Polar Tankers to have all double hulls

Polar Tankers Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of ConocoPhillips, christened the Polar Enterprise, the company’s newest double-hulled crude oil tanker, Oct. 25.

Polar Enterprise is the fifth and final Endeavour Class tanker in Polar Tankers’ U.S. flag fleet and is expected to load her first cargo of Alaska North Slope crude in late January.

The tanker is specifically designed to carry crude oil from Alaska to the West Coast and Hawaii. The vessel’s sister ships, Polar Endeavour, Polar Resolution, Polar Discovery and Polar Adventure, were commissioned in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 respectively.

“With the addition of the Polar Enterprise and the sale of our remaining double-bottom, single-hulled ships, we will operate an all double-hulled tanker fleet in 2007, a year ahead of our original goal,” said Steve Barham, president of Transportation for ConocoPhillips.

Northrop Grumman Ship Systems in Avondale, La., built the state-of-the art tankers. Final outfitting is being completed at Navantia Shipyards in Fene-Ferrol, Spain, where the christening ceremony was held.

Endeavour Class vessels have double hulls with 10 feet of space between the inner and outer hulls, two independent engine rooms, redundant propulsion and twin steering systems, a bow thruster and state of the art navigation systems.

Polar Tankers Inc. operates a fleet consisting of seven vessels ranging in size from 141,000 to 188,000 DWT. The entire fleet is employed in the Alaska crude trade.

—Petroleum News