Conrad Begins Building GLDD's New Multi-Cats
Conrad Shipyard said it has started building two Damen-designed Multi-Cat vessels scheduled to be delivered to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company (GLDD) in the third and fourth quarters of 2022. A steel cutting ceremony was held at Conrad's Morgan City, La. shipyard.
The two identical vessels are being built under a licensing agreement with the Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards Group. They will be the first of their type built in the U.S.
Each Damen Multi Cat 3013 measure 98.92’ in length and will be powered by three Caterpillar C32 TTA engines capable of meeting speeds of 10.2 knots. Equipped with large winches and deck cranes, the vessels will have maximum bollard pull of 31.75 short tons
David Johanson, GLDD’s Senior Vice President of Project and Area Operations for the Gulf of Mexico, said the new vessels eliminate the need for assorted floating support equipment such as derrick barges, towboats and anchor barges. “The Multi-cats also significantly increase operational safety – enabling hose and pipe maintenance works to take place securely on deck reducing the risk of man-overboards compared to standard industry methods utilizing floating pontoons. This will improve our operational efficiency.”