SIU-contracted U.S. Shipping Partners L.P. early last month announced the delivery of its new articulated tug barge unit, the pusher tug Freeport and the double-hulled parcel barge Chemical Transporter (together, the ATB Freeport). It is the first of five ATBs ordered by U.S. Shipping as part of a fleet expansion.
In a news release, the company noted, “The ATB Freeport has successfully completed sea trials and has received necessary certification by the U.S. Coast Guard and the American Bureau of Shipping. As is customary in new-building situations for the first of a series of vessels, there are a few documentation-related items that we need to address following delivery of the vessel. These items do not affect our ability to begin operating the ATB Freeport in our chemical service, and we do not anticipate any problem in satisfactorily addressing these items within the required time frames.”
The new vessel departed the shipyard on July 1, 2007 for its first load port in Louisiana, and following completion of two routine design verification test procedures and arrival at the load port, it lifted its first cargo in early July.
The Freeport is a 19,999 deadweight ton ATB capable of carrying 140,000 barrels of the most sophisticated chemical cargoes transported by seagoing vessels, according to the company. Its service speed is listed at 13.5 knots.
Paul Gridley, chairman and CEO of U.S. ATB Freeport is the most technologically advanced ATB in the U.S.-flag Jones Act deep sea trade. The features we built into this unit include 10 cargo tanks with flat internal surfaces, individual stainless steel deck mounted cargo heaters, stainless steel cargo piping, radar tank gauging, and advanced automatic tank cleaning. The ATB Freeport’s propulsion system runs on heavy fuel, which at current fuel prices yields significant operating cost savings in comparison to traditional diesel engines.”
Manitowoc Marine Group of Marinette, Wis. and Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. of Panama City, Fla. are under contract to construct additional ATBs of similar design for U.S. Shipping.
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