A 442-foot oceangoing barge (shown above) with a capacity of 19,950 metric tons was recently launched at Galveston Shipbuilding's facility on the north side of Galveston Island, Texas.
The 150,000-barrel vessel, owned by Marathon Marine, a Marathon Oil subsidiary, is one of two identical deep-notched barges being constructed by Galveston Shipbuilding for employment in bunkering of very large tankers at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), 20 miles offshore from Grand Isle, La., in the Gulf of Mexico.
The barges, being classed by the American Bureau of Shipping, are to be entitled to the highest class for vessels of this type for unrestricted ocean service. They are equipped with circulating hot oil cargo heating systems, bow thrusters and equipment for blending different grades of fuel oil to satisfy each customer's requirement. The vessels will also carry fresh water, lubricating oil, and other ship's stores to fulfill the needs of the visiting crude oil carriers — in other words, barges MM-1 and MM-2 will function as floating mobile service stations.
The two big tank barges, to be home ported at Marathon's Garyville, La., refinery, will be push-towed by 7,200-horsepower tugs which have been specially configured for this service.