Phillips orders fifth millennium-class tanker for Alaska trade

Kristen Nelson

Phillips Petroleum Co. has ordered a fifth millennium-class oil tanker for the Alaska trade at a cost of more than $205 million and taken options on two more.

Phillips Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Mulva said in a Feb. 28 statement: “The decision to build a fifth millennium-class tanker reflects Phillips’ plan to increase our daily Alaska production from a current level of 350,000 barrels of oil equivalent to about 375,000 to 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent for the foreseeable future.”

Polar Tankers Inc., Phillips’ tanker subsidiary, christened the second millennium class double-hulled tanker, the Polar Resolution, March 3 at the Litton Avondale Industries shipyard in New Orleans. The Polar Resolution will be delivered in late 2001.

The first of the new tankers, Polar Endeavour, will enter the Alaska trade this spring.

Phillips Alaska spokeswoman Dawn Patience told PNA that the Endeavour is now ready for 17 days of sea trials, which will last until the end of March. The ship will return to the yard for the last time, and a quick turnaround is expected. Polar Tankers takes delivery of the ship in April, she said, and the Endeavour will make the 40-day journey around the Cape and be in port in Valdez in June.

Ships meet OPA ‘90 requirements

The tankers have a 1,017,161 barrel capacity and are sized at 125,000 deadweight tons to meet Puget Sound size restrictions.

Litton Avondale currently has four crude oil carriers under construction for Polar Tankers. Along with the award of the fifth ship, Litton Avondale and Polar Tankers agreed to options for a sixth and seventh ship. The option for the sixth ship is subject to exercise in the third quarter of 2001, and the seventh during the fourth quarter of 2001.

Phillips said the millennium-class tankers are being built to meet or exceed existing and proposed environmental regulations and will set new standards for innovation and environmental protection. They were designed for the weekly 2,400-mile roundtrip from Valdez to Puget Sound, Wash., and will also deliver cargo to Hawaii.

The double-hulled ships have double independent engine rooms, twin propellers and twin rudders. Phillips said the millennium-class vessels will isolate cargo, fuel and lubricating oils from the ship’s side by ballast tanks or void spaces. The vessels also meet pending regulations for air emissions from engines and are painted with tin-free anti-fouling paint in deference to proposed regulations.

The first four tankers — Polar Endeavour, Polar Resolution, Polar Discovery and Polar Adventure — are named in honor of ships sailed by 18th century explorer Captain James Cook. Patience said the fifth tanker will also be named after one of Cook’s ships but that the name isn’t yet available.

ARCO Marine Inc., predecessor of Polar Tankers, contracted for the first two tankers at $161 million each in July 1997, with an option for three additional tankers. The first of the ships was scheduled to enter service in early 2000.