Crowley's rugged ice-class ATB built to withstand Alaska's harsh climate

AVEOGAN | Crowley Maritime, Jacksonville, Fla.

- Casey Conley

Alaska has notoriously challenging weather conditions and climate. Crowley Maritime built an articulated tug-barge (ATB) rugged enough to safely sail through these icy waters and nimble enough to steer itself into berth.

The 128-foot Alaska-class tugboat Aveogan is paired with the 100,000-bbl Oliver Leavitt. The tug and barge pair up through an Intercon C-Series coupler with a first-of-its-kind “modified wave” lightering helmet to allow for ship-to-ship transfers. Propulsion comes from twin 3,384-hp GE Tier 4 engines paired with Schottel z-drives.

The double-hulled ATB meets both ABS Ice Class and IMO Polar Code standards. The tug is equipped with a closed-loop ballast system that transfers water between the tugboat and barge as the tugboat burns fuel. Oliver Leavitt is outfitted with spill response equipment to protect Alaska’s pristine waters and coastlines.

Crowley Shipping’s petroleum services group will operate the ATB for Crowley Fuels Alaska. Jensen Maritime Consultants designed the ATB, and Bollinger Shipyards built the vessels at its Louisiana yard. Petro Star Inc., based in Anchorage, chartered the vessels for Crowley to carry fuels to some of Alaska’s most remote communities, including Dutch Harbor, located 700 nautical miles from Anchorage.

“It is a very capable ATB,” said Lev Yampolsky, Petro Star’s vice president of logistics and terminal operations. “The capabilities we will get with this ATB from Crowley are things we are very excited to see: the ability to move fast, switch cargo and quickly prepare the barge for different cargo configurations. That is going to give us good operational flexibility.”