Interesting Ship of The Week – Golden State (PC-1 Class Product Tanker)

This weeks interesting ship was recently christened in the first part of January 2009.  The ship, named the Golden State, was built by General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, and was delivered to U.S. Shipping Partners LP.  The Golden State is the lead ship of a new line of product tankers, disignated the PC-1 class.  Construction began in August of 2007 and was completed six months ahead of schedule and under budget, making it a excellent first-of-class ship spearheading the Product Carrier program at NASSCO.  It is the first of 9 product tankers to be delivered to U.S. Shipping Partners LP.

At a length of 600 feet, the Golden State has a cargo capacity of approximately 331,000 barrels and will be used to carry petroleum and chemical products between U.S. ports. The ship is named in honor of the State of California, where General Dynamics NASSCO is located.

The PC-1 class of product tankers will be 183 meters (600.4 feet) in length and 32.2 meters (105.6 feet) in beam, with a design draft of 11.8 meters (38.7 feet).  The ships will be double hulled, displace 49,000 dead weight tons (DWT) and have a cargo capacity of 331,000 barrels. Also, they will have a single crew, be diesel-powered and have a target operating speed of 14.8 knots.  The PC-1 class will replace single-hulled and aging double-hulled ships that carry refined petroleum products among U.S. ports.

CLICK HERE for a PC-1 Product/Chemical Tanker Fact Sheet (PDF)

Sources: General Dynamics and NASSCO

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