GD's NASSCO delivers second ECO Class product carrier to APT
On Thursday, May 19, shipbuilders at General Dynamics NASSCO celebrated the delivery of the Magnolia State to longtime customer American Petroleum Tankers (APT). The ECO Class tanker is one of the most fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly tankers in the world and symbolizes the emerging future of green shipping. It is also the fifth ship NASSCO shipbuilders have delivered in the past eight months, the shipbuilder said in a press release.
The Magnolia State is the second of a five-tanker contract between NASSCO and APT, which calls for the design and construction of five 50,000 deadweight ton, LNG-conversion-ready product carriers with a 330,000 barrel cargo capacity. The 610-foot-long tankers are equipped with a new “ECO” design, which provides a 33 percent fuel efficiency improvement compared to product tankers built only a few years ago.
The construction and operation of the new ECO Class tankers are aligned with the Jones Act, requiring that ships carrying cargo between U.S. ports be built in U.S. shipyards, further protecting hundreds of thousands of American jobs and almost $100 billion in annual economic impact as a result of the domestic American maritime industry.
In December 2014, U.S. Representative Scott Peters signaled the start of construction of the Magnolia State. In June 2015, California State Assemblywoman and Speaker Emeritus Toni Atkins laid the keel.
The ships were designed by DSEC, a subsidiary of Daewoo Shipbuilding & 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 optimized hull form. The tankers will also have dual-fuel-capable auxiliary engines and the ability to accommodate future installation of an LNG fuel-gas system.
The Magnolia State, along with others in the ECO Class, are the first in the Jones Act fleet to obtain a PMA+ Notation from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), 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 in ways that are rooted in the fundamentals of human ergonomics.
