News – Page 57 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

Hockema Group Designs 420-Foot Hopper Dredge for Manson Construction

By Peter Marsh Manson Construction Co. of Seattle was established in 1905 by an enterprising Swedish immigrant and since the 1980s, the company has built or converted several trailing suction dredges designed by the Hockema Group that have set standards for capacity in their class, from the 265-foot Newport, with a hopper capacity of 4,000 cubic yards, to the 390-foot hopper dredge Glenn Edwards, launched in 2006 with a hopper capacity of 13,700 cubic yards. By 2008, Manson Vice President Henry Schorr was discussing the possibility of a bigger and more efficient version of the Glenn Edwards. This led to…

EBDG Completes Inspection Project for USNS SBX-1

Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Group has completed a weld engineering and inspection project for USNS SBX-1, a floating, self-propelled early-warning radar station designed to operate in high winds and heavy seas. SBX-1 was developed as part of the Defense Department’s Basic Missile Defense System. As the SBX-1 is a semi-submersible platform vessel, it was necessary to cut large access hatches in the hull columns to extract equipment being refurbished and replaced. The work required replacement and re-welding of the access cutouts in steel plating up to over 1.5 inches thick. EBDG officials said they developed an optimized weld procedure for…

San Francisco Bay — Home of World’s First Floating Fire Boat Station

Seemingly overnight, a new structure appeared on San Francisco’s waterfront. Situated at Pier 22½ just behind historic Firehouse 35 and nestled beside the Bay Bridge, this floating building is San Francisco’s new Fire Station 35. The facility is an answer to the city’s long-awaited need for updated fire and marine safety on the Bay. The overnight materialization of Fire Station 35 on San Francisco’s waterfront was due to the method in which it was built. To reduce public impact and avoid disruption along the bustling Embarcadero, the float and other marine components were delivered to the nearby, and less occupied,…