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to get an ABS redundant engine roomrating, an R2 rating, on such a vessel,”said Schlueter. The three JonesAct ATBs will also meet SOLAS andfull ABS requirements.While under way, the vessel’s electricalrequirements will be supplied bythe shaft generators. While in port, athird generator will supply the hotelpower. Intercon has built a larger,64-inch pin coupling system to handlethe bigger barges.All of Crowley’s ATBs are builtunder the ABS SafeHull program forenvironmental protection. This programputs the vessel design throughan exhaustive review to identifystructural loads and strengthen thevessel structure.The barges for the 750s aredesigned to carry petroleum products,heated cargoes and EZ chemicals.They will have a fixed cleaning systemfor handling the cargo changesand a dual-mode inert gas and vaporcollection system.All this attention to safety andthe environment and crew safety andcomfort is not a haphazard process. Itis driven by a desire to get ahead ofexpected, and costly, future regulations.And, according to Schlueter,Crowley is basing everything on runningthe boats for the next 30 years.“When you look back 10 or 25years ago and realize what the environmentalissues were, then you fastforward to today and try to figure outwhat the situation is going to be 30years from now, it’s just going to bestaggering,” said Schlueter. “There’sa lot of educated guessing — emissions,noise pollution, water pollution.We’re trying to get out in frontof the curve.”Which brings us to Crowley’s latestambitious building program: fourOcean-class tugs, designed by theCrowley subsidiary company, Seattlebased,Jensen Maritime Consultants,and under construction at BollingerMarine Fabricators, of Amelia, La.The first, Ocean Wave, is scheduledfor delivery by late 2011, followed byOcean Wind, Ocean Sky and OceanSun in 2012. The 10,880-hp tugs willbe among the most powerful tugs inthe U.S.The boats are expected to workprimarily in the Gulf of Mexico, andare ideally suited to Crowley’s 455series of 400-foot ocean barges. ButSchlueter points out that they aregeneral-purpose tugs that will becalled upon to tow anything anywhereover the course of their lives. He wenton to explain that Crowley’s customerswere looking for a minimum of 120tons of bollard pull, enough muscleto tow their drilling rigs, barges anda variety of deck loads needed forassembling deepwater rigs offshore.Crowley went further and set agoal of 150 tons minimum bollardpull in order to remain competitiveover time. When finally introduced,the tugs are expected to have asmuch as 165 metric tons of pull,according to Crowley. Producing allthat pull are two Caterpillar C-280-12 diesels, with Reintjes LAF 5666If you think it looks good on paper,wait ‘til you see it on the job.Jensen has unique insights into the way workboatsneed to perform in the real world.206-284-1274www.jensenmaritime.com14 American Tugboat Review 2011