AMO Currents - General Dynamics NASSCO delivers first ECO Class tanker for SEA-Vista LLC

AMO Currents - Posted: May 3, 2016

General Dynamics NASSCO delivers first ECO Class tanker for SEA-Vista LLC

The following is excerpted from an article released April 29 by General Dynamics NASSCO. American Maritime Officers represents all licensed officers aboard the Independence and will represent the officers aboard the other tankers in the series of ships being built for SEA-Vista LLC by General Dynamics NASSCO.

SAN DIEGO - On Thursday, April 28, General Dynamics NASSCO delivered the first ship in a series of three ECO Class tankers currently under construction for SEA-Vista LLC. The new tanker symbolizes the emerging direction of the U.S. shipping industry toward cleaner, more fuel-efficient modes of transporting product between American ports.

The ship, the Independence, is a 610-foot 50,000 deadweight-ton LNG-conversion-ready product tanker with a 330,000-barrel capacity. Designed by DSEC - a subsidiary of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) of Busan, South Korea - the ship design incorporates improved fuel efficiency concepts through several features, including a G-series MAN Diesel & Turbo ME slow-speed main engine and an optimized hull form. The ship includes a ballast water treatment system and is also designed to accommodate future installation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel-gas system.

The construction and operation of the Independence and its sister ships are aligned with the Jones Act, which requires that ships carrying cargo between U.S. ports be built in U.S. shipyards.