Bollinger Delivers Tow OPA 90 Barges to Bourchad

Published May 18, 2006 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

Bollinger Gretna, LLC, Harvey, La., a Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. company, has delivered, B. No. 280, a double hull, 80,000 BBL oil tank barge built to meet the requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA’90), to Bouchard Coastwise Management, Corp., Hicksville, NY.

Following the delivery of the B. No. 280, Bollinger announced the signing of the sister ship, B. No. 282. The B. No. 282 will also be built at Bollinger Gretna, along with the previously announced 110,000 BBL, B. No. 205, a black oil barge measuring 430-feet long, with a 79-foot beam and a depth of 34-feet. Additionally, Bouchard has awarded Bollinger a 35,000 BBL barge, B. No. 233, which will be built at Bollinger Marine Fabricators in Amelia, La. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Morton S. Bouchard III, president and chief executive officer of Bouchard Affiliates, said “The delivery from Bollinger of the first barge, as part of our second phase construction program, places us right on schedule with our future outlook program. Signing with Bollinger on the sister ship to the B. No. 280 and the B. No. 233 barge is our confirmation and commitment to our customers of our dedication to providing them with modern up to date equipment and services.”

The B. No. 280 is a clean oil barge measuring 399-feet long, with a 74-foot beam and a depth of 28-feet. The barge is coupled with an existing Bouchard tug, RHEA BOUCHARD, using the Intercon coupler system. While the B. No. 280 was in the final stages of construction, Bollinger Algiers, L.L.C., retrofitted the RHEA BOUCHARD with the Intercon system, regulatory recertification and completed a re-powering of the vessel.

“We have been successful in working with Bouchard from our new construction, as well as our repair / conversion facilities” said Donald “Boysie” Bollinger, chairman and chief executive officer of Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., “The diversity of our workforce maintains our ability to provide customers like Bouchard with a single point of contact to respond to their demands in the marine market.”