OCTOBER 25, 2012 — Seattle headquartered Harley Marine Services has placed an order with Morgan City, La., headquartered shipbuilder Conrad Industries for the construction of four 297 ft, 30,000 barrel sister-class double hull petroleum barges. Construction on the first barge began in the Spring of 2012 and all four will be completed by the end of the year.

The barges were designed by Conrad Industries with input from Harley Marine's management team to ensure internal and regulatory performance requirements were not only met but exceeded. Each barge will be built with the most technically and environmentally advanced equipment available to meet the specific needs of Harley Marine's customers and expanding business markets.

Each barge has a molded beam of 54 feet and a molded depth of 12 feet. The 30,000 barrel barges are outfitted with six cargo compartments as well as an environmentally friendly vapor recovery and return system. Onboard machinery includes two Byron Jackson cargo pumps and two Cummins 6CTA8, 270 horsepower engines. The four barges will also be equipped with Bergan Guard high level and overfill alarm systems with magnetic tank level gauges.

Harley Marine Services will name three of the four barges after 14 year old triplets living with cystic fibrosis, an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of roughly 30,000 children and adults living in the United States. The first three will be named Jared Joseph, Nicholas Ray, and Allison Jane to commemorate these three young children living with this devastating disease. The last will be named after a young girl, Maci Bryan who is just ten years old, also living with cystic fibrosis. Harley Marine says it is very proud and honored to name these barges after such young fighters and survivors of cystic fibrosis, and that it will continue "Cruisin' For a Cure" until it can proudly name a barge "Cure Found."

Harley Marine Services operates more than 40 tank barges on the U.S. East, Gulf and West Coasts and has been adding new tonnage aggressively. One of its newer tank barges is the 2009-built, 31,500-barrel-capacity Lily Blair, shown above.

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