Armstrong Marine, the aluminum boat fabricator located between Port Angeles and Sequim known primarily for its expertise in designing and building aluminum catamarans for use by recreational mariners and commercial fisherman alike, recently launched a 50-foot mono-hull vessel.
According to Joe Beck of Armstrong Marine, the boat, which is one of three the company is building for the Navy, is a dive-assist boat that will be used as a platform to make in-water repairs to fast-attack submarines and guided-missile submarines attached to the 5th Fleet.
The boat has what appears to be a push bar protruding from the bow SEmD conceptually similar to what the State Patrol has on the front of its vehicles SEmD that is lined with rubber.
The boat’s chine SEmDwhere the sides and bottom of the boat meet SEmD also has large rubber bumpers.
All of this rubber is an aid in guarding against the boat banging against and damaging the hull of a submarine when engaged in repair work.
Joe said that once the dive-assist boat completes her sea trials, she will be sent to the USS Emory S. Land (AS-39), which is in her new home port of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
The Emory S. Land is a 649-foot submarine tender that is one of two Military Sealift Command ships that have a hybrid crew of civil-service mariners and uniformed Navy personnel that is commanded by a Navy captain.
The ship is a floating warehouse of food, fuel, repair parts and torpedoes from which submarines draw during replenishment at sea or when moored.
Onboard Emory S. Land, there are 53 specialized machine and fabricating shops that enable her complement of 85 officers and 1,200 civilian and enlisted personnel to make repairs to submarines while under way or in port.
Back in the water
This week, Platypus Marine launched Lady Alderbrook, which had been stowed in the Commander Building at its complex on Marine Drive for about 10 days.
According to Captain Charlie Crane, director of sales and marketing, the 53-foot vessel is owned and operated by the Alderbrook Resort in Union. She is available for charter as a tour boat for corporate gatherings, weddings, family outings and also to take guests on dinner cruises.
Captain Charlie said she was out of the water for a Coast Guard inspection and that while on the hard, personnel replaced the engines’ coolant, attached new zincs, painted the bottom and sent the props out to be reconditioned.
Platypus also put Kristena Rose back into the water after Coast Guard inspectors gave her the go-ahead to resume commercial operations.
Regular readers will recall that earlier this year, the 88-foot commercial fishing boat that hails from Neah Bay ran aground near Shipwreck Point, damaging her keel, hull and prop.
Shoe-box visitor
The high winds that knocked out electrical power in the area and littered the streets and yards of the Olympic Peninsula with all manner of airborne detritus and rubble last week also caused the captain of Meridian Ace to seek safe haven in Port Angeles Harbor.
The sheer-sided blue and creme vessel that looked like a shoe box sitting on an ice skate that was about to tip over was a Ro/Ro (roll on/roll off) car carrier. The Panamanian-flagged vessel is 653 feet long and has the capacity to transport 6,000 vehicles.
Polar Adventure, an 854-foot crude oil tanker, moored to the Port of Port Angeles’ Terminal One North on Wednesday.
She is one of five Endeavour class tankers operated by ConocoPhillips that were designed specifically to transport crude oil from Alaska to refineries along the West Coast and in Hawaii.
The ships, which have a projected 30-year lifespan, have two engine rooms that operate independently of each other and are separated by a fireproof, water-tight bulkhead.
They also have twin steering systems, a bow thruster and an array of electronic systems that are so sensitive they are able to alert the bridge watch of even the slightest course deviation.
The double-hull tanker will be in port for about 10 days, during which time Roy McKay and his personnel at Straits Marine and Industrial will perform some engine work, repair the stores crane and conduct a routine inspection of the rudders.
Ammo locker
Washington Marine Repair, the topside repair company, is installing an ammo locker onboard Arrowhead as she and her sister ship, Eagleview, are moored at the Port of Port Angeles’ Terminal One South.
The vessels, each sporting a black hull and a navy-gray superstructure, were built by Leevac Industries, whose facilities are on the west bank of the Mermentau River about five miles east of Jennings, La.
Their design mimics that of offshore supply vessels that operate in support of offshore construction and offshore drilling rigs.
This type of work vessel is prevalent in the Gulf of Mexico, where delivery to work sites of virtually all construction supplies, drinking water, diesel fuel and personnel is dependent on waterborne transportation.
Each vessel is 250 feet long and powered by twin Caterpillar 3516 C diesel engines that generate a combined 6,000 horsepower.
The vessels are steered using a joystick, and the bulk of the electronics are operated using touch-screen technology.
Eleven air-conditioned staterooms onboard each boat can accommodate berthing for 24 individuals.
Eagleview and Arrowhead provide escort duty to the boomers based at the submarine base in Bangor as they transit the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Submarine’s shields
They shadow the submarines, one on either side, and act as the first line of defense in the event of an attack, such as occurred with the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden on Oct. 12, 2000.
The purpose of the eight cargo containers that each boat has stacked two deep on the deck aft of the wheelhouse is to create a wall that is about 16 feet high, which adds additional bulk to the boat and creates an added layer of protection against any attempts that may be made to ram the submarines.
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David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats and strolling the waterfront.
Items involving boating, port activities and the North Olympic Peninsula waterfronts are always welcome. E-mail dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.
