NEWS
GH Starts NY Ferry
exposed upper deck, behind the wheelhouse, will seat 50 passengers and have standing room for another 20. Passengers will board and disembark through the side doors and doors at the bow between the main cabin and foredeck. The foredeck will be heated so passengers won't slip on ice and snow in the winter. The main cabin features double-glazed windows and will be outfitted with Beurteaux Ocean Tourist seats, two 42 in. plasma TV monitors, fed by a KVH M3 gyro-stabilized satellite dish, a head, snack bar, and HVAC. Interior sound levels will be 72 dba. Illuminated LED destination signs will be located in the main cabin above the passenger doors. Gladding-Hearn has built 33 high-speed, passenger catamarans for service in the U.S. and the Caribbean since becoming a U.S. Licensee of Incat Designs in 1984. In December, the shipyard will deliver a 38 knot, 155-ft., 350passenger ferry for the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority.
peterd@gladding-hearn.com
K-Sea Announces 3Q Results
K-Sea Transportation Partners L.P. announced operating results for the first fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2006. The company also announced that its distribution to unitholders for the first quarter will increase by $0.02, or 3.2%, to $0.64 per unit, or $2.56 per unit annualized. This is the sixth consecutive quarter of increased distributions, and the eighth such increase since the company's IPO in January 2004. The distribution will be payable on November 15, 2006 to unitholders of record on November 9, 2006. For the three months ended September 30, 2006, the company reported operating income of $7.5 million, an increase of $1.4 million, or 22%, compared to $6.1 million of operating income for the three months ended September 30, 2005. The increase resulted from expansion of the company's fleet barrel-carrying capacity over the past year, including the acquisition of Sea Coast Transportation in October 2005 and the addition of five tank barges, including four newbuilds, one of which was delivered during the fiscal 2007 first quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization (EBITDA) increased by $3.6 million, or 31%, to $15.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2006, compared to $11.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2005. EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that is reconciled to net income, its most directly comparable GAAP measure, in the table below. Net income for the three months ended September 30, 2006 was $4.1 million, or $0.40 per fully diluted limited partner unit, compared to net income of $4.2 million, or $0.47 per fully diluted limited partner unit, for the three months ended September 30, 2005. The $0.1 million decrease in net income resulted from the $1.4 million increase in operating income, offset by an increase in $1.6 million in interest expense resulting from higher debt balances incurred to finance vessel acquisitions in connection with the Company's fleet expansion and upgrading program over the past year, and higher interest rates. seen in an ASD design. There is no appreciable loss of speed in this direction of operation. The increased flare and freeboard at the "aft" end is simply to ensure a drier operation when towing in this direction.Only one winch is required for both harbor and coastal towing operations. When towing long distances, the ZTech will simply tow in tractor mode going astern. The low sheer forward, coupled with the aft bias of the deckhouse and wheelhouse enable the Z-Tech design to work under large overhanging ship flares. The vessel will be Orange Shipbuilding Hull H-391. The tugs will be 98.5 ft. long, with a beam of 39.3 ft., a hull depth of 16.4 ft. As in the first Z-Tech Bay-Houston Towing Co. ordered, the tugs will be powered by two of Caterpillar's new 3516C high power engines, delivering 3150 hp each. The vessel is designed to produce in excess of 75 metric tonnes of bollard pull. The Caterpillar engines are being fur-
Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has started construction of a fourth water taxi for New York City-based New York Water Taxi. Delivery is set for next April when the commuter ferry will begin passenger service between Yonkers, N.Y., and downtown Manhattan. Like the three sisters before her, the bright yellow, all-aluminum catamaran, designed by Incat Crowther, will measure 72 ft. (22 m) long and 27.3 ft. (8.3 m) abeam, and draw 5 ft. (1.5 m). It will be USCG-certified to carry 149 passengers but limited to only 99 passengers when operating at New York City water taxi docks. The vessel will be powered by two Cummins QSK 19-M diesel engines, each rated at 800 bhp at 2100 rpm. The engines will drive 5-bladed Ni-Br-Al Bruntons propellers via Twin Disc MGX 5145SC "Quick Shift" gearboxes and EC300 control systems. Like her sisters, the new vessel's top speed will be 26 knots, with a load of 11.5 tons. At top speed, the vessel will leave a wake of under 10 inches. The boat's carpeted main cabin will seat 98 passengers and be entirely accessible for passengers in wheel chairs. The
Bay-Houston Orders Z-Drive Tug
Bay-Houston Towing Co. contracted with Orange Shipbuilding Co., Inc. of Orange, Texas to produce a second generation Robert Allan Ltd. designed Z-Tech tug. The forward deck (over the skeg) has a low, flat sheer, creating a spacious, relatively flat and safe working deck, without any obstructive anchor chains, etc. For sea-going operations, the Z-Tech tug works astern in tractor mode, so the shape of this part of the hull is more rounded in plan than would typically be
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10 · MarineNews · December, 2006
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