March 2016
The SIU-crewed fleet continued to add state-ofthe- art tonnage when Crowley Maritime Corp. recently christened the second of four new, Jones Act product tankers – the Texas – at the South Florida Petroleum Terminal in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The ship will be utilized in the U.S. coastal trade transporting crude oil or refined petroleum products.
“Crowley welcomes this industry-defining, LNG-ready vessel into service,” said Rob Grune, senior vice president and general manager, petroleum services. “Not only will this be a high-performance vessel capable of meeting or exceeding our customers’ petroleum transportation needs within the U.S.-coastwise trade, it will do so in a way that is more environmentally friendly than those that have come before her.”
The 50,000 dead-weight-ton (dwt), 330,000-barrel-capacity Texas joins sister ship Ohio, which was christened by Crowley in November, as the first tankers to receive the American Bureau of Shipping’s (ABS) LNG-Ready Level 1 approval, meaning Crowley has the option to convert the tanker to liquefied natural gas for propulsion in the future.
A small group including representatives from SeaRiver Maritime, the vessel’s charterer, gathered Feb. 4 to watch as Doris Evans, wife of Eric Evans, vice president, planning for Crowley’s petroleum services group, performed the time-honored tradition of christening the vessel by breaking a ceremonial bottle of champagne across its hull.
The Texas was constructed by Philly Shipyard (formerly known as Aker Philadelphia Shipyard), with construction management services provided by Crowley’s Seattle-based, naval architecture and marine engineering subsidiary Jensen Maritime. Two additional product tankers are being built by Philly Shipyard for Crowley and have planned deliveries later this year.
All four ships are sailing or will eventually sail in the Jones Act trade. The Jones Act, the nation’s freight cabotage law which has been in place since 1920, has long been supported by elected officials from both political parties as well as the military because of its economic and national security benefits to the country. The build requirement supports thousands of good-paying, middleclass jobs and without it America’s strategic readiness would be harmed.
The first SIU crew on the Texas included Bosun Burkley Cooper, ABs Delsreal Williams, Julio Lima, Brandon Albro, Wayne Bell and Ashward Rankin, QMED/ Pumpman Furman Watson, OMU Greg Alvarez, Oiler George Pobee, Chief Steward Josue Iglesia, Chief Cook Antajuan Beasley and SA Abdulla Quaraish.
# # #
Comments are closed.