Crowley Maritime Corporation christened its newest tanker, Florida, yesterday at the Aker Philadelphia Shipyard and will soon put the 330,000-barrel ship to use in the U.S. Gulf for a major energy customer. This U.S.-flag vessel is the second of two American built, operated and crewed tankers Crowley purchased last year from Aker.

More than 100 guests, including Chairman, President and CEO Tom Crowley; friends and employees from Crowley; representatives from the customer, shipyard, and labor along with other industry dignitaries, gathered to celebrate the vessel�s christening, which was performed by Nina Glende Johnsen, the wife of Aker President and CEO Kristian Rokke.

The Florida, which will provide 50 American seagoing and shore-side jobs, will soon be placed into service delivering domestic oil to U.S.-based refineries. The tanker Pennsylvania, which was purchased from Aker and delivered in September, is currently at work in the U.S. Gulf.

�Adding these new tankers to our fleet allows us to continue providing our customers with diverse and modern equipment to transport their petroleum and chemical products in a safe and reliable manner,� said Crowley. �I recall that one of my grandfather�s missions for the company included making investments that would not only help the company grow, but also provide jobs for people, which is something we have carried on to this day, and why we continue to support the Jones Act and our U.S. shipbuilding partners, including Aker.�

Both tankers are capable of carrying 330,000 barrels of petroleum products and chemicals. The Veteran Class design is based on the well proven as-built Athenian Class 46,000 DWT product tanker from Hyundai Mipo Dockyards. The standard design was changed to conform to U.S. registry and U.S. coastwise trade requirements.

The U.S.-flag vessels are the 13th and 14th in the Veteran Class built at Aker. This proven design provides Crowley customers with ABS-classed vessels that have been thoroughly tested and refined for performance and reliability. With a length of 183.2 meters, a breadth of 32.2 meters, and a depth of 18.8 meters, the tankers come in at 45,800 deadweight tons (the weight of about 49,320 Liberty Bells) with a draft of 12.2 m. Powered by the first Tier II large-bore engines, MAN-B&W 6S50MCs, the speed of the Pennsylvania and the Florida is expected to average 14.5+ knots. In addition to being double hulled with segregated ballast systems, safety features also include water and CO2 firefighting systems, as well as a foam water spray system.