Bollinger Delivers ATB to Bouchard

Bouchard Coastwise Management Co., Hicksville, N.Y., has added to its growing fleet of double-hull articulated ocean-going tug/barge units (ATB) with the delivery from Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., Lockport, La., of the 130-ft. tug Jane A. Bouchard and the 430-ft., 110,000 barrel (BBL) class double-hull oil Barge B. No. 225 that meets the requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA '90). That act mandated that by 2005 vessels in certain categories must have double hulls to help prevent the release of oil or other cargo should the hull be pierced. Barge B. No. 225 is the 10th OPA '90 barge in the Bouchard fleet. The Jane A. Bouchard and Barge B. No. 225 is the first of a two ATB contract between Bouchard and Bollinger. The second ATB, planned for delivery in May 2004, will be the sister ship, MORTON S. BOUCHARD IV and a larger, 487-ft. barge B. No. 242 capable of carrying 135,000 BBL of clean petroleum products. Donald "Boysie" Bollinger, chairman and chief executive officer of Bollinger said, "Barge B. No 225 brings the total OPA '90 barges built by Bollinger yards to 20 with three more under construction, one for Bouchard and two for another customer. We have positioned ourselves well in the OPA 90 market, with our Gretna and Marine Fabricator facilities building for the industry and other Bollinger locations handling conversions of barges to meet OPA 90 regulations. Each location has established portfolios providing quality, expertise and the ability to adjust to client/industry requirements."

The Jane A. Bouchard was built at Bollinger's Lockport, La., shipyard and the Barge B. No. 225 was built at Bollinger Gretna, in Harvey, La.. Joined together by an Intercon coupler system, they form a 520-foot ATB unit capable of carrying several types of petroleum products. The Jane A. Bouchard, named in honor of the mother of Morton Bouchard III, company president, is 130-feet long with a 38-ft. beam and normal operating draft of 19-feet. Maximum draft is 22-feet. It is powered by two channel cooled General Motors EMD 16-645-F7BA diesel engines developing a total of 6,140 BHP. They drive two Bollinger manufactured five-blade, 140-inch diameter by 94-inch, manganese/bronze propellers through Reintjes WAT 3455 reverse/reduction gears with a ratio of 4.480:1. Three Detroit Diesel 8V-71 engines driving three Baylor generators develop a total of 297 kilowatts of electrical power. The engines are started by Quincy air compressors and monitored by an EMI 72-point system. A Sperry Marine electro/hydraulic system steers the tug. The tug was built to a design produced by Guarino & Cox, LLC naval architects, marine engineers and consultants, Mandeville, La. It has capacities for 150,000 gallons of fuel, 8,000 gallons of oil and 11,000 gallons of potable water. The tug has quarters for 12 persons and galley and dining facilities for six. Living spaces are heated and cooled by a 12-ton Carrier air conditioner supplied by Lemoine Marine Refrigeration, Inc. The pilothouse boasts a full set of communications and navigation equipment provided by Beier & Associates, Inc., including: a JRC GMDSS A-3 package; VHF radio; Northstar Navigator; Ritchie compass; Furuno radars, and other electronic gear. The tug's deck is outfitted with an Intercon single-drum hydraulic tow winch, forward and aft vertical electric capstans and a rescue boat and davit. The boat is American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) classed Maltese Cross A1, AMS and Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) certified. Barge B. No. 225, also designed by Guarino & Cox, is 430-ft. long, with a 79-ft. beam and 34-ft. depth, and has 16 cargo tanks. The cargo tanks and cargo piping are lined with Ameron Amercoat 253 high performance epoxy and its piping system was designed for product separation. It is outfitted with closed gauging and vapor recovery systems and four pumps driven by Detroit Diesel Series 60 engines to transfer cargo. The deck is equipped with an anchor handling winch, four mooring winches, two capstans and two hose handling cranes. The barge is a manned unit and has air conditioned and heated quarters and a galley for four. The Intercon coupler system has two electric rams that lock into a rack or ladder at the notched stern section of the barge that when the tug and barge are locked together, keeps each of the two units rigidly in place. The system provides a single degree of freedom allowing the tug to pitch about a transverse connection between the tug and barge. All other motions are restrained so that tug motions match barge motions in roll and heave.