"We wanted a vessel that would allow us to quickly and efficiently serve our diesel and lube oil customers in Puget Sound," explained Maxum Petroleum's Mike Curry of the new 38.4-metre product tanker that the firm is having built.
"We have 15,000-barrel barge doing the job now but this boat will more efficiently handle our ATB customers. Most of our customers take smaller deliveries, so the new boat, with its six cargo holds taking 3,700 barrels of fuel and 90,000 litres of lube oil, will fill an important niche."
The Global Provider will be less than 100 gross tonnes and so qualifies for a two-man day-boat operation around Seattle. It also has accommodation for four crew making longer runs practical. "We have one barge each on the Columbia River and in San Francisco Bay," explained Curry. "So if we have a barge in the dry dock in any of these ports we can send this boat down as relief."
With a 3.0-metre draft on a 4.3-metre moulded depth and a 9.8-metre beam, the Grade B product tanker is fully double-hulled. Fuel tanks located port and starboard of the engine room will carry a total of 34,000 litres. Additional trim tanks are located in the forepeak and the stern quarters. Designed by the Elliot Bay Design Group, the boat is being built by Jesse Co Metal Fabrication and Machinery in Tacoma. Brandt Schlender, Marine Project Management for Jesse Engineering, reports that the tanker is scheduled for delivery later in 2017.
In the engine room, aft of the twelve separate cargo holds, a pair of Cummins QSK 19M Tier 3 diesels, each generating 500kW at 1,800rpm, will provide propulsive power. These two in-line six-cylinder engines will each turn into Twin Disc MGX=5202SC gears swinging 1.2-metre four-blade stainless steel props mounted on 10cm by 5.2-metre shafts. A pair of Northern Lights generators will meet the boat's electrical and hydraulic power requirements.
On deck, a Rapp Marine HP30 5F crane will handle the hoses for product being pumped by a six-inch Blackmer pumps.