NEW ORLEANS, May 30, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- (WITH PHOTO) Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Ship Systems sector today delivered the tanker Polar Resolution in a brief ceremony at its Avondale Operations in New Orleans, La.
A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://media.wieck.com/public.html?WIK2002053067032
Polar Resolution is the second of five 140,000 deadweight (DWT) Endeavour-class double-hulled crude oil carriers Northrop Grumman Ship Systems is building for Polar Tankers, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Phillips Petroleum Company.
"The delivery of this second double-hulled tanker underscores our commitment to compete in profitable commercial shipbuilding," said Dr. Philip A. Dur, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. "We are proud to be working with Polar Tankers in building these revolutionary, environmentally friendly tankers."
The Endeavour-class tankers are the first crude oil carriers being built for the Alaskan trade in compliance with the federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990. They meet or exceed existing and proposed environmental regulations and will set new standards for innovation and environmental protection.
The crude carriers are 894.7 feet (272.69M) long by 151.6 feet (46.2M) wide by 86.29 feet (25.3M) deep. The ships will hold more than one million barrels of cargo at full capacity.
The Polar Tankers ships are built by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems' Avondale Operations in New Orleans, with fabrication support from Ship Systems' Gulfport, Miss., facility. Ship Systems currently has the remaining three tankers under construction at Avondale and Gulfport. The third ship, Polar Discovery, was recently christened. Construction continues on the fourth ship, Polar Adventure, and a keel-laying ceremony for the fifth ship in the series, Polar Enterprise, was completed in April.
Polar Resolution is the sister ship of Polar Endeavour, which was delivered last year, and was honored as "2001 Ship of the Year" by one national maritime industry publication and named to the distinguished list of "Great Ships of 2001" by another marine magazine. This is the second consecutive ship Northrop Grumman Ship Systems has built and delivered to be named Ship of the Year. In 2000, the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy received the same distinction.
"Polar Resolution is a tribute to the professionalism and dedication of the thousands of hard-working men and women of Avondale and across Northrop Grumman Ship Systems who contributed to building this fine ship," said George R. Yount, vice president of Avondale Operations. "We can all share in the pride we feel as we deliver this great ship, and we look forward to delivering more of these extraordinary tankers."
In addition to being built with double hulls, which have an average distance of 10-feet between them and exceed regulatory minimums, the tankers incorporate double, independent engine rooms, twin propellers and twin rudders for greater maneuverability. The ships will have all cargo, fuel and lubricating oils isolated from the ship's side by ballast tanks or void spaces.
The ships are powered by two, MAN B&W 7S50 MC-C, 15,000-BHP, slow-speed diesel engines turning twin shafts with four-bladed, controllable reversible-pitch propellers measuring 19 feet in diameter. Top speed is 16 knots and the tanker has an endurance range of 12,500 nautical miles.
Polar Resolution's bridge incorporates electronic chart display and information systems, an advanced navigation and tracking system, and global marine distress and safety system.
The vessels will meet pending air emissions regulations for engines. The ships are also painted with tin-free, anti-fouling paint in anticipation of proposed regulations.
Polar Tankers, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Phillips Petroleum Company. Polar Tankers' fleet consists of six vessels ranging in size from 50,000 to 190,000 DWT. The entire fleet is employed in the Alaskan crude trade. Polar Resolution is named in honor of one of the ships of the legendary 18th century explorer Captain James Cook.
Phillips Petroleum Company is an integrated petroleum company with interests around the world. Headquartered in Bartlesville, Okla., the company has 38,700 employees and $35 billion of assets and had $26.9 billion of revenues in 2001.
Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, headquartered in Pascagoula, Miss., includes the Ingalls Operations and the Ship Systems' Full Service Center, both located in Pascagoula, as well as the Avondale Operations, located in New Orleans and Tallullah, La., and Gulfport, Miss. Ship Systems, which currently employs more than 17,000 shipbuilding professionals primarily in Louisiana and Mississippi, is one of the nation's leading full service systems companies for the design, engineering, construction, and life cycle support of major surface ships for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and international navies, and for commercial vessels of all types.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an $18 billion, global defense company with its worldwide headquarters in Los Angeles. Northrop Grumman provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in defense and commercial electronics, systems integration, information technology and nuclear and non-nuclear shipbuilding and systems. With nearly 100,000 employees and operations in 44 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government, and commercial customers.
