Oil Patch Bits: Vigor Marine completes 300-ton bow replacement

Vigor Marine said Dec. 6 that in just less than three months it replaced the bow of Olympic Spirit, an 80,000-barrel double-hull petroleum barge owned by Harley Marine subsidiary, Olympic Tug & Barge Inc. Meeting the aggressive schedule has helped keep Harley’s fleet in the water where it needs to be to continue to provide quality marine services.

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. 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, Ore., 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 an 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. Solid teamwork was a key component to the success of this significant and complex project.