Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI), has been contracted by Metal Trades, Inc. of Hollywood, South Carolina to design two 14,000 BBL Double Hull Oil Tank Barges to carry ‘D’ and ‘E’ grade fuels for the U.S. Navy. Metal Trades is building the new barges as a sub-contractor to Maybank Industries, LLC based in Charleston, SC. The 200.f ft x 52 ft x 16.5 ft sister vessels are fully compliant with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and are classed ABS Maltese Cross A1 Oil Tank Barge Unmanned Ocean Service. The first hull, YON 330, has been built and delivered to begin service at the U.S. Naval Fuel Depot. The second hull, YON 331, is currently under construction and scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2009.
According to Senior Naval Architect, Mr. Paul Smith, “especially challenging was that the barge structures had to have a design service life of 40 years. Special considerations for a cost-effective paint system and corrosion allowance for materials, plates, stiffeners, etc. needed to be incorporated into the structure of the vessels to provide additional service life beyond that of a typical commercial barge.”
According to Randy Brown, Metal Trades’ staff Naval Architect and VP of Business Development, “a key
objective of this project was to build a fuel barge that not only met the customer’s requirements but also provided the crew with robust operational features combined with ease of use. BHGI worked closely with us to produce a fine barge that the customer will truly appreciate.” For example, both barges are equipped with a robust AC Generator, custom Battery Charging System, and Radar Tank Level Indicator (TLI) systems. “This TLI system allows for monitoring of each tank, as well as trend tracking over 12-hour periods through an advanced, yet simple to operate, touch screen display,” added Joshua Sebastian, another BHGI Naval Architect who assisted on the project With this simplicity of operation and extra functionality, BHGI hopes the Navy will find the barges very useful for many years, and the preliminary reports are that the barge exceeds expectations.
(www.bristolharborgroup.com)
