In the late 1960s, the first LASH ships, the Acadia Forest and the Atlantic Forest , were commissioned in Japan according to the plans of the shipbuilding engineer Jerome L. Goldman . Before the first of these two ships was put into service, the construction contracts for the US Avondale shipyard followed in 1969. From 1970 to 1973 it built an Elfer series of identical LASH ships of the type C8-S-81b for the two shipping companies Prudential Grace Line in New York and Pacific Far East Line in San Francisco. The unit price per ship was US $ 21.3 million each.
Unlike the other shipping companies, the Pacific Far East Line received 200 LASH barges made of glass fiber reinforced plastic from the Northrop Ventura division. These should ensure a higher load capacity due to their 40 tonnes lower weight and enable faster cargo handling thanks to their larger hatch openings. In addition, due to their corrosion resistance, they should require less maintenance, which was not the case in practice - instead, they were significantly more prone to repair than their conventionally manufactured counterparts.
The ships
MARAD Design C8-S-81b
Surname
IMO no.
Shipping company
Build number
completion
Later names and whereabouts
Lash Italia
7026912
Prudential Grace Line
1184
1970
Demolished in 1987
Lash Turkiye
7034335
Prudential Grace Line
1185
1971
1978 Delta Caribe , 1987 Cape Florida (T-AK-5071)
Lash Espana
7050248
Prudential Grace Line
1186
1971
1976 Austral Lightning , 1985 Cape Fear (T-AK 5061), July 2006 National Defense Reserve Fleet laid up in Suisun Bay
Thomas E. Cuffe
7105471
Pacific Far East Line
1187
1971
1978 Conversion to the C8-S-F81e container ship, 1979 President Hoover , 1993 Lihue
Golden Bear
7114185
Pacific Far East Line
1188
1971
1977 conversion to a C8-S-F81e container ship, 1979 President Grant , 1996 Chief Gadao , 2006 Chief , demolition in Chittagong on May 31, 2006
Pacific Bear
?
Pacific Far East Line
1189
1971
1977 Conversion to the C8-S-F81e container ship American Trader , 1986 President Harrison , demolition in 1996
Japan Bear
7125316
Pacific Far East Line
1190
1972
1978 Conversion to the C8-S-F81e container ship President Tyler , 1996 Ewa , demolition in 2006
China Bear
7207645
Pacific Far East Line
1191
1972
1975 Austral Rainbow , 2000 Ustral , demolition in Alang from August 16, 2000
Lash Atlantico
7207633
Prudential Grace Line
1192
1973
Demolished in 1996
Lash Pacifico
7216995
Prudential Grace Line
1193
1973
1989 American Kestrel , demolished in 1995
Philippine Bear
7225714
Pacific Far East Line
1194
1973
1975 Austral Moon , 1984 American Veteran , demolished in 1995
literature
Hans Jürgen Witthöft: Piggyback across the sea. The barge carrier family . Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 1987, ISBN 3-7822-0275-9 .
