Crowley will build four more articulated tug-barges

Crowley will build four more articulated tug-barges Crowley Maritime Corp., a provider of transportation and logistics services, said Friday its Vessel Management Services subsidiary has contracted with VT Halter Marine Inc., to build another four articulated tug-barge (ATB) tank vessels, each with a capacity of 185,000 barrels.
   The new contract, valued at $190 million, includes owner-furnished equipment. All four vessels are to be completed within 36 months.
   Two similar 185,000-barrel articulated tug-barge units, already under construction for Crowley by VT Halter, will be delivered in the first and third quarters of 2006. The unit scheduled for the first quarter has been chartered to ConocoPhillips under a three-year agreement.
   Oakland, Calif.-based Crowley has four 155,000-barrel ATBs already in service on the U.S. West Coast. By 2008, Crowley will have a total of 10 articulated tug-barge units in the U.S. coastwise petroleum trade.
   Each unit has an articulated, or hinged, connection system between the tug and the barge, which allows movement in one axis or plane in the critical area of fore-and-aft pitch.
   The four tugs being built under the new Halter contract will be interchangeable with all vessels in Crowley's articulated tug-barge fleet. Each 185,000-barrel barge is 587 feet long, 74 feet wide, and 40 feet in depth.