2008 03 In Depth - Donjon Marine Co., Inc. · PDF fileO OnNovember29,2008,Donjon’s...
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O On November 29, 2008, Donjon’s Atlantic Salvor, under the command of Captain John Woods, along with seven crew, was contracted to tow the barge T/B Heyden-Lamissa (Ex-B 105) from Port Newark, New Jersey to offshore of Lagos, Nigeria. Due to security concerns, the barge was not delivered directly into port. The barge, 98.61 meters long x 21.34 meters wide, with a transit draft of two meters and a capacity of approximately 105,000 barrels, was delivered on January 3, 2009. It was towed in ballast, with no cargo. In addition to the tow, Donjon also provided tow prep services and tending services until the vessel was ready to depart Port Newark for Nigeria. Aside from some weather delays during the transit, the job went smoothly and as planned. Published by Donjon Marine Co., Inc. Spring 2009 Vol. 3, Issue 3 1 Donjon Tows Barge to Nigeria 2 Donjon Dredging Projects Continue 2 Heavy Lift Project Completed 3 M/V Fedra Contract Goes to Donjon 4 Message From the Vice President 5 Focus on Gabe Yandoli, Senior Port Engineer 6 Donjon Opens New Office Please visit our website at www.donjon.com DONJON TOWS BARGE TO NIGERIA Donjon’s Atlantic Salvor performs successful tow in Nigeria.
Transcript of 2008 03 In Depth - Donjon Marine Co., Inc. · PDF fileO OnNovember29,2008,Donjon’s...
OOn November 29, 2008, Donjon’sAtlantic Salvor, under the command ofCaptain John Woods, along with sevencrew, was contracted to tow the barge T/BHeyden-Lamissa (Ex-B 105) from PortNewark, New Jersey to offshore of Lagos,Nigeria. Due to security concerns, thebarge was not delivered directly into port.
The barge, 98.61 meters long x 21.34meters wide, with a transit draft of twometers and a capacity of approximately105,000 barrels, was delivered onJanuary 3, 2009. It was towed in ballast,with no cargo.
In addition to the tow, Donjon alsoprovided tow prep services and tendingservices until the vessel was ready to departPort Newark for Nigeria. Aside fromsome weather delays during the transit, thejob went smoothly and as planned. �
Published by Donjon Marine Co., Inc. � Spring 2009 � Vol. 3, Issue 3
1 Donjon Tows Barge to Nigeria � 2 Donjon Dredging ProjectsContinue � 2 Heavy Lift Project Completed � 3 M/V Fedra ContractGoes to Donjon � 4 Message From the Vice President � 5 Focuson Gabe Yandoli, Senior Port Engineer � 6 Donjon Opens New Office
Please visit ourwebsite at
www.donjon.com
DONJON TOWS BARGE TO NIGERIA
Donjon’s Atlantic Salvor performssuccessful tow in Nigeria.
DONJON In-Depth � Spring 2009 2
Donjon’s dredging projects continue, withthe NY & NJ Harbor Channel NavigationImprovement 50-foot Project on theElizabeth (New Jersey) channel estimatedto last a total of 370 days. The totalmaterial to be dredged on the channel is952,000 cubic yards, with the totalmaterial to be processed at 222,000 cubicyards. The total of the dredged materialgoing to HARs is 715,000 cubic yardsand to the Axel Carlson Reef at 15,000cubic yards.
Donjon’s maintenance dredging project atJamaica Bay (New York) is a federalnavigation project, and while there is nolimit or environmental window on theproject, it should last an estimated 90days pending weather conditions. Thetotal material to be dredged on thisproject and out to the Axel Carlson Reefis 99,085 cubic yards. No material willbe processed on this project. �
Donjon Dredging Projects Continue
Dredging work continues on the NY & NJ channel improvement project in Elizabeth, NJ.
Donjon recently completed a Heavy Lift/unloading project insupport of the upcoming General Electric Dredging project toremove contaminated dredge spoils in the upper Hudson Riverand NY State Canal System. The work involved unloading17 350-ton hopper barges from a 400’ x 100’ ocean-going deckbarge. The work was performed at one of Donjon’s leased berthswithin Port Newark, Elizabeth Channel. Due to the layout of thebarges, Donjon used two of its derrick barge fleet, the Chesapeake1000 and Columbia, �Y to perform a tandem lift of the vessels. Inaddition to the use of Donjon’s heavy lift assets, Donjon alsoprovided a crew of 20 to support the operation. This crewconsisted of welders, burners and laborers that were needed torelease the barges from the transportation barge as well as torepair minor damage sustained by some of the fleet during transit.
