Crowley Christens New Jones Act Tanker

The 45,800 dwt, Florida. Image: Crowley

Crowley Maritime Corporation christened its newest tanker Wednesday during a ceremony at the Aker Philadelphia Shipyard and says it will soon put the 330,000-barrel ship to use in the U.S. Gulf for a major energy customer. This U.S.-flagged tanker is the second of two American-built, operated and crewed tankers Crowley purchased last year from Aker.

More than 100 guestsgathered to celebrate the vessel’s christening, which was performed by Nina Glende Johnsen, the wife of Aker President and CEO Kristian Rokke. — More than 100 guests gathered to celebrate the vessel’s christening, which was performed by Nina Glende Johnsen, the wife of Aker President and CEO Kristian Rokke.

The Florida, which will provide 50 American seagoing and shore-side jobs, will soon be placed into service delivering domestic oil to U.S.-based refineries. The tanker Pennsylvania, which was purchased from Aker and delivered in September, is currently at work in the U.S. Gulf.

“Adding these new tankers to our fleet allows us to continue providing our customers with diverse and modern equipment to transport their petroleum and chemical products in a safe and reliable manner,” said CEO Tom Crowley. “I recall that one of my grandfather’s missions for the company included making investments that would not only help the company grow, but also provide jobs for people, which is something we have carried on to this day, and why we continue to support the Jones Act and our U.S. shipbuilding partners, including Aker.”

Both tankers can carry 330,000 barrels of petroleum products and chemicals. The Veteran-Class design is based on the proven Athenian Class 46,000 DWT product tanker from Hyundai Mipo Dockyards and was modified to conform to U.S. registry and U.S. coastwise trade requirements.

The U.S.-flag vessels are the 13th and 14th in the Veteran-class built at Aker, and the eighteenth vessel overall. With a length of 183.2 meters, a breadth of 32.2 meters, and a depth of 18.8 meters, the tankers come in at 45,800 deadweight tons with a draft of 12.2 m. Powered by the first Tier II large-bore engines, MAN-B&W 6S50MCs, the speed of the Pennsylvania and the Florida is expected to average 14.5+ knots. In addition to being double-hulled with segregated ballast systems, safety features also include water and CO2 firefighting systems, as well as a foam water spray system.

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard President and CEO Kristian Rokke remarked, “We are thrilled to have delivered the Florida to Crowley. This delivery represents the conclusion of a tremendously successful series of fourteen tankers that over 1,000 men and women have worked on for the last eight years. This never would have been possible without the support and confidence of our customers, our industry partners, and the City and Commonwealth.”

Crowley has a long history of transporting petroleum products and chemicals by tankers and articulated tug barges (ATBs). As of this year, Crowley owns and operates 17 ATBs, which include 155,000-barrel, 185,000-barrel and 330,000-barrel capacity tank vessels.

Aker Philadelphia’s current backlog now consists two 115,000 dwt crude oil carriers for SeaRiver Maritime, Inc., Exxon Mobil Corporation‘s U.S. marine affiliate. Both of these crude oil tankers are scheduled for delivery in 2014.