Washburn & Doughty has delivered the EPA Tier 4 tractor tug Grace McAllister to McAllister Towing.
The new ‘eco-friendly’ tug joins McAllister’s fleet of 13 certified low-emission vessels in New York, which includes the tugs Ava McAllister, McAllister Sisters, and Capt. Brian A. McAllister, and the 300-foot container barge Atlantic Trader.
Laid down as Hull No. 136 at the builder’s yard in East Boothbay, Me., the 93-foot by 38-foot newbuild is equipped with two 3516E Tier 4 Caterpillar engines, producing a combined 6,770 horsepower, linked to twin Schottel SRP 490 z-drives.
The eco-friendly engines and Markey winches on the bow and stern make Grace McAllister one of the most advanced and powerful ship-docking tractor tugs serving the Port of New York. Its design and propulsion system also earned classification as a Low Emission Vessel by the American Bureau of Shipping.
With a higher than standard bollard pull – 85 metric tons greater than virtually all of its contemporaries – the boat is working to assist and maneuver large container ships calling at New York, where box-laden vessels require escort at least 10 miles from outside the port through a channel that measures less than 600 feet in width at some points. It also requires a 130-degree turn for escorted ships.
Container ship capacity has risen from around 8,000 TEU before 2015 to 15,000 TEU in recent years, “and there are suggestions that 18,000 and 20,000 TEU container ships are coming,” according to McAllister Towing president and chief executive, Buckley McAllister.
“The U.S. Coast Guard assessed the waterway’s suitability for the larger container ships coming into New York harbor and recognized that to bring post-Panamax ships into Port Newark, tugs would need tethered escort of 80 tons bollard pull or greater,” he added in an earlier statement to the media.
“Power is important,” he said. “Most of our fleet has around 3,000 kW of power with 50 tons of bollard pull. Our newbuilds have almost double the power and 80-90 tons of bollard pull. With the size of post-Panamax ships, it is clear why we made this movement to increase power.”
Founded in 1864, McAllister Towing currently operates more than 59 tugboats, plus crew boats and barges, in 17 locations along the U.S. East Coast from Eastport and Portland, Me., to Port Everglades, Fl., and San Juan, Puerto Rico.