28 Jun

Ocean Defiant specifications

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Tugboat Review, Tugboats & Towing
Owner/operator: Mercury Transport Inc. Builder: Sylte Shipyard Ltd. Designer: A.G. McIlwain Ltd. Dimensions: 58’11” x 25’6” x 13’ Mission: Barge towing Crew size: 4      Propulsion: Engines: (2) MTU 12V 2000 M61, 810 hp Bollard pull: 25 tons (est.) Propellers: 3-blade 72”x65” props Gearbox: Twin Disc MGX-5321DC, 5.96:1 ratio Auxiliary generators: (2) 48.3-kW Isuzu Deck equipment: Winches: Bracewell Marine…
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Largest-ever U.S. inland towboat project keeps growing
28 Jun

Largest-ever U.S. inland towboat project keeps growing

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Tugboat Review, Tugboats & Towing
In early May, Eastern Shipbuilding of Panama City, Fla., delivered the 90-foot Brian Boudreaux, the 68th vessel in a series of inland pushboats. The 3,000-hp, conventionally propelled vessel is named for a longtime billing manager at the Mandeville, La., towing firm. Although navigation electronics, engines and interior outfitting evolved with the times, the core design has remained virtually unchanged since…
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28 Jun

Brian Boudreaux specifications

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Tugboat Review, Tugboats & Towing
Owner/operator: Florida Marine Transporters Builder: Eastern Shipbuilding Group Designer: Gilbert Associates Inc. Dimensions: 90’ x 32’ x 10.5’ Mission: Pushing barges Crew size: 6      Propulsion: Engines: (2) Tier 3 Cat 3512C, 1,500 hp Propellers: Sound Propeller Services 84” props Gearbox: Twin Disc MGX-5600DR, 6.56:1 ratio Auxiliary generators: (2) 99-kW John Deere 4045, Tier 3   Deck equipment: Winches:…
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SIT’s nimble z-drive towboat pushes well above its class
28 Jun

SIT’s nimble z-drive towboat pushes well above its class

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Tugboat Review, Tugboats & Towing
Springtime on the Kaskaskia River saw a smothering flood of water and the delivery of a new pushboat for Southern Illinois Transfer (SIT). Barbour JB Shipyard, an SIT partner company on the Kaskaskia at Baldwin, Ill., built the 68-by-28-foot Karl E. Johnson. The 1,500-hp harbor tug has propulsion from twin Tier 3 Cummins diesels. As of mid-May, it was undergoing…
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28 Jun

Karl E. Johnson specifications

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Tugboat Review, Tugboats & Towing
Owner/operator: Southern Illinois Transfer Builder: Barbour JB Shipyard Designer: Southern Illinois Transfer/Barbour JB Shipyard; engineering by Sterling Marine Dimensions: 68’ x 28’ x 9’6” Crew size: 3      Propulsion: Engines: (2) 750-hp Cummins QSK19 Isolation mounts: Christie & Grey Vessel speed: 12 knots Propellers: Veth VZ-700 z-drives Auxiliary generators: (2) 40-kW Kubota Deck equipment: Winches: Wintech 40-ton deck winches…
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Tugboat tech, design advance despite slow market
03 Jul

Tugboat tech, design advance despite slow market

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Tugboat Review, Tugboats & Towing
Despite a down market for new construction, there were some key advances in tugboat design and technology over the last year. Notable examples include wider adoption of Tier 4 marine engines in ASD tugboats, as well as orders for tugs with hybrid propulsion. International interest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) tugboats is growing slowly, while in North America the appetite…
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03 Jul

Operators racing to meet Subchapter M deadline

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Tugboat Review, Tugboats & Towing
The deadline for Coast Guard Subchapter M compliance is fast approaching, but within the towing industry there is still uncertainty around the new inspection regime. Operators and even some third-party surveyors have expressed frustration with the regulations, which they argue are not being enforced uniformly across different Coast Guard districts — and even sometimes within the same district. Taken together