NASSCO holds keel-laying ceremony for product carrier

NASSCO holds keel-laying ceremony for product carrier San Diego shipyard General Dynamics NASSCO on Tuesday held a keel-laying ceremony for the first of nine product carriers it is building for U.S. Shipping Partners due for delivery in early 2009.
   The PC-1 class double-hulled ships will be 600 feet long, displace 49,000 deadweight tons and will have a cargo capacity of about 331,000 barrels. They will carry petroleum and chemical products in U.S. Jones Act trades.
   U.S. Shipping Partners has decided to name the first vessel Golden State.
   NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., is building the product carriers from designs provided by DSEC, a subsidiary of Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.
   In addition to the product carrier ship program, NASSCO is also building the new class of T-AKE dry cargo-ammunition ships for the U.S. Navy.