USA: Crowley Maritime to Christen Two Ocean Class Tugs

Crowley Maritime Corporation will christen the first two of four tugboats in the ocean class series, Ocean Wave and Ocean Wind, today in New Orleans. The tugs were built at Bollinger Shipyards, based in Amelia, La., generating 600 important jobs for people living in the U.S. Gulf region.

The vessels were designed by Crowley subsidiary Jensen Maritime, which has a recently opened office located at 1515 Poydras Street, Suite 2030, near the river district of New Orleans. The launch of the new tugboats will solidify the company’s standing as an industry leader in ocean towing, salvage and offshore marine support for the upstream energy industry.

At 146 and 156 feet in length, and with a minimum bollard pull of 150 metric tons, Crowley’s new ocean class tugs will be outfitted for long-range, high-capacity ocean towing, rig moves, platform and floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit tows, emergency response and firefighting. Crowley’s Ocean Wave and Ocean Wind are scheduled to begin this year in support of energy projects in the U.S. Gulf for a major customer in the global oil and gas industry. Both tugboats were built at Bollinger Shipyard in Amelia, La., and the remaining two vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2013.

The event will be attended by Crowley Chairman, President and CEO Tom Crowley, and more than 250 guests – including representatives from major upstream, global oil and gas industries and Bollinger Shipyard . The event will feature the traditional breaking of champagne bottles against the hulls of the respective vessels.

Ocean-class vessels feature twin screws with controllable pitch propellers (CPP), in nozzles and high lift rudders. Hulls are welded steel construction and each is outfitted for long-range ocean towing, firefighting and general purpose towing. The vessels are transverse framed with transverse and longitudinal bulkheads, including the collision bulkhead, which extends to the main deck. These boats were not only built for reliability, they were also designed with the environment in mind, with all tanks containing oil and oil traces placed inboard of the side shell to create a double hull designed to limit any overboard discharges.

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Press Release, October 25, 2012; Image: Crowley