
DATE: Wednesday, September 10, 1997         TAG: 9709100568

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS                      LENGTH:   96 lines

SHIPYARD TO MARK A MILESTONE NEWPORT NEWS FACILITY WILL CHRISTEN ITS FIRST COMMERCIAL SHIP IN YEARS

Mobil Corp. will christen the newest addition to its tanker fleet this morning at Newport News Shipbuilding, marking the shipyard's return to commercial construction after 15 years.

Officials of the Fairfax-based oil giant and the shipyard will formally name the tanker American Progress, the first newly constructed double-hulled petroleum tanker built in the United States in years.

Newport News Shipbuilding's resumption of commercial shipbuilding means two things to the giant Peninsula shipyard, which is the state's largest private employer, with 18,000 employees.

First, as Navy ship orders ebb, commercial work provides some measure of diversity to the shipyard's revenue, which has been derived almost entirely from the Navy since the early 1980s.

``Without commercial work, we will not be able sustain our work force or stabilize the industry,'' said Cynthia Brown, president of the American Shipbuilders Association, which represents the nation's largest shipyards.

Second, Newport News Shipbuilding is learning modern, efficient commercial shipbuilding techniques that it believes it can apply to construction of Navy warships in the future.

``We see tremendous benefits, not only in keeping some of our workers on, but in the application of what we're learning to Navy work,'' said shipyard spokesman Mike Hatfield.

The shipyard is building three other tankers for a Greek shipping firm and has an order for five more from Hvide/Van Ommeren Tankers, a U.S.-Dutch partnership.

The domestic tanker market could probably sustain five to 10 more orders for similar-sized tankers before 2007, as older, single-hulled ships are replaced by modern, double-hulled ships, said James R. McCaul, president of IMA Associates Inc., a Washington shipbuilding consulting firm.

Mobil, meanwhile, says it is buying a great ship.

The new ship stands out on the Newport News waterfront because of its light-blue superstructure. The paint was still tacky in Tuesday's humidity. A red flying Pegasus - Mobil's symbol - adorns the ship's exhaust stack.

``It's a beautiful ship,'' said Capt. Steve Garland, the ship's master assigned to the new U.S.-flag tanker. ``It's really special since it's a new American ship, which is a really unique thing.''

While the United States was once a great merchant seafaring nation, nearly all merchant ships today are operated under other flags, due in large part to cheaper labor available overseas. A U.S. flag is required only on ships that operate between U.S. ports and carry U.S. government cargo.

American Progress will sail between Mobil's giant refinery in Beaumont, Texas, and Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., carrying up to 340,000 barrels of gasoline at speeds up to 15 knots. The 600-foot ship will depart Newport News around Sept. 24 and move its first load of gas in early October, said Craig S. Kinney, Mobil's lead marine superintendent for U.S. fleets.

American Progress will replace Mobil's Seminole, a single-hulled tanker built in 1961. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990, passed largely in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, requires that all tankers operating in U.S. waters be double-hulled by 2015.

While Mobil owns about 32 other tankers operating internationally, American Progress will be its only U.S.-flag tanker for now. It is also Mobil's third double-hulled ship. Mobil has two double-hulled, very large crude oil tankers, and more on order from a South Korean shipyard.

Mobil agreed to buy American Progress in January. The new tanker had been ordered originally by Eletson Corp. Newport News Shipbuilding is constructing three others for the Greek shipping firm, which Eletson says it will operate in international trade.

The first Eletson ship, the Agathonnissos, is being outfitted in a berth adjacent to American Progress.

Newport News Shipbuilding has lost more than $100 million on the construction of the first four tankers, mainly because of the very steep learning curve it encountered. Some losses had been expected as the shipyard learned modern commercial construction techniques that it expects will pay off down the road.

The yard is already making some advances. The hull of the third ship, the Makronissos, came together in the drydock in 78 days, compared to 134 days for the Agathonnissos.

Eletson and Newport News Shipbuilding said last year there had been some fit and finish problems with the first tanker. Those have been resolved.

``The trades did a good job putting it together,'' said Barry Shea, the ship's chief engineer, as he surveyed his pristine engine room. ILLUSTRATION: BILL TIERNAN color photos/The Virginian-Pilot

Workers at Newport News Shipbuilding put the finishing touches on

the main deck of the tanker American Progress. Tanker construction

is expected to help the yard prosper in an era of declining Navy

work.

Mobil's Pegasus logo adorns the exhaust stack of the American

Progress, which will be christened today at the Peninsula shipyard.

The American Progress is a double-hulled tanker that can carry up to

340,000 barrels at speeds of up to 15 knots. The 600-foot ship will

move its first load of gasoline in early October, Mobil officials

said.