Young Brothers Invests $80 million to Improve Service, Reliability and Efficiency
Conrad Shipyard Contracted to Construct Four New Tugs
HONOLULU, June 27, 2016 –Young Brothers, Limited, Hawai‘i’s largest inter-island cargo service provider, and Conrad Shipyard, a Louisiana-basedcompany, have signed a contract to construct four new tugs. The nearly$80 million investment will support Young Brothers’on-time service,reliability, and efficiency. The first tug will be delivered in the first quarter of 2018, and the fourth by the first quarter of 2019.
Artists rendering of new tug.
Committed to Customer Service and Hawai‘i’s Future
Young Brothers, and its investors, are committed to investing in this critical component of Young Brothers’ service. The new tugs will improve Young Brothers’ ability to provide regular cargo service to island communities and enhance service through lower maintenance, less down time, better tow speeds, greater operating efficiencies, and lower environmental impacts.
“Our investment in these new tugs will directly support and further our commitment to frequent, reliable, affordable and universal service for decades into the future,” said Young Brothers President Glenn Hong
New Tugs Designed for Young Brothers and Matched with High Capacity Barges.
The powerful 6,000 horsepower, 123 foot by 36.5 foot vessels are designed to match with Young Brothers’ fleet of modern high capacity barges (delivered from 2007 to 2010).
“The new contract is a tribute to the extraordinary skills and coordination of the parties as well as our joint commitment to quality, craftsmanship and developing a vessel suited to the needs and demands of the Hawai‘i service,” said Conrad Shipyard President and CEO Johnny Conrad.
The four new tugs will constitute the core of the company’s towing capacity for their 35-year life expectancy. Young Brothers worked in conjunction with its parent company, Foss Maritime, and the Naval Architects in Foss’ Technical Services Department to research various tug hull designs, engines, and towing equipment options. It was through this collaboration that Young Brothers was able to ensure that the latest advances in safety, environmental protection and crew habitability were incorporated into the tug design.
The Damen designed vessels will be powered by General Electric, 8L250MDC, state-of-the-art EPA Tier IV emissions compliant exhaust gas recirculation engines.
New Tugs Dedicated to Skills and Towing Innovations of Hawaiian Navigators.
These new American built tugs will be known as the Kāpena Class of ocean towing vessels. “The Kāpena Class, or captain class, celebrates the incredible seamanship of Hawaiian navigators,” said Hong. “Young Brothers will honor their skills and innovations by naming each of the four new tugs after their former captains.” The tugs will be ‘homeported’ on the neighbor island ports, underscoring the company’s service commitments to Hawai‘i’s communities.
About Young Brothers
Young Brothers, Limited, with approximately 360 employees across the state, has served Hawaiʻi since 1900. Young Brothers is a publicly regulated water carrier providing 12 weekly port calls from Honolulu to the state’s neighbor island ports, including Hilo, Kawaihae, Kahului, Kaumalapau, Kaunakakai and Nāwiliwili. For more information and a new website that includes “today’s barge arrivals” visit www.youngbrothershawaii.com.
About Conrad Shipyard
Conrad Shipyard was established in 1948 and is headquartered in Morgan City, Louisiana. The company designs, builds and overhauls tugboats, ferries, liftboats, barges, offshore supply vessels and other steel and aluminum products for both commercial and government markets. The company provides both repair and new construction services at its five Gulf Coast shipyards located in southern Louisiana and Texas.