US Navy Receives Cutting Edge APL 71 Barge From Bollinger Shipyards

Last week, Bollinger Shipyards successfully delivered the first-ever Bollinger-made Auxiliary Personnel Lighter–Small (APL) Class berthing as well as messing barge (the APL 71) to the U.S. Navy. The APL 71 happens to be the fifth such vessel of the class to be successfully handed over to the Navy and the third one to get homeported in Norfolk.

The firm is honoured to have been entrusted to construct the APL berthing along with the messing barge for the U.S. Navy, stated Ben Bordelon, the CEO and president of Bollinger Shipyards. He added that he was proud of the unending hard work and extreme dedication of the team at Bollinger and their continued commitment toward delivering reliable, high-quality vessels that satisfy the Navy’s standards and also help in improving the quality of life for their sailors. They look forward to continuing to extend their partnership with the US Navy and delivering such a critical asset to support the national defence.

The four earlier APLs were built and successfully delivered by VT Halter Marine, which was acquired by Bollinger in 2022. Halter received its initial contract back in 2018. APLs are utilized by the Navy for housing crew members when vessels are in port for availabilities as well as Inter-Deployment Training Cycles.

The barges are typically mobile and can also be towed to bases/shipyards to support changing fleet demands and offer use for humanitarian missions as well as other such temporary assignments. The APLs are usually 269 feet in length and 69 feet in width and possess a draft of 7 feet.

Each vessel is typically equipped with classrooms, offices, washrooms, medical treatment areas, laundry facilities, a barber shop, and also a fitness centre. With mess seating that can accommodate 224 personnel alongside 28 officers, each meal gets served via five 20-minute shifts to permit food service for 1,130 individuals (three meals a day).

These vessels come fitted with spaces that allow mixed-gender berthing for 74 officers as well as 537 enlisted personnel, making a total of 611 individuals.

Reference: DefenseDaily

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