Crowley receives first two heavy-lift deck barges in Singapore
Crowley Maritime Corporation’s solutions group announced today that it has received the first two of potentially four, new heavy-lift, ballastable deck barges (HDBs) for use by clients in the Asia-Pacific region. These new barges, which will be contracted and managed from the company’s recently opened Singapore office, allow Crowley to better support regional customers in the oil and gas mining; Engineering, Construction and Procurement Management (ECPM); and Engineering, Procurement, Installation and Commissioning (EPIC) industries who are increasingly embarking on large-scale onshore and offshore projects, the company said in its press release.
These new 400-foot-long, 120-foot-wide (122 meter x 36.5 meter) HDBs, named HDB 01 and HDB 02 are moored in Batam, Indonesia. They have 25-foot (7.6-meter) side shells, which provide both the capacity and deck strength (up to 4,200 pounds per square foot or 25 tons per square meter) needed to accommodate larger drilling and production units used for deepwater offshore energy exploration and development. They are designed with more robust ballast systems to deal with high tidal ranges found in the region’s load and discharge ports and have higher internal strength which allows tolerance when ballasting to the seabed, fully loaded – where tidal movement can be problematic.
“Customers in this region require locally available and tailored assets for their project needs,” explained William Hill, director, business development in Singapore. “The industry has expressed the need for available equipment to support larger construction and topside moves along with complex deck loads. These HDBs were designed to do just that.”
The barges are ABS classed, with an approximate deadweight capacity of 20,000 metric tons. Both were designed by Crowley's Seattle-based, naval architecture and marine engineering subsidiary Jensen Maritime and were constructed in China by Seabridge Marine Contractors Ltd/Jiangsu Yangzijang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.
The company announced the opening of its Singapore-based project management and logistics solutions office in July. The office is located at 77 Robinson Road on the 34th floor of the Robinson Building and can be contacted at +65 6809 2160. Additionally, Crowley’s wreck removal, marine salvage and emergency response subsidiary TITAN Salvage, based in Houston, also maintains a local presence with a 45,000 square-foot site west of the city, allowing for more rapid emergency response in the region.
Crowley's solutions group is a Project Management Organization (PMOrg) providing marine solutions as a prime contractor for the energy and resource extraction industries. This specialized team, which has its main Project Management Office (PMO) in Houston, Texas, provides turnkey marine solutions through the company's diverse capabilities, assets and world-class project management skills. The solutions group allows Crowley to provide greater value to customers with multifaceted marine and offshore construction-related projects.
Jacksonville-based Crowley Holdings Inc., a holding company of the 122-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, is a privately held family and employee-owned company. The company provides project solutions, energy and logistics services in domestic and international markets by means of six operating lines of business: Puerto Rico/Caribbean Liner Services, Latin America Liner Services, Logistics Services, Petroleum Services, Marine Services and Technical Services. Offered within these operating lines of business are: liner container shipping, logistics, contract towing and transportation; ship assist and escort; energy support; salvage and emergency response through its TITAN Salvage subsidiary; vessel management; vessel construction and naval architecture through its Jensen Maritime subsidiary; government services, and petroleum and chemical transportation, distribution and sales.
