Launch of the new hopper barge

Project Summary

For the construction of 3 new 4,500 ST dwt inland hopper barge at the Gunderson Yard in Portland, OR, Argonautics Marine Engineering provided Owner's Representation. At irregular intervals, the yard was visited to monitor progress and inspect the construction quality. Meetings with the yard's internal QA inspectors were held to review their findings. Final detailed hull surveys were conducted before and after each launch. The first barge was successfully delivered in November 2007. The second barge was delivered in March 2008, followed by the third and last barge in January 2009.     

After the launch and delivery of each barge, trip & tow surveys were provided.

Scope of Work

The project scope included:

• Review of the barge design drawings and calculations;

• Survey of the barges at various stages during the construction;

• Audit the QA department of the yard;

• Survey the barges before and after the launch.

Acknowledgement

Photograph above courtesy of Gunderson (copyright Ackroyd Photography, Inc.).

Project Photographs

Inspection inside one of the void spaces.	Midships joint after mating barge ends.	Inspection of the inside coating.	Dimensional check of the hopper width.