackson Offshore Operators LLC. Three of the four OSVs have been delivered and are under contract. The fourth and final OSV, the Squall, has an estimated delivery date of Jan. 31, 2016.

The OSVs present a striking profile with its bulbous bow, rising to a fully enclosed deck — a dry working space for deckhands. Designers at Guido Perla & Associates (GPA)made that part of the package Jackson Offshore wanted: a mud boat with capacity for at least 10,000 bbls. of 16-lb. mud, in no more than 4,000 deadweight tons.

“We’re planning to use this bow on all of our future newbuilds, but it’s not a big deal,” said Matthew Rigdon, Jackson Offshore’s chief operating officer. “It’s just a matter of building the supporting structure strong enough to meet weather and sea conditions without adding too much weight.”

The high house forward accommodates 34 persons, in 14 two-person cabins and six single-berth cabins, each with its own head. “Generally the new real estate [for accommodations] and the enclosed foredeck was the primary motivation” for the GPA 675J design, said Stefan Wolczko of GPA.

Main propulsion comes from two Caterpillar 3516C diesels, producing 2,815 hp at 1,800 rpm each, and two Cat C32s, producing 1,220 hp at 1,800 rpm. The Breeze was also fitted with two 1,250 hp Rolls-Royce 2000 DPN bow tunnel thrusters for added maneuverability around offshore structures.

All four thrusters are controlled by a Rolls-Royce Icon DP system from the forward and aft bridge control stations. Four main generators and an emergency generator, all housed on the main deck, put out 6,220 kW in total.

“That’s the beauty of diesel-electric,” Rigdon said. “We’ll never build a conventional-drive vessel again. To get 10,752 barrels of mud in a 252-foot boat, we had to think outside the box, and putting the machinery down in the bottom of the box doesn’t make sense anymore.”

Capacities include 253,577 gals. of fuel; 468,826 gals. rig water; 10,752 bbls. liquid mud; 2,130 bbls. methanol; 119,184 gals potable water; and 10,200 cu. ft. dry bulk material.