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Energy Enterprise is a US-flagged bulk carrier built in 1983.

History
Originally named Energy Independence, the ship was built by a partnership of Keystone Shipping, Intercoastal Bulk Carriers, and New England Power Company (NEP). It was launched in 1983 at the General Dynamics shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. The ceremony was attended by Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill and was christened by his wife, Mildred. The ship was built at a cost of $73 million.

From December 1983 until September 1995, it carried coal from ports in Maryland and Virginia to New England power plants. As of 1985, it carried about 90% of the coal required by NEP's power plants in Salem, Massachusetts and Somerset, Massachusetts. In this period, the ship could average 15.7 knots, make a round-trip in 4.5 days, load in 12 hours, and unload in 11 hours. Its self-discharging system, featuring a 260-foot long boom, was able to unload the ship at a rate of 3,800 tons per hour. The ship's propulsion system was a 2-boiler coal-powered steam engine, which burned about 250 tons of coal per round-trip.

In 1989, the owners entered into a charter party agreement, which shifted ownership of the vessel to Keystone, named NEP the charterer, and gave NEP an option to re-purchase the vessel at a set price. NEP exercised its right to re-purchase the ship in 1995, and received it in September of that year. Subsequent surveys showed that the ship's cargo holds had suffered heavy corrosion. NEP entered arbitration against Keystone, claiming that the latter had failed to keep the vessel in good repair as was required in the charter agreement. After losing the extended arbitration, and being forced to pay NEC $3.25 million, Keystone attempted to sue its insurers for $6 million in New York state court. The suit was unsuccessful.

On 4 February 2007, a pilot named Lynn Deibert died while attempting to board Energy Enterprise. While climbing a pilot ladder in the vicinity of Cape Helopen, the 52-year-old Deibert fell overboard. At the time of the accident, seas were six feet and the wind was blowing at approximatly 25 knots.


 * Circa 1985 added plastic coating toaid in discharging. 6,000 tons unloaded ->20-30
 * 40,000 ton capacity