News: ConocoPhillips to Christen Integrity

ConocoPhillips christened Integrity, the second of four new ABS-classed towboats on March 5 at Port of Orange in Orange, Texas. The first of the towboats, Spirit, was christened in January. Two additional towboats, Liberty and Innovator will be christened in April and May, respectively.

Orange Shipbuilding of Orange, Texas, built the vessels, which have safety enhancement such as CO2 extinguishing systems, fuel shutdowns, fire detection systems and fire fighting systems. In addition, they are equipped with double-hull fuel tanks and five-blade propellers that are more efficient and reduce hull vibration by as much as 50 percent compared to a conventional four-blade propeller.

Environmental upgrades will include main propulsion engines that are not only compliant with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Environmental Agency (EPA) emission standards, but that will reduce fuel consumption, lube oil consumption and air emissions by as much as 10 percent of the current standard engines.

ConocoPhillips' inland marine fleet of seven towboats and 14 barges made more than 600 voyages last year, hauling over 21 million barrels of crude oil and refined products.