Atlantic Marine, Inc. of Jacksonville, Florida, launched the 236 foot Platform Supply Vessel, Astro Barracuda for Astro Offshore Corporation of Brazil on October 29, 1999. The vessel, designed by Peter S. Hatfield Ltd. of Vancouver, B.C., Canada, is scheduled for December 1999 delivery and will operate initially in Brazilian coastal waters.

The PSV was built to American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Classification, including SOLAS and MARPOL, and Part 5 requirements for vessels intended for support services to offshore installations, and to Panamanian Registry. It is believed that this is the first vessel to be built to ABS Part 5 requirements in the USA. Astro Barracuda is to the Hatfield “Discovery 2300" design, one of a series covering the range from 190' to 250'.

Main propulsion is provided by two EMD 16-645 E7 marine diesel engines, supplied by Stewart & Stevenson Inc., rated 2,875 BHP at 900 rpm. These drive two Ulstein 2,000 H, 360, Z-drives with 102" dia. propellers in nozzles. Bow thrusters are an Ulstein 650 HRV retractable azimuth unit with nozzle, and an Ulstein 150 TV tunnel unit, both driven by Detroit Diesel 16V92TA, rated 850 HP at 1,800 rpm, also supplied by Stewart & Stevenson Inc. Machinery is controlled from an air conditioned machinery control room, adjacent to the engine room. A Nautronix dynamic positioning system is also installed.