New ships and new shipboard jobs are in the headlines for Seafarers.VanEnkevort Tug and Barge recently added an integrated tug-barge (ITB) to its fleet; Horizon Lines on Oct. 11 christened the Horizon Hunter, the first of five new containerships the company is adding; and Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is preparing to christen the Overseas Houston in mid-November—the first of 10 new Jones Act tankers that will be operated by Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG).
Aker Philadelphia last month also announced that construction has started on the fourth of the double-hulled Veteran-class tankers.
New Jobs on LakesThe ITB sails with a complement of 14 SIU members and Lewis J. Kuber. Both vessels have undergone complete refurbishments prior to joining the Seafarers-crewed VanEnkevort fleet.
“This is an outright addition rather than replacement tonnage,” noted SIU Vice President Great Lakes Tom Orzechowski. “It shows a commitment on the company’s part and reflects their confidence in SIU crews. The company also has indicated an interest in acquiring or building new vessels.”
The Olive L. Moore is 125 feet long and has a beam of slightly more than 39 feet. Its gross tonnage is listed at 524. The tug features a raised wheelhouse to allow for proper vision over the barge.
The self-unloader Lewis J. Kuber is 616 feet long with a beam of 70 feet. Its capacity is estimated at 22,300 dwt.
Horizon HunterThe Horizon Hunter, the first of five 2,824 TEU-capacity, 23-knot containerships that will enter the Horizon Lines fleet in 2007, was named Oct. 11 at a ceremony at the Hyundai Mipo shipyard in South Korea. The ship is of a proven international design and will be deployed in Horizon Lines’ weekly service linking the U.S. West Coast with Guam and Asia.
“The naming of the Horizon Hunter marks another milestone in the growth of Horizon Lines and our businesses,” said Charles G. Raymond, president and CEO of the company. “These new Hunter-class ships are named to connote speed, agility, keen sense and focus—the attributes that we believe have allowed our company to excel now and in the future.”
Horizon Lines announced in March an agreement to charter five new U.S.-flag, foreign-built vessels for 12-year terms from Ship Finance International Limited. The new ships each will be equipped with 568 reefer slots. The company noted that the five new ships will make the five current Jones Act-eligible vessels now sailing the trans-Pacific route available to the rest of the Horizon Lines Jones Act network.
OSG TankersThe Overseas Houston is scheduled for christening Nov. 11 in Philadelphia. That vessel along with its nine sister ships each will be 600 feet long and capable of transporting 330,000 barrels of petroleum products. Each vessel will weigh 46,000 dwt.
On Oct. 16, the shipyard announced it had commenced production on the fourth vessel in its 10-ship series of environmentally friendly product tankers. Steel cutting for the ship, the eighth built by the shipyard since its opening six years ago and the fourth under construction concurrently, was performed on one of the yard’s two state-of-the-art plasma cutting machines. The vessel is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2008.
Printer Friendly Page