News Digest DOT 103-14

MARAD Awards Grant for Cutting Edge Green Project.  The Maritime Administration (MARAD) has announced a $450,000 grant to AEP Rivers Operations of St. Louis, Missouri, to modify the Motor Vessel (M/V) Christopher Parsonage, into a fuel-efficient hybrid vessel that conserves fuel and reduces harmful vessel emissions.  The modification will provide the180-ft tug boat, which operates along the lower Mississippi River, with a hybrid generator set attached to the main engine that will provide auxiliary power, which would normally be produced from the diesel generator.    MARAD will use the test results from this project to support further work related to vessel air emissions, energy conservation, and efficiency.  The study is expected to be completed by 2017.  Contact:  Kim Strong 202-366-5067.

MARAD Unveils Virtual Tour of GTS Admiral W.M. Callaghan (T-AKR-1001). The Maritime Administration (MARAD) has launched a virtual tour on its website of the GTS Admiral W.M. Callaghan, a MARAD Ready Reserve Force vessel currently berthed in Alameda, California. The online 360-degree photographic tour gives viewers the experience of walking around the vessel’s bridge, engine room and surrounding spaces and provides a window into our nation’s maritime heritage.  Launched in 1967, the Admiral W.M. Callaghan is the first all-gas-turbine powered vessel with a roll-on/roll-off capability constructed for the U.S. Navy.  The virtual tour can be viewed at:  http://www.marad.dot.gov/Assets/html/usns_callaghan_index.htm.  Contact:  Kim Strong Tel:  202-366-5807