Avondale, Louisiana -- Nearly 12 years of ship construction contracts ended early this month with the delivery of the TAO 203, USNS LARAMIE, by Avondale to the U.S. Navy. LARAMIE was the sixteenth ship of the TAO 187 Class which Avondale built and delivered since the keel was laid for the first ship of the class, USNS HENRY J. KAISER (TAO 187) on August 22, 1984. These Commercial Fleet Replenishment Oilers are operated for the Navy by the Military Sealift Command. Signing for the delivery were Mr. WILLIAM E. WATSON, Avondale Industries, Inc., TAO Program Manager; Captain R. J. RUSSELL, Military Sealift Command, Master TAO 203; and Mr. RICHARD C. BLOOM, Military Sealift Command, Senior On-Site Construction Representative. Witnessing were Captain DAVID W. WIDDON, U.S. Navy, Supervisor of Shipbuilding, New Orleans; Mr. EDWARD BARRETT, Military Sealift Command, Ship Introduction Program Manager; and Mr. T. SHEN, U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command, TAO Project Manager. LARAMIE, like her sister ships RAPPAHANNOCK and PATUXENT, were designed and built with double-hull sides and bottoms to satisfy the requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). In the double-hull configuration, which consists of inner and outer concentric hulls, all cargo fuel tanks and all ship's fuel tanks located in the cargo block are separated from the shell by the double, or inner, hull. The separation between the two hulls is a minimum of 1.83 meters (6.01 feet) on the sides and 1.98 meters (6.5 feet) on the bottom. The Replenishment Oilers measure 677.5 feet long with a beam of 97.5 feet and a maximum draft of 36 feet, and are powered by twin 10-cylinder, medium speed diesel engines. Capable of achieving service speeds of 20 knots, the twin-screw propeller design provides the vessels with improved directional stability, ease of control, and mission reliability under combat conditions. The ending of this 16-ship series does not deplete Avondale's backlog. Still under construction for the U.S. Navy is the last of a series of nine Dock Landing Ships [LSD-52 (CV), PEARL HARBOR]; two minehunters; four Strategic Sealift ships; and one U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker. Rounding out Avondale's backlog is a commercial contract underway for construction and retrofit of four 36,000 DWT double-hull forebodies for American Heavy Lift Shipping Company (AHL). Avondale Industries, Inc., headquarted in metro New Orleans, is one of the leading marine fabricators in the nation, active in the construction, repair, and conversion of ocean going vessels for both the U.S. Navy and Commercial customers. In addition, the company manufactures boats and builds a wide range of non-marine industrial facilities and components for land-based plants.