News: New Bouchard Transportation ATB Launched at Bollinger

The first of its two double-hull, clean product, ocean-going, articulated tug and barge (ATB) units is ready for sea trails and is being outfitted for delivery at Bollinger Shipyards, Morton Bouchard III, President and CEO of Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. "In 1990, our company embarked on a long-term business plan that has been moving forward for over a decade. Our management initiated an aggressive building plan that includes the retrofit of single-hull barges and a new building program which includes two new articulated tugs and barges that will strategically position the organization in the petroleum transportation industry. The new double-hull ATB units are major components of a business plan that will take us to where we want to be by 2005. The new units are being constructed to meet the requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and will replace designated single-hull tonnage scheduled for phase-out. These investments adhere to a strong organizational commitment to meet the high standards of the petroleum industry." The new Bouchard ATB units will employ the Intercon Coupler systems that have two electric rams that lock into a rack or ladder at the notch stern section of the barge to keep each of the two units locked rigidly in place. The Intercon system provides a single degree of freedom, allowing the tug to pitch about a transverse connection between the tug and barge.

The first new barge, B. No. 255, with a 110,000-barrel capacity, will be 430 ft. long, with a 79 ft. beam and a depth of 34 ft. The second barge, B. No. 242, a 135,000 barrel capacity, will be 487 ft. long, with an 80 ft. beam and a depth of 36.6 ft.. Both manned barges have been built with dedicated generators and living quarters for a crew of four. The two new articulated tugs will be named Jane A. Bouchard and Morton S. Bouchard IV, in honor of the mother and son of the company's President and CEO, Morton Bouchard III. The tugs will be 130 ft. in length, with a 38 ft. beam, and powered by two EMD 16/645 F7BA diesel engines, which can develop 3,070 hp at 800 rpm. The boats will drive bronze propellers through Reintjes reverse/reduction gears with a ratio of 4.48:1.