USA: Christening Ceremony of Tugboat and Barge at Erie’s Bayfront Shipyard

The christening ceremony of the tugboat Ken Boothe Sr. and the barge Lakes Contender, the first articulated barge-tug combination to be built in Erie since 1972, was held on Tuesday afternoon at the bayfront shipyard, Erie Times reports.

Ken Boothe Sr tugboat, named after the late president of the Erie shipbuilding company, encompasses 135-feet of length and has 11,500-horsepower. Boothe’s wife, Ellen Boothe, christened the tugboat at the event attended by numerous state and local officials and visitors, totalling to circa 200 people.

The self-unloading barge, Lakes Contender, which was christened by State Sen. Jane Earll, of Fairview Township, R-49th District, is a 39,000-ton and 740-foot-long vessel, with the capacity of unloading 6,000 tons of cargo per hour.

Seajon LLC., a joint venture of Donjon Marine Co. and Seacore Holdings purchased the vessels, which are expected to leave Erie in a week.

“It’s the first vessel built by Donjon in Erie, and it means a lot to the Great Lakes community in that it’s the first ship of this kind in 40 years that will be working out here on the Great Lakes delivering cargo,” Paul Deterding, Donjon’s general manager said.

The construction project of the two vessels brought many jobs to the area; however, it appears that their completion will perpetuate numerous layoffs.

Namely, Donjon Shipbuilding & Repair officials confirmed layoffs of about 30 Donjon employees and an additional 20 subcontractors only a day before the ceremony.

This was confirmed by Deterding, who said that project completion did affect the layoffs, expressing hope that this will be only a temporary solution until new construction project is launched.

According to him, the Erie shipbuilder will be left with approximately 200 employees and 50 subcontractors.

“We’re hoping that those will be temporary and that with additional work, we’ll be able to continue to have a very sizable workforce here,” J. Arnold Witte, president of the New Jersey-based Donjon Marine Co. pointed out.

[mappress]

World Maritime News Staff, April 11, 2012