In April Bollinger Shipyard delivered the first of their 234-ft class of Cummins-powered Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs) to Bee Mar Inc. The shipyard started building this series of vessels in 2008 and delivered the first in the series to the newly formed Bee Mar LLC in June of 2009.
The Bee Mar newbuild fleet will consist of five 210-ft and three 234-ft American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) classed DP‐2 PSV's. Each vessel has high cargo carrying capacities and meets or exceeds the customer requirements and demands for offshore marine support applications.
The five 210-ft PSVs, including the M/V Busy Bee and M/V Worker Bee, have already been delivered and put to work in the Gulf of Mexico. The newly delivered 234 by 56-ft M/V Bumble Bee will add significant cargo capabilities to the Bee Mar fleet. The new Bee has capacities that include 598.1 cubic meters for fuel, 1,430.9 cu. meters of liquid mud, 169.9 for dry bulk and 98.4 cu. meters for fresh water. Loaded to a draft of 14 feet 11 inches, the vessel will have a dwt of 3,048.2 Mt (3000 Lt). The 53.3 by 14.3 clear deck has a maximum cargo capacity of 2,032.1 metric tons.
Main propulsion power for the Bumble Bee is provided by a pair of Cummins QSK60-M engines each delivering 2000 HP at 1800 RPM through Twin Disc MG5600 gears with 5.76:1 reduction to 81x68-inch propellers. Three Cummins QSM11 engines power the three 300 kW main generators. The Bumble Bee’s 85 kW generator is also Cummins powered. The two 750 BHP Schottel, controllable pitch bow thrusters each have their own Cummins KTA19 drive engines. A 350 BHP stern thruster is powered by variable speed electric motor.