Kudos for Aspin Kemp & Associates technology
February 8, 2010
A Canadian company developed a hybrid propulsion system for a tugboat that won a prominent award at the International WorkBoat Show held recently in New Orleans. Aspin Kemp & Associates developed the system for Foss Maritime’s new hybrid-powered tugboat Carolyn Dorothy, which was named a Significant Boat for 2009 at the show.
Foss Maritime also took first place in the Environmental Management Plan category and second place for Environmental Initiative, and the Carolyn Dorothy was mentioned as an important contributing factor in each of those awards.
AKA designed, built and delivered the XeroPoint hybrid propulsion and control system for the tug, which has been working in the twin ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach over the past year.
“We could not have built Carolyn Dorothy without AKA’s technology,” said Andy Stephens, vice-president of shipyards and engineering services at Foss Maritime. “We owe this success to our collaboration with them.”
AKA said its XeroPoint hybrid system incorporates multiple sources of propulsion power and exploits very high configuration flexibility to reduce or eliminate low-efficiency operation. The system combines diesel power, electrical power and chemical energy storage with a configuration control system to maximize plant efficiency at multiple points across the operating range.
AKA said the technology has received full marks from environmental officials, winning the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Excellence Award in 2007.
“We congratulate Foss Maritime on this well-deserved recognition of their efforts to reduce their environmental impact,” said Paul Jamer, AKA’s vice-president of corporate development. “AKA is proud to have collaborated on Carolyn Dorothy and we look forward to our hybrid technology being adapted to other types of vessels.”
AKA is a systems integration company specializing in developing, implementing, supporting and maintaining engineering solutions in the marine and offshore oil and gas industries.
Established in 1996, AKA is based in Owen Sound, Ont., and operates internationally with offices in Dartmouth, N.S., Stratford, P.E.I., Houston and Singapore.
Seattle-based Foss Maritime has one of the largest fleets of tugs and barges on the U.S. West Coast.