Campbell Performs First Drydock ISE At Georgetown Shipyard

Campbell Transportation Company’s Georgetown Shipyard in Pennsylvania has begun its first drydock internal structural exam (ISE), one of the first few that have begun in the country under the Coast Guard’s Subchapter M regulations.

Work began July 11 at the shipyard at Ohio River Mile 39 on the mv. Reddy K, said Jonathan Shaw, shipyard facility manager. 

The 800 hp., twin-screw boat is a harbor-tending vessel owned by First Energy that shifts barges in and out of the coal loader at the Fort Martin Power Station in Maidsville, W.Va., First Energy Senior communications representative Will Boye said.

The Fort Martin Plant has two coal-fired units, built in 1967 and 1968. At full capacity, the plant’s generating units can produce more than 26 million kilowatt-hours of electricity daily, Boye said. The plant uses more than 2.8 million tons of coal annually.

The Reddy K received its certificate of inspection (COI) through the Coast Guard inspection route. It is one of the first COI boats for the Pittsburgh captain of the port area, Shaw said.

Work is expected to wrap up within the next week or two.

“There was fuel tank repair as far as baffles and bulkheads and also hull work along the stern of the boat,” Shaw said.

The work required some cropping and renewing, but overall the hull gauged very well, he said.

In addition to the required repairs, First Energy also opted for additional work, including paint, fendering, greasing lines and steering gear maintenance and other general maintenance work for both longevity and appearance.

The Reddy K was built in 1988 by Marine Builders Inc. of Utica, Ind. The vessel is 55 feet long and 22 feet wide. It was due for its five-year drydocking this year, Shaw said. He noted that Campbell Transportation Company has worked on the Reddy K before out of other CTC shipyards.

For those yet to schedule an ISE under the Subchapter M requirements, Shaw said boat owners need good communication with the repair yards ahead of time.

For the work on the Reddy K, the shipyard and First Energy have been planning since February and got the boat in July.

“It was five months of planning for a one-month job,” Shaw said.

Supply chain disruptions are causing it to take extra time to get in materials, he said, noting that it took six weeks to get enough fendering.

“Drydocking space is going to be prime real estate for towboats,” Shaw said. 

His advice was to the point: “Get a plan, and get a plan soon.”

In particular, Shaw said, boat owners need to have plans in place for any additional work other than the Coast Guard or surveyor’s required work and should plan to have materials on hand before the work begins.

“The planning process between First Energy and CTC has paid dividends so that we could get the boat back into its service in a shorter amount of time,” Shaw said.

Caption for photo: Campbell Transportation Company’s Georgetown Shipyard is wrapping up work on First Energy’s mv. Reddy K (right), the first boat to complete its Subchapter M-required Internal Structural Exam (ISE) and required repairs on Campbell’s drydock. To its left is Campbell’s mv. Renee Lynn. (Photo by Mike O’Rourke)