New Orleans maritime company TIA Engineers has completed construction of a utility vessel for the National Park Service designed to transport national and international VIPs to the Statue of Liberty.
The National Park Service named the all-steel vessel “ANNIE MOORE” after the first immigrant—a 15-year-old Irish girl—who signed the Ellis Island register.
“TAI has designed and built many boats and ships, but this project is particularly special to me,” TAI President Anil Raj said in an announcement. “I feel especially privileged that our company was a part of this project.”
One of the duties of the “Annie Moore” is to transport national and international dignitary guests to the Statue of Liberty. This 74-foot-long, 24-foot-wide vessel will transport VIPs, official passengers, supplies and equipment to Ellis Island from Battery Park in New York. The vessel has seating for 40 passengers, and a galley on the main deck. A knuckle boom crane is provided for loading/unloading of palletized cargo.
The USCG Sub-T inspected vessel was built jointly by TAI and its subcontractor Aluma Marine at its facilities in Harvey. Features include an ice belt and the bow structure of the hull are designed to ABS Ice class C0 rules, ice-strengthened reduction gears, propulsion shafting, rudders, and propellers. The vessel is equipped with twin Caterpillar C18 propulsion engines.
This is TAI’s fifth vessel design and build contract for the U.S. Army. The company was recently acquired by S&B Infrastructure Ltd., one of the largest privately-owned engineering firms in Texas.
