Crowley Deploys Double-Hull Petroleum Barges to Western Alaska

Barges are Among the First Double-Hulled, Environmentally Friendly Barges in Western Alaska Waters

Anchorage, Alaska:  Crowley Maritime Corp. is deploying two new double-hulled, combination deck cargo and tank barges this week in Western Alaska. The DBL 165-1 and DBL 165-2 barges left Dakota Creek Industries in Anacortes, Wash., earlier this month and made a brief stop in Seward for final outfitting of equipment – including hoses, lines, pumps and other gear – necessary for operating in Western Alaska. The barges are expected to load their first cargoes of petroleum products in Bristol Bay this week and will begin making deliveries to customers along the Bering Sea coast soon afterward.

Both vessels will be home ported in Nome and will be used for shallow draft operations and beach landings for the delivery of fuel and cargo to the remote communities of Western Alaska. The vessels are the first double-hulled, environmentally friendly barges of their kind to operate in Western Alaska waters, since Crowley’s 180-1, a double-hull barge that Crowley deployed in Alaska in 2005.

“We are pleased and excited to announce the delivery and deployment of these barges,” said Bob Cox, Crowley’s vice president of petroleum distribution. “Engineered with integrity, the DBL 165-1 and DBL 165-2 give Crowley the opportunity to better serve the Alaska market with the enhanced design features that are built into these vessels. This exemplifies our commitment to moving petroleum and petroleum products efficiently and safely.”

The barges were specifically designed for the rigors of Western Alaska, with the highest priority given for the safety of the personnel and the environment. Crowley is the only company bringing the safer double-hull vessels to Alaska without any regulatory requirement, because as Crowley Senior Vice President and General Manager Rocky Smith said, “It’s just the right thing to do.”

Crowley christened the DBL-1 and DBL-2 last month during a small ceremony at Dakota Creek Industries, where the barges were constructed. Customers Janis Ivanoff, president of Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation, and Debra Shontz, director of operations for Arctic Slope Regional Corporation in Barrow, participated by helping to christen the vessels.

Since 1953, Crowley has provided various marine, petroleum distribution, and energy support services in Alaska – from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska and both coastal and inland communities including those along the Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers – and today has offices and operations throughout the state with more than 650 employees. The company has consistently provided unique solutions to Alaska’s logistics and marine transportation challenges and played an important role in Alaska’s business development and in protecting its environment.

At the southern terminus of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, Crowley provides tanker escort and docking services in the Prince William Sound for Alyeska Pipeline Service Company’s Ship Escort/Response Vessel System, utilizing some of the most technologically advanced and powerful tugboats in the world. With a storage capacity of more than 39 million gallons, Crowley is strongly positioned as a leader in the Alaska fuel industry, providing transportation, distribution and sales of petroleum products to more than 280 communities across Alaska. Crowley supports the energy industry on the North Slope with summer sealifts of large production modules and various marine transportation services, and in the winter supports oil field development with CATCO® all-terrain vehicles. These heavy-lift overland transport units have large bag tires designed to work over the tundra without damaging the delicate Arctic ecosystem. Crowley also provides tanker assist and escort services at Tesoro Alaska Company’s Nikiski refinery in Cook Inlet.

Source: Crowley

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