General Dynamics NASSCO christens fourth product carrier for American petroleum tankers

On Saturday, September 17, General Dynamics NASSCO hosted a christening ceremony for the fourth ECO-Class tanker for American Petroleum Tankers (APT) under construction at the company’s shipyard in San Diego, USA.

The ECO-Class tanker, the ‘Bay State’, is the fourth of a five-tanker contract between NASSCO and APT, which calls for the design and construction of five 45,360-deadweight-tonne, LNG-conversion-ready product carriers with a 330,000-barrel (52,500-cubic-metre) cargo capacity.

According to General Dynamics the 186-metre-long tankers are equipped with a new “ECO” design, which provides a very significant improvement in fuel efficiency. The first three ships of the ECO-Class program for APT are delivered and in service. The fifth ship under the contract with APT is scheduled to be delivered in 2017.

The ‘Bay State’, along with others in the ECO Class, are the first in the Jones Act fleet to obtain a PMA+ Notation, representing compliance with one of the highest standards of human factors in engineering design. The PMA+ notation is created to facilitate safe access to vessel structure and spaces.

The ships were designed by DSEC, a subsidiary of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) of Busan, South Korea. The design incorporates improved fuel efficiency concepts through several features, including a G-series MAN ME slow-speed main engine and an optimised hull form.


Alex Baird

Alex Baird is the Managing Director of Baird Maritime