Crowley takes delivery of first two heavy-lift deck barges

Crowley Maritime Corporation’s solutions group has received the first two heavy-lift, ballastable deck barges (HDBs) of the four ordered from Seabridge Marine Contractors Ltd / Jiangsu Yangzijang Shipbuilding, China.

Crowley’s Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering subsidiary Jensen Maritime designed the vessels, which will be managed by the company’s new Singapore office.

The new vessels will support customers in the Asia-Pacific region to serve a number of industries, such as oil and gas mining, engineering, construction and procurement management (ECPM), and engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC).

The ABC-classed, 20,000mt barges, named HDB 01 and HDB 02, are moored in Batam, Indonesia, and are 122m-long and 36.5m-wide.

The 7.6m side shell offers capacity and deck strength up to 25t/m² to house larger drilling and production units for deepwater offshore energy exploration and development.

"Crowley opened its new Singapore-based project management and logistics solutions office in July."

The effective ballast systems and higher internal strength of the vessel are capable of resisting high tidal ranges.

Crowley Singapore business development director William Hill said: "Customers in this region require locally available and tailored assets for their project needs.

"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."

Crowley opened its new Singapore-based project management and logistics solutions office in July.

Image: Crowley’s new HDB. Photo: courtesy of Crowley Maritime Corporation.