Trinity Wins Contracts To Build Ferries For Three States, Options For Two More

Trinity Industries, Inc.'s subsidiary Moss Point Marine, Inc., Moss Point, Miss., has been awarded contracts to build one ferry each for the states of North Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Virginia holds options for two additional ferries which could bring the total value of the contract to more than $33 million.

Other Trinity shipyards in Louisiana and Texas are also slated to assist in their construction, with finishing work on the Texas ferry scheduled for Trinity-Beaumont.

The Texas and Virginia ferries, designed to carry up to 70 vehicles and 500 passengers, will each be 263 feet long, with a 65-foot beam, and a 10-foot operating draft. The Texas ferry will operate between Galveston and the Port Bolivar Peninsula in Texas and the Virginia ferry will operate between Jamestown and Scotland, Va. Voith-Schneider cycloidal units mounted below the bow and stern of each boat will provide propulsion and steering. The units consist of vertically mounted, pivoting, controllable pitch blades suspended from a large diameter disc or turntable which can rotate 360 degrees.

Each unit will be driven by a General Motors EMD 12-645E6 diesel engine developing 1,500- bhp at 900 rpm. The Texas ferry will be equipped with new engines and the Virginia boat will have rebuilt EMDs.

Construction on the Texas and Virginia ferries began in the fourth quarter of 1993, with delivery of each planned for December 1994 and the first quarter of 1995, respectively.

The North Carolina ferry will be able to carry up to 300 passengers and approximately 50 vehicles. It will be 221 feet long, with a beam of 50 feet and a 6.5-foot operating draft. It will be powered by two Caterpillar 3508 DI-TA diesel engines developing 805-bhp each at 1,300 rpm. It will be equipped with a 315-hp bow thruster for increased maneuverability.

Construction began in the fourth quarter of 1993, with delivery expected in December 1994.