News: Bay Shipbuilding Picks ATB Design
Ocean Tug & Barge Engineering Corp.'s new Atlantic III ATB ocean tugboat design was selected by Bay Shipbuilding Corp., a unit of Manitowoc Corp., for construction as the powered portion of a new articulated tug barge (ATB) the yard will build for Penn Maritime, of Stamford, Conn. The 140,000 bbl capacity heated ocean tank barge, will be handled by the latest tug design from Ocean Tug & Barge Engineering Corp., a long established firm whose focus is ATB design. The new tug, equipped with the Intercon connection system, measures 123 x 38-ft., and is powered by twin EMD 12-710G main engines, for a total of 6,000 bhp. The tug will also be built to fit the notches of Penn's other Intercon ATB barges.
Robert P. Hill, the President of Ocean Tug & Barge Engineering Corp., said that the new Atlantic III class design was a direct response to an industry request for a tug design for ATB service that was adaptable to any connection system, yet was simple to build and outfit. "Our clients were asking us to do a mid-level design, that had all of the best features of our highly successful Atlantic II class tug, but a bit smaller, and able to be built in fewer man-hours. They wanted the quality and operational benefits of our boats, without having to accept a stock shipyard design that was largely oriented to yard production issues. This design does exactly that, marrying ergonomic design, lower production costs, and the benefit of our years of ATB design experience."
Five of the firm's Atlantic II class vessels, which are 124 by 40-ft., with a full forecastle have been built to date, with a sixth about to be contracted. Two others are to be built overseas.
Owners of that design include Reinauer Transportation, of New York, Allied Transportation of Norfolk, Va., and Exxon-Mobil Corp. The new "stepped-deck" design of the Atlantic III builds on what was learned through monitoring the operation of the parent design. It is capable of up accepting up to 8,000 installed Bhp, and a wide range of connection systems.
