C&C Marine and Repair has won a contract with American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) to build an 11,000-hp towboat capable of moving up to 56 barges at once.
CT Marine of Portland, Maine, has designed the twin-screw towboat measuring 198 feet long and 50 feet wide. It will have a 47-foot eyeline from the wheelhouse to see over the barge tow. The house will sit on a floating spring-mounted superstructure for additional crew comfort.
“The addition of this new towboat is an example of our continuous efforts to modernize ACBL’s fleet and offer more innovative marine transportation solutions to our customers,” Mike Ellis, CEO of ACBL, said in a statement.
“Not only is this boat high-powered and highly capable, but it will also feature all the latest innovations in technology, crew comfort, safety and efficiency,” he continued.
The vessel will be powered by two 5,500-hp Caterpillar C280-12 main engines supplied by Louisiana Cat. The mains will be paired with two Reintjes reduction gears from Karl Senner LLC turning 124-inch stainless-steel props in nozzles. Three 275-kW Cat gensets will provide electrical power.
ACBL said the larger platform capable of pushing up to 75,000 tons of cargo will lead to less carbon emissions than with a smaller towboat pushing smaller tows.
“When comparing this 11,000-hp class towboat to smaller 6,000-hp class towboats frequently used for mainline operations, this larger-horsepower vessel will increase efficiency by 20% or more on both a cost-per-ton mile and CO2-emission-per-ton mile basis due to the increase in tow size and tonnage capacity,” Patrick Sutton, ACBL chief operating officer, said in a statement.