Wijsmuller Wins Shell Contract, Will Provide Three Caterpillar-Powered Tractor Tugs
Brunei Shell Petroleum Company contracted Dutch-based Wijsmuller Group to provide three terminal tugs to service the new LNG loading facility in Brunei Darussalam for ten years, beginning in August of this year. CW Marine Services, the Singapore office of Wijsmuller, is responsible for the management of the tug operations in Brunei Darussalem.
The three yet-to-be-named tugs are currently under construction at the Cheoy Lee Shipyard in Hong Kong. Two are scheduled for delivery on July 20, while the other is scheduled for delivery October 20. The vessels, each to be powered by two 2,480-hp Caterpillar 3606 TA diesels, will each measure 124 feet, with a 36-foot beam and a 19- foot draft. Aided by Ulstein rotating thrusters, the tugs will each generate a bollard pull of 60 tons. The tugs were designed by Kenton Marine Naval Architects of Singapore.
autopilot. Harbor and terminal towage is a core business activity at Wijsmuller Group.
For additional information on the Wijsmuller Group, Circle 47 on Reader Service Card UNNAMED TRACTOR TUGS Equipment List Main engine Caterpillar Thrusters Ulstein Generator engines Caterpillar (2), Perkins (1) Deck machinery Unitech Coatings International VHF radio Sailor SSB radio Furuno Radar Furuno Compass Anschutz Autopilot Anschutz Pumps Desmi Firefighting systems Jason Each of the tugs is additionally outfitted with two Caterpillar 3406T and one Perkins PDM-80 generator engines. Deck machinery, including towing/anchoring handling winches, windlass/mooring winches and tugger winches, was supplied by Unitech.
The tugs, which feature coatings from International, will assist gas tankers berthing and unberthing at Brunei LNG's new jetty in Brunei Darussalem, which is currently under construction. The terminal tugs are fitted out for maximum safe operations, including an extensive firefighting water, foam and powder system from Jason.
Each tug will have accommodations for eight crew members, and are classed Bureau Veritas I 3/3 E+ tug deep sea anchor handling tug. Each tug also features a full complement of electronics, including: Sailor 2048 VHF radio; Furuno FS5000 SSB radio, 2822 and 1930 radar; and Anschutz compass and 3M Company Providing Cleanup Materials For Shetlands Oil Spill AmongtheU.S. companies which are establishing themselves in the effort to clean up the oil spill resulting from the grounding of the Braer off the Shetland Islands is Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co.
(3M).
The company is providing a fabric made to absorb oil to help clean up what is reported to be the world's 15th largest oil spill. The company has also provided about 100 cases of respirators to protect workers from the harmful fumes emitted by the oil.
Industry analysts have indicated that much of the cleanup will be managed by companies based in Europe, but that U.S. companies could also benefit by providing materials to aid in the cleanup operations or consultants with experience in oil spills.
The company, which is based in St. Paul, Minn., has reportedly delivered about 100 bales of the fabric and is presently manufacturing additional fabric sheets and floating booms.
The sorbent fabric was developed by 3M in the early 1970s and is made of polypropylene, which is riddled with tiny air pockets. The fabric is made to trap oil while repelling water so that the fabric will become saturated with the oil rather than water.
The fiber used in the fabric is nonwoven and is manufactured by 3M in plants in southern England, Europe and Valley, Neb. This is among 3M's core technologies.
Caterpillar Engine Division Achieves ISO 9000 Quality Standards Caterpillar Engine Division has become the first major engine manufacturer in the U.S. to earn the international quality standard ISO 9000, the company announced.
"The certification is a critical step in meeting the requirement of our domestic and international business partners," said Caterpillar vice president Richard L. Thompson, head of the Engine Division. "Our customers increasingly are asking about ISO 9000 and we expect many of them will accept ISO 9000 in place of their own quality audits of our facilities, potentially saving them considerable time and expense.
ISO 9000 combines elements from many quality programs currently in use around the world into a set of comprehensive guidelines governing the processes by which products are designed, produced, installed and serviced.
The Caterpillar Engine Division's Mossville facility began the certification process in May 1992 and was successfully audited in November. "Many companies take a year or more to install quality systems meeting the ISO standards," said Ray Davies, general manager of the auditing firm which evaluated the engine division. "The seven month time frame for Caterpillar speaks to the company's history of quality." While fewer than 1,000 companies are ISO-certified in the U.S., ISO 9000 standards have been embraced in Europe and Asia, and more than 20,000 manufacturers are ISO certified in England alone.
