New Petroleum Tank Vessel Joins Fleet of Crowley Maritime, USA

Crowley Maritime Corporation christened the 16,000-horsepower tugboat Legend and 330,000-barrel tank barge 750-2 today in Tampa, Fla. Together the vessels comprise the company’s newest articulated-tug-barge (ATB) and will be used to transport petroleum products between the U.S. Gulf and East Coasts, making regular port calls in Tampa where Crowley currently discharges nearly 163 million gallons of product each month.

The Legend/750-2 is the second of three petroleum tank vessels in its class in terms of size, speed and capacity in the Crowley fleet, and together measure 674 feet in length, which is 95 feet taller than the Florida Gulf Coast’s tallest skyscraper, Tampa’s own 100 North Tampa. Crowley employs 14 American crewmembers on the vessel and four people shore side in Tampa, a port growing in importance to Crowley. Five to seven Crowley vessels call the Port of Tampa weekly to deliver cargo and petroleum products.

“We are extremely pleased to add another 750-class ATB to the fleet,” said Crowley Petroleum Services Sr. Vice President and General Manager Rob Grune. “The Legacy/750-1 has proven to perform amazingly well and meet our customers’ needs. We are confident that, like the first of its kind, the Legend/750-2 will also exceed industry standards for the safest possible transportation of petroleum and chemical products.”

Grune’s wife, Joan, acted as vessel sponsor and participated in the time-honored tradition of christening the Legend, along with the wife of Gregg Qualls of Marathon Petroleum Company, Christina, who christened the barge 750-2. More than 100 guests, including customers, friends and employees from Crowley; the shipyards – VT Halter Marine, of Pascagoula, Miss., and Dakota Creek Industries, of Anacortes, Wash., attended the event. A celebratory reception followed at the Florida Aquarium.

“It’s great to be able to share another milestone with the people who were an integral part of designing and creating such an innovative vessel, which will continue to help us provide our customers with the best available technology, safety and cost effectiveness for years to come,” said Grune. “We’re looking forward to doing it again once the final 750-class vessel is completed and ready to work.”

The Legend/750-2 is the second of three U.S. – flag 750 Class ATBs to be built for Crowley. The first of its class, the Legacy/750-1, was christened in November 2011 and is already at work in the U.S. Gulf Coast. The last of the three, the Liberty/750-3 – is currently under construction and once completed, will be operated in the Jones Act U.S. coastwise trade by Crowley’s petroleum services group, along with the Legacy/750-1 and Legend/750-2. These three new vessels will bring Crowley’s total ATB fleet to 17, including four 155,000-barrel and ten 185,000-barrel ATBs.

The 750-Class barges are 45,000 deadweight tons, 600 feet in length, 105-feet, six-inches in breadth and 54-feet, three-inches in depth. The fully loaded draft is 35 feet. Both barges, 750-1 and 750-2, were built by VT Halter Marine Inc. in Pascagoula, Miss., and the tugs Legend and Legacy were constructed by Dakota Creek Industries, Inc. in Anacortes, Wash. The Liberty/750-3 is scheduled for delivery during the first half of 2013.

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Shipbuilding Tribune Staff, September 28, 2012; Image: crowley