The work was performed for Sterling Equipment Company, asubcontractor to General Electric. After unloading, the bargeswere delivered to Donjon’s Albany New York terminal facility,PAV, LLC, for storage prior to delivery to the Troy New YorkStaging Area. PAV, LLC is jointly owned and operated byDonjon and Sims/Metal Management, one of the largest steelscrap recycling organizations in the world. The operation took alittle less than four days to complete. �
Heavy Lift Project Completed
Contaminated dredge spoils are loaded into one of Donjon’s derrickbarges.
DONJON In-Depth � Spring 2009 3
Donjon Marine was awarded a contract to remove and dispose of theM/V Fedra in Gibraltar, the southern-most tip of the Iberian Peninsulathat borders Spain.
Donjon was awarded a contract on March 24, 2009 for thewreck removal and disposal of the remnants of the M/V Fedra.On October 10, 2008, during a significant storm, the M/V Fedragrounded and subsequently sank off the eastern side of EuropaPoint in Gibraltar in approximately 20 feet of water. As a resultof the grounding and pounding of the vessel due to seaconditions, the vessel separated in two pieces at the forward endof No. 6 Cargo Hold. The vessel had seven cargo holds in total.The separated forward section of the M/V Fedra wassubsequently removed from the casualty site, leaving theremaining stern section.
Owners of the vessel, in consultation with their underwriters,called for competitive bids from the worldwide salvagecommunity and Donjon was awarded the job. Donjon will beginsite operations during the middle to end of May 2009 with themajor wreck removal assets to arrive from the United States inearly June 2009. As the wreck removal operation is beingperformed in open ocean conditions, weather will be asignificant concern as the project moves forward.
Donjon’s effort in this contract call for the use of the 400-toncapacity derrick barge Columbia, �ew York, 7000-HP salvagetug Atlantic Salvor and 1400-series Donjon material barge. �
Donjon Awarded WreckRemoval, DisposalContract in Gibraltar
The long-awaited announcement from theCoast Guard on December 30 that itsMarine Salvage and FirefightingRegulations were finished and ready to bepublished for public inspection the nextday in the Federal Register was much-welcomed news by Donjon and manyother U.S. salvage companies.
Essentially, these salvage andfirefighting regulations, in the workssince the enactment of the Oil PollutionAct of 1990 (OPA-90), require a 15-point selection criteria for the naming ofa professional salvor/marine firefighterin a Vessel Response Plan (VRP).Donjon-SMIT, Donjon’s Joint Venturewith SMIT Americas, offers OPA-90Salvage and Firefighting ResponseServices and meets all 15 of theserequirements in the standard. A salvor,for the purposes of this Act, is referred toin the legislation as “Resource Provider.”These requirements are:
(1) Resource provider is currentlyworking in response service needed.
(2) Resource provider has documentedhistory of participation in successfulsalvage and/or marine firefightingoperations, including equipmentdeployment.
(3) Resource provider owns or hascontracts for equipment needed toperform response services.
(4) Resource provider has personnel withdocumented training certification anddegree experience (Naval Architect-ure, Fire Science, etc.).
(5) Resource provider has 24-houravailability of personnel and
equipment, and history of responsetimes compatible with the timerequirements in the regulation.
(6) Resource provider hason-going continuoustraining program. Formarine firefightingproviders, they meetthe training guidelinesin NFPA 1001, 1005,1021, 1405, and 1561.
(7) Resource provider hassuccessful record ofparticipation in drillsand exercises.
(8) Resource provider hassalvage or marine firefighting plansused and approved during realincidents.
(9) Resource provider has membershipin relevant national and/orinternational organizations.
(10) Resource provider has insurancethat covers the salvage and/ormarine firefighting services theyintend to provide.
(11) Resource provider has sufficient upfront capital to support an operation.
(12) Resource provider has equipmentand experience to work in thespecific regional geographicenvironment(s) that the vesseloperates in (e.g., bottom type, waterturbidity, water depth, sea state andtemperature extremes).
(13) Resource provider has the logisticaland transportation support capability
required to sustain operations forextended periods of time in arduoussea states and conditions.
(14) Resource provider hasthe capability to implementthe necessary engineering,administrative, andpersonal protectiveequipment controls tosafeguard the health andsafety of their workerswhen providing salvageand marine firefightingservices.
(15) Resource provider hasfamiliarity with the salvageand marine firefighting
protocol contained in the local ACPsfor each COTP area for which theyare contracted.
These modifications to OPA-90 representa significant step forward from theperspective of recognition by themaritime regulators of the professionalmarine salvage industry as we continue towork with the Federal, State and LocalRegulatory Agencies to create a bettermarine environment. Now that themodifications have been implemented, wemust face the issue of fulfilling ourobligations as required by OPA-90. As theold saying goes, be careful what you wishfor as it may come true. But when itcomes to the OPA-90 regs, we in themarine salvage industry are happy themodifications have come to pass.
