Lockport, LA., July 15, 2008 - LOCKPORT,
La., Bollinger Marine Fabricators, LLC, Amelia, La., a Bollinger Shipyards, Inc.
company, has delivered Bollinger hull #533, DBL 77, an ocean service double
hull, oil tank barge built to meet the requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of
1990 (OPA ’90), to K-Sea Transportation L.L.C. 
The
80,000 BBL capacity DBL 77 measures 336-feet, 11-inches in length, has a 74-foot
beam and a 25-foot depth. The DBL 77 is the first in a series of two (2)
near-sister vessels constructed for K-Sea at Bollinger's Amelia facility. The
second tank barge in the series, DBL 76, is scheduled for delivery later this
year. The DBL 77 is equipped with two Volcanic 6,000 BTU Thermal Liquid Heaters
and cargo heating coils as well as a vapor recovery system, enabling it to carry
either clean or residual cargoes. DBL 77 will be coupled with an existing K-Sea
tug, using the state-of-the-art JAK 400 tug/barge Push-Pin coupler system, which
is designed to increase operating efficiency and enhance safety and reliability
by operating as a dual mode ITB.
President and CEO of K-Sea, Timothy J. Casey, said, "The DBL 77
is a state-of-the-art tank vessel built to the highest regulatory and
performance standards and well suited to meet our customers’ requirements. Our
long-standing relationship with Bollinger has yielded another high-quality
addition to the K-Sea fleet, on schedule and within budget. Our ability to meet
the financial and operational targets in our new construction program is
critical to our success, and I would like to thank the employees at K-Sea and
Bollinger for their efforts.”
"Bollinger facilities have built fifteen (15) OPA'90 compliant tank barges
for K-Sea, and we have built an additional twenty-nine (29) OPA’90 barges for
the marine industry over the years,” said Donald "Boysie” Bollinger, chairman
and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. "Our ability to meet the needs of our customers
and the OPA'90 market is a tribute to our workforce, and we thank K-Sea for
their continued support of our services.”
K-Sea Transportation Partners L.P.
(www.k-sea.com)
provides refined petroleum products marine transportation, distribution and
logistics services in the northeastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico.
Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. (www.bollingershipyards.com) is a
leading provider of offshore oil field support vessels, OPA'90 tank barges,
tugs, drilling rigs, liftboats, fast patrol boats and other steel and aluminum
products from its three new construction shipyards. Bollinger has 13 shipyards
and all are strategically located between New Orleans and Houston with direct
access to the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River and Intracoastal Waterway.
Bollinger is the largest vessel repair company in the Gulf of Mexico region with
a total of 40 dry-docks in Louisiana and Texas.
