Power Barge To Be Christened At Portland Shipyard

PORTLAND - On Saturday, December 11th at 10AM, the Esperanza a floating power station, designed to provide a reliable, electric power supply to the Guatemala power grid, will be christened at the Portland shipyard. The power barge is owned by PQP Limited and is powered by seven V-18 diesels built by a leading engine manufacturer, MAN B&W Diesel AG of Germany.

Five of the new engines, each weighing 330 tons and producing 25,000 HP, arrived from Europe on November 18th in a special "heavy-lift" ship. They were off-loaded directly onto the deck of the barge, where the installation work began immediately. When the outfitting is completed in the spring of 2000, the barge will be transported to Guatemala as deck cargo on another special, "submersible" cargo ship.

The engines and electrical generators are mounted on a conventional deck barge 279 feet long and 104 feet wide. Fuel and water tanks are located below the main deck together with all auxiliary machinery. The overall design makes extensive use of modular construction with every possible system and structure prefabricated in one of the Cascade General shipyard's assembly bays. The two-story deckhouse on the bow, which accommodates workshops, offices and all the switch gear was constructed under cover in one piece and lifted into place by a floating crane.

The engine hall, as big as a high school gym, was erected on the dockside and will be lifted into place by a two-crane lift, in three sections. The hall will be surmounted by an imposing array of exhaust stacks rising 100' above the main deck. When complete, the barge will contain five miles of piping and thirty-five miles of wiring.

"We are using the most efficient building systems available throughout this project," stated Cascade General Executive Vice President Suren Menon. "This is the largest marine construction project to come to Portland in more than a decade and represents an important step forward for Cascade General," he added.

A reliable electrical supply is one of the essential services needed in Central America, where recent hurricanes caused significant damage. Self-contained floating power stations have proved to be an effective way to meet the need for power.

PQP Limited is a joint venture between Enron, one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas and communications companies, and Centrans, a consortium of Guatemalan and foreign investors, which develops and operates projects in Central America and the Caribbean. The overall design is by Kvaerner Masa Marine of Vancouver B.C. MAN B&W is the prime contractor and Cascade General is responsible for the on-site construction and assembly.

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Cascade General operates Portland Shipyard, the largest and most complete ship repair and industrial facility on the West Coast of the United States. We provide full-service repairs and conversions for tankers, cruise ships, bulk carriers, container ships, government vessels, tugs, barges and workboats. Cascade General's Portland facility includes a 60-acre (24.2 ha) yard, 550,000 square feet (51,096 square meters) of craft shops, more than 7,600 ft. (2,326 meters) of full-service repair berths, and two floating dry docks.