USA-based Crowley Maritime Corporation has recently christened its newest tanker, the 'Florida', at the Aker Philadelphia Shipyard and will soon put the vessel to use in the Gulf of Mexico for a "major energy customer".
The 'Florida' is the second of two American-built, operated and crewed tankers Crowley purchased last year from Aker. The ship will provide 50 American seagoing and shore-side jobs and will soon be placed into service delivering domestic oil to US-based refineries.
The tanker 'Pennsylvania', which was purchased from Aker and delivered in September, 2012, is currently at work in the US Gulf.
"Adding these new tankers to our fleet allows us to continue providing our customers with diverse and modern equipment to transport their petroleum and chemical products in a safe and reliable manner," said Crowley.
Both tankers are capable of carrying 330,000 barrels of petroleum products and chemicals. The Veteran Class design is based on the well-proven as-built Athenian Class 46,000DWT product tanker from Hyundai Mipo Dockyards. The standard design was changed to conform to US registry and US coastwise trade requirements.
The vessels are the 13th and 14th Veteran Class ships to be built at Aker. This proven design provides Crowley customers with ABS-classed vessels that have been thoroughly tested and refined for performance and reliability. With a length of 183.2 meters, a breadth of 32.2 meters, and a depth of 18.8 meters, the tankers feature a draught of 12.2 metres and come in at 45,800 deadweight tonnes.
Powered by one of the first Tier II MAN-B&W 6S50MC large-bore engines, the speed of the 'Pennsylvania' and the 'Florida' is expected to average 14.5+ knots.
In addition to being double hulled with segregated ballast systems, safety features also include water and CO2 firefighting systems, as well as a foam water spray system.
