VESSEL REVIEW | APL 72 – US Navy mobile berthing barge to house crews during ship maintenance cycles

Bollinger Shipyards of Louisiana has handed over a new berthing and messing barge to the US Navy.

APL 72 belongs to a class of barges designated by the navy as the auxiliary personnel lighter–small (APL(S)) vessels to replace the service’s berthing vessels that are now more than 70 years old. The first two APL(S) vessels built by Bollinger, APL 70 and APL 71, were delivered to the navy in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

The earlier APL(S) were manufactured by VT Halter Marine from 2018 until its acquisition by Bollinger in late 2022 but otherwise utilise the same standard design.

Large capacity coupled with increased mobility

The APL(S) are being used by the navy to house duty crews when ships are in port for maintenance or inter-deployment training cycles. This eliminates the need to secure separate on- or off-base housing.

The vessels will also enable crews to comfortably work, rest, dine, and exercise while their ships are in port for repairs and maintenance.

As was the case with their predecessors, the new barges will be used in line with navy planning and scheduling of maintenance activities in such a way that surface ships and submarines that are slated for repair are matched with available barges. This ensures that the crews of navy combatant vessels undergoing maintenance will be nearby and thus readily available to assume control as soon as the vessels are cleared to return to operations.

Bollinger has tailored the barges' mobility requirement into the design, ensuring that these can be towed to new bases or shipyards, even overseas, to support changing fleet requirements. The builder said such mobility offers additional capabilities to serve humanitarian missions and other temporary assignments.

Full range of crew facilities ideal for daily operations

Each APL(S) is 269 feet (82 metres) long and 69 feet (21 metres) wide and has a draught of only seven feet (2.1 metres), allowing for deployment even in shallow harbours. Each vessel is equipped with offices, classrooms, washrooms, laundry facilities, medical treatment areas, a barber shop, and a fitness centre.

With mess seating for 224 enlisted personnel and 28 officers, each meal is served via five 20-minute shifts to allow food service for 1,130 personnel (three meals per day).

The vessels are each fitted with berthing spaces for up to 74 officers and 537 enlisted personnel.