Projects
Vigor Marine projects are spotlighted below. Examples of the kinds of work our other subsidiaries perform are available here and on other Vigor Industrial company pages.
Olympic Spirit - Bow Replacement
The bow replacement of Olympic Spirit was necessitated by some mistakes that were made during the original construction of the barge. Harley worked closely with naval architect, Elliott Bay Design Group, on the most effective strategy to bring Olympic Spirit up to Harley’s standards of excellence. It was decided a total bow replacement was the best solution. Solid teamwork was a key component to the success of this significant and complex project.
The 300-ton bow module was pre-built in a section of Vigor’s 150,000 square feet of fabrication bays in its Swan Island shipyard in Portland, Oregon allowing the vessel to continue operations.
As the module neared completion, the Olympic Spirit was transported to the Portland yard and lifted by one of Vigor’s versatile drydocks and positioned at the end of a 800 foot long buildway. There the existing bow was removed and the new module was attached. The excellent design work provided by Harley and Elliott Bay allowed Vigor Marine teams to retain the forward collision bulkhead both speeding and simplifying installation.
See a timelapse video of the whole project HERE.
Fireboat Chief Seattle
This 97' x 25' aluminum fireboat, originally built in 1984, was retrofitted by skilled workers in Vigor's Everett, WA shipyard. With 10,000 square feet of covered shop area and an additional 40' x 100' x 40' covered canvas area in the yard, Vigor's Everett facility is ideal for any complex retrofit of vessels up to 150 tons.
The retrofit of Chief Seattle took a little over one year to complete. All structures from the main deck up were replaced. The engine room was gutted. All new engine foundations and structures were installed to convert the vessels from a triple to a double screw. Shafting and propellers along with two new bow thrusters were installed. Extensive aluminum work was performed including the fabrication of six new sea chests, new engine and deck room plating and support structures, hand railings and piping systems. Other installations included two new Caterpillar pump engines with four 2,500 gallon a minute pumps; firefighting technology that includes deck, house top and under wharf monitors; firefighting foam and spray that protects the vessel; and a complete electrical package with two new 60KW generator sets, switchboard, electronics package, alarms and advanced monitoring systems with touch screen displays. The deck house, which was built off site, was then set and welded to the existing hull.
F/V Pacific Ram
Trident Seafoods came to the experts at Vigor Marine in Tacoma to help expand the fish hold capacity of the 82' x 27' F/V Pacific Ram. This catcher boat was pulled up on Tacoma's 500 ton railway where Vigor Marine teams began constructing a new bow. The upper portion was built in place while a bulbous bow was simultaneously fabricated in the yard's steel shop.
After the bulbous bow was hung, the sponsoning was done in place and the boat grew by five feet on either side. After some final piping was put in place this vessel was delivered in September of 2012 in time the catch the end of the B season for Cod and Pollock. She will fish with 35% more fish hold capacity and remain under 200 GRT. Length, depth and crew complement for this vessel remained unchanged.
The naval architect for this project was Hockema & Whalen Associates.
Drill Rig Kulluk and Noble Discoverer
The ice-classed, semi-submersible drill rig Kulluk and ice-classed drillship Noble Discoverer came to came to Vigor Marine's Seattle shipyard to receive safety and environmental upgrades before they set sail for the Arctic. The rigs are the centerpieces of Shell's 2012 exploratory drilling campaign in the Beaufort and Chuckchi Seas. Both rigs simultaneously left the Seattle yard in June 2012.
The 266' x 230' Kulluk arrived in Seattle in July 2011. Experts at Vigor Marine spent 11 months repairing or upgrading new machinery and equipment including cranes, main engines and generators. Following the work done, the rig will operate with zero discharge. Everything down to the sink water will be captured and stored.
The same care was taken with the 512' x 86' Noble Discoverer. The Discoverer arrived this April to undergo winterization and similar environmental upgrades. Vigor Marine mobilized a team of more than 500 skilled, quality-focused workers to complete upgrades which would normally take up to 6 months in just 10 weeks. In-house engineers worked closely with naval architects to accommodate additional requirements.
Vigor teams installed six EPODs, one on each engine. The 7’ x 20’ EPODs perform like catalytic converters in automobiles, capturing harmful discharges like carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The Discoverer’s emissions now meet the highest air quality standards in the world.
“Vigor’s work on the Kulluk and Discoverer has been outstanding,” said Curtis Smith, spokesperson for Shell Alaska. “Vigor’s capacity to provide the highest levels of quality work within our timeframe is impressive and continues to make them a valued partner in Shell’s Alaskan offshore operations.”
Coastal Fleet
Over a half decade period our Tacoma yard has modernized half of the six ship fleet owned by Coastal Transportation. Highlighted here is the work done on the second of the three vessels, the Coastal Progress.
Vigor Marine in Tacoma added a 22 ft. stern extension and bulbous bow to Coastal Progress in our first phase of work, at what was then known as Marine Industries Northwest Inc. Our work increased capacity and improved both bow and stern hydrodynamics.
When the vessel returned in 2011, the teams, now part of the shipbuilding experts of Vigor Marine, cut and extended the midbody and B-Deck. We added 164 tons of steel to lengthen her by 46 ft. We converted three wing tanks into a passageway from the forward house to the engine room aft for her crew, and added a new 40 ft. midset gantry.
Coastal Progress completed sea trials in January 2012, with overall cargo capacity increased by 35 percent. She now measures 260’ long, 40’ wide and 26’ 9” deep.
Also for Coastal Transportation, we upgraded Coastal Navigator and Coastal Nomad.
F/T Ocean Peace
The dual 6’9” sponsons we added to F/T Ocean Peace were fabricated on-site in our Portland yard by Vigor Industrial sister company US Fab. We also added a bulbous bow fully equipped with a bow thruster to provide excellent mobility. Length, depth and crew complement for the DNV classed vessel remained unchanged. As part of our project, we:
- Removed and discarded forward bow sections, shelter deck bulwarks and the existing side shell where sponsons were added.
- Removed and discarded all concrete and foam from the hold bottom, as well as lead ingot ballast from the hold bottom and aft voids.
- Reinstalled lead ballast in the forward end.
- Installed new sponsons outboard of the existing hull that extend forward forming a new bulbous bow, aft to the transom, and from the existing lower chine up to and including the command deck bulwarks.
- Rearranged piping and systems to suit new configuration.
- Removed and disposed of the existing incinerator and installed a new one.
- Installed an emergency generator and associated systems.
Ocean Peace, once again leading the way as one of the largest and most efficient factory trawlers in her field.
See a timelapse video of the whole project from start to finish HERE.
