Cleaner Ferry Exhaust System Developed

By Mark Edward Nero

Vancouver, Washington-based engine and services provider Pacific Power Group has engineered a propulsion system with an exhaust treatment system for two new San Francisco Water Emergency Transportation Authority ferries that the engine supplier expects to be the cleanest-operating passenger ferries in the US.

PPG said May 9 that third-party independent emissions tests completed at its Kent, Washington location in January show that the system’s emissions are believed to be lower than any currently operating passenger ferry in the US. The MTU engines are certified to EPA Tier 3 marine emission levels and with the added exhaust after-treatment system, EPA Tier 4 Final level performance is achieved without the use of diesel particulate filters.

The independent emissions tests were conducted and verified by Infowedge and the University of California at Riverside Center for Environmental Research and Technology.

PPG’s custom-engineered solution focused on the operating conditions with the greatest emissions outputs with a high priority on vessel operational reliability and keeping weight and space claim to a minimum. The system could eliminate an estimated 10 tons of NOx, PM and CO emissions annually through the use of selective catalytic reduction and diesel oxidation catalyst technologies.

The complete propulsion system includes two MTU 12V4000M64 1,950-hp engines and ZF 7600 reduction gears. MTU Series 4000 engines provide clean-running operation that helps lower the ferries’ emissions output. The Series 4000 engines also offer increased safety, lower fuel consumption and greater reliability for the commercial passenger vessels.

PPG said its engineers worked with Vigor Industrial’s Kvichak Marine Industries to develop a system that physically fits the vessel design, meets weight goals and provides easy installation and maintenance for the Water Emergency Transportation Authority.

The ferries will replace two of WETA’s 12-vessel fleet that are nearing the end of their expected 25-year life. Each vessel will be able to carry about 400 passengers and operate at about 27 knots.

Designed by Incat Crowther, each will be a 135-by-38-foot all-aluminum catamaran. The ferries are currently under construction at Vigor’s Kvichak shipyard and are expected to be in service by the summer of 2017.

Kvichak Building Research Catamaran

By Mark Edward Nero

Seattle-based Vigor Kvichak Marine Industries, a subsidiary of Vigor Industrial, has been awarded a contract to design and build a 48-foot all-aluminum foil-assisted research catamaran for the King County, Wash. environmental Laboratory.

The vessel is expected to operate in Puget Sound, the Straits of Juan de Fuca and adjoining inland waterways. Its purpose is to conduct water-sampling research along with marine buoy calibration, maintenance and retrieval, tours and shoreline surveys, dive and remotely operated underwater (ROV) operations.

This will be the 13th foil-assisted catamaran Kvichak has built since 2000. Delivery is scheduled for the summer of 2016.

“King County’s environmental lab serves a mission to help protect and enhance water quality in the Puget Sound region so our citizens can continue to enjoy it for years to come,” said Keith Whittemore, Vigor’s executive vice president of business development. “That’s definitely a mission near and dear to our hearts.”

The vessel will be powered by Cummins Tier 3 engines, Hamilton waterjets and Twin Disc gears. Other features include a full-service water quality lab, chemical storage locker, 36-by-36-inch moon pool on the aft deck, AirMar weather station 200WX system, two staterooms with one berth each and full galley with settee.

Additional features include an overall length of 48 feet; a beam of 18 feet 8 inches; a HamiltonJet modular electronic control system; a marine crane with 2,200-pound capacity winch; and a Furuno NavNet navigation system.

Vigor Industrial Absorbing Kvichak Marine

By Mark Edward Nero

Aluminum workboat design and build company Kvichak Marine Industries is becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of ship building and repair company Vigor Industrial, the two companies confirmed March 3.

Under the terms of the merger, Kvichak’s current owners, Jim Meckley, Brian Thomas and Keith Whittemore, are joining Vigor as shareholders and members of the leadership team.

“Sharing best ideas and practices across companies will make us even more competitive and create a more stable business base for our workers,” Whittemore, Kvichak’s president, said. “Vigor shares our values and our commitment to providing long term opportunity to our people.”

Kvichak, pronounced Kweejack, was founded in Seattle in 1981, and has extensive experience in the commercial fisheries of Alaska building gillnetters, seiners and tenders.

“Kvichak brings amazing fabrication talent to our company and some of the best customer relationships in the industry,” Vigor CEO and owner Frank Foti said. “Infusing those fabrication genetics into our broader operations is what industrial evolution is all about. What could be better than creating a team that allows most new fishing boats to be built where they work—in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska?”

This transaction builds on the Vigor and Oregon Iron Works (OIW) merger in 2014, which expanded Vigor’s reach into highly complex industrial products in marine, renewable energy, aerospace, nuclear containment, transit, defense, hydroelectric, bridge building and other commercial construction industries.

“With Kvichak on board, we also see enormous opportunity to strengthen our role in supporting offshore oil and gas operations in the Arctic,” Foti said. “The synergy between Vigor, OIW and Kvichak provides the ability to fabricate larger and more complex components and expand our offerings for building offshore support vessels, oil spill response vessels and systems, modules, rigs, terminals and related structures.”

The combined company is expected to employ about 2,500 people in Alaska, Oregon and Washington.

Small Shipyard Grants Awarded

The US Dept. of Transportation has announced nearly $10 million in grants to 15 small shipyards throughout the United States, including four on the West Coast, to pay for modernizations that increase productivity and help small shipyards compete in the global marketplace.

The funds were allocated as part of the US Maritime Administration’s Small Shipyard Grants Program. The grants fund a variety of projects, including infrastructure improvements and equipment modernization to increase the efficiency, competitive operations and quality of vessel construction in US shipyards.

“These small shipyard grants reflect the … commitment to strengthening our transportation systems and creating an economy that’s built to last,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in announcing the grants.

Of the $9.98 million issued, almost $2 million was allocated to West Coast shipyards. The West Coast grantees are:

• Seattle-based Kvichak Marine Industries, which says it will use a $987,307 grant to buy a water-jet cutting table to cut and bevel ferrous and non-ferrous plates; a hydraulic swing beam shear for accurate cutting in place of skill saws; and welding equipment. The grant will also fund a boatbuilding skills training program.
• Foss Maritime Co.’s Seattle Shipyard, which received $578,402 to buy two 45-foot manlifts; a dust collection system to allow the yard to blast and paint without contaminating the atmosphere; a three-ton forklift; and shelters for additional work overflow.
• Honolulu-based Navatek Ship Construction, whose $248,805 grant goes toward buying wind turbines and towers to provide clean renewable electrical service to the shipyard.
• Sitka, Alaska-based Allen Marine, which says it will use its $163,500 grant to buy a welding fume and particulate extraction system it needs to meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements for its aluminum welding operations.

“They will provide new tools and equipment to help maritime businesses sustain and create good American jobs through increased productivity and efficiency,” US Maritime Administrator David Matsuda said of the grants in a news release. “These federal investments will fund shipyard essentials.”