Latest Articulated Tug-Barge Joins Shipping Fleet
Crowley Holdings has announced the christening of the tug Achievement and barge 650-8, the eighth of ten new Articulated Tug-Barge (ATB) vessels that the company will take delivery of by next year.
ATB tank vessels carry hazardous liquid cargoes, such as petroleum products, and incorporate a hinged connection system between the tug and accompanying barge. The articulated connection allows the transportation system to flex along the components' pitch axis, a benefit in ocean-going transport where vessels can encounter significant swells in heavy weather.
The newest ATB, constructed by VT Halter Marine in Mississippi, will join Crowley's Jones Act ATB trade, based out of Tampa, Florida. More vessels are planned.
The Gulf of Mexico already contains thousands of wells and hundreds of drilling platforms. In addition, the Obama administration has announced plans to open a new tract for oil and gas exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Estimates are that the area contains as much as 3.5 billion barrels of oil and 17 trillion cubic feet of gas. Thus a ready market exists for the Achievement, which will go into charter service with Marathon Oil Corporation.
According to Crowley, the Achievement/650-8 and its sister ATBs employ cutting edge technologies for maximum safety and reliability. Incorporating such technologies is critical for worker and environmental safety, given the potentially toxic and hazardous cargoes the ATBs are intended to transport.
Beyond a host of systems intended to ensure cargo and vessel safety, the tugs also meet all SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) and related criteria, and they include other upgrades to increase crew comfort.
Crowley claims that with the introduction of the Achievement/650-8, the company can offer over two million barrels of capacity in the Jones Act trade. Crowley's ATB fleet has moved hundreds of millions of barrels of product with no spills since the vessels first entered service in 2002.
Improving Maritime Safety for Jones Act Seaman
The attorneys of Arnold & Itkin LLP applaud all efforts to enhance crew and environmental safety among vessels operating in the Gulf's petroleum industry. As an advocate for reducing maritime accidents and injuries, the Jones Act lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP strive to improve the lives of Jones Act seamen by driving employers to provide safer conditions for their maritime workers.
