Exxon tanker keel laid with lucky coins

A ceremonial keel laying was held Oct. 17 in Pennsylvania for the first of two new tankers being built to carry Alaska North Slope crude oil for ExxonMobil.

The double-hull tankers, to be called Liberty Bay and Eagle Bay, are scheduled for completion in 2014. Each will be 820 feet long and capable of carrying 730,000 barrels of crude, more than the current average daily production of North Slope oil.

Aker Philadelphia Shipyard described the ceremonial keel laying in an Oct. 17 press release.

“Keeping with long-held shipbuilding tradition, coins were placed on one of the keel blocks before the 230-ton unit was lowered into place in the dry dock,” the release said.

Representatives from Aker and ExxonMobil’s shipping affiliate, SeaRiver Maritime, placed the coins “as a ceremonial sign of good fortune and safe travels.”

The new tankers will replace a pair of aging double-hull ships in the SeaRiver fleet.

Since its inception in 1998, Aker Philadelphia says it has delivered 17 vessels for operation in the Jones Act market.

The construction of the two new SeaRiver tankers, valued at $400 million, will create more than 1,000 jobs, Aker said.

—Wesley Loy