Message from the Vice President:Moving Ahead With Coast Guard RegsBy John A. Witte, Jr., Executive Vice President, Donjon Marine Co., Inc.
DONJON In-Depth � Spring 2009 4
John A. Witte, Jr.
DONJON In-Depth � Spring 2009 5
Gabe Yandoli has been a Port Engineerwith Donjon for more than 28 years; 28-and-a-half years to be exact, and wasjust named Senior Port Engineer. Gabeis primarily in charge of the repair andmaintenance of Donjon’s fleet oftugboats, currently eight in total:Atlantic Salvor, Mary Alice, PaulAndrew, Susan E. Witte, Thomas D.Witte, William E., Brian �icholas andMeagan Ann. At one point he used toalso be responsible for the maintenanceof Donjon’s dredges and cranes, but in arecent reorganization was tasked justwith the tugs, which are all moored atPort Newark, New Jersey, not too farfrom Donjon’s offices.
When asked what his typical day is like,Gabe replied, “there is never a typicalday. Donjon’s business functions 24-7and repair work can be very spontaneous.“Boats that may be scheduled in themorning for minor repairs can turn intomajor repairs, or other issues come upthat need to be addressed as they happen,but as quickly as possible,” he said.“Boats aren’t making money when theyare in the shop.”
The normal life span of a tugboat could“last forever if you take good care if it,”with things like proper hullmaintenance, major propulsionoverhauls, updating of electricalsystems, or repowering of vessels. “Thetrend is to become emission compliantand achieve better fuel efficiency withall the environmental benefits that gowith that,” Gabe said of the enginerepowering work on Donjon’s fleet.“And of course you get improvedreliability too which is always importantto a business.”
Having been with Donjon for nearlythree decades, Gabe attributes the
company’s longevity and successprimarily to its employees. “Arnold(Witte, President and CEO) has a greatwork ethic and the core group of peoplewho’ve been here for a long time havereal respect for a boss who works histail off,” Gabe said. “The experiencewe’ve all gained over the years and thatwe are all willing to share withnewcomers is important too forsuccess,” he continued. “Anyone canbuy equipment but companies alwaysneed the right people to put it to worksuccessfully.”
Donjon has changed quite a bit sinceGabe started his career with thecompany, especially so over the last 10
years when Donjon became a substantialplayer in the marine dredging business.“There has been quite a bit of growthhere, especially here in the New Yorkarea for channel deepening work,although Donjon dredging work takesplace all over the East Coast,” he said.After channel deepening work iscompleted, maintenance dredging isalways going to be necessary to maintainthe channels for commerce,” he said.
And as for the future of Donjon, “I seecontrolled growth. Arnold is alwayswilling to reinvest in the company.Given the economy today, it is tricky butI am optimistic that we will always stayon track,” he said. �
DONJON FOCUS ON...DONJON FOCUS ON...Gabe Yandoli, Senior Port Engineer
Gabe Yandoli
We’d like to hear from you.Letters, questions andcomments should be directedto Donjon In-Depth’s editorby mail, email, phone or fax:
Donjon Marine Co., Inc.100 Central AvenueHillside, NJ 07205Phone: (908) 353-2600Fax: (908) 353-2710
DONJON In-Depth � Spring 2009 6
J. Arnold WittePresident/Chairman/[email protected]
John A. Witte, Jr.Executive Vice President -Salvage/Marine [email protected]
Thomas D. WitteExecutive Vice President -Dredging/[email protected]
Paul WitteGeneral [email protected]
Steven G. ewesVice President - MarineTransportation/Heavy Lift [email protected]
Randy RoffinaChief Financial [email protected]
James WitteGeneral Manager, Donjon Ironand [email protected]
Donjon Marine Co., Inc. Executive Staff
In early February,Donjon conjoinedand relocated twoof its offices intoone, just down thestreet. The newoffice, at 100Central Avenue inHillside, NewJersey, bringstogether 20 staff,effectivelystreamlining thecompany’s marineoperations into onelocale. Thebuilding also servesas a warehouse for equipment andother storage.
“This move allows Donjon more space,customers better access if they need tovisit with personnel from differentdivisions, and gives us 10,000 squarefeet of climate-controlled warehousestorage,” said John A. Witte, Jr. “Weare really pleased with the move and for
the first time, our entire marine staff canbe together in one place.”
The other two Donjon offices, located at1240 Liberty Avenue and 1258 LibertyAvenue, will be leased. �
TOP PHOTO: Donjon’s new office at 100Central Avenue. RIGHT PHOTO: Kathy S.Domingos, Executive Assistant/Office Managerfor Donjon Marine, prepares to tackle theday’s work in her new Donjon digs.
Donjon Opens New Office
