US owner Kirby Ocean Transport is shelling out $47m to build an articulated tug-barge at Signal International.

The Mobile, Alabama-based shipbuilder and repair specialist says the order calls for a 20,000-dwt ocean bulk barge and a 6,000-bhp ocean-going tug.

“A return to shipbuilding has been a strategic goal of Signal and we have all of the resources necessary to be competitive with regard to cost and schedule for a variety of ship and vessel designs,” Signal CEO Dick Marler said in a recent statement.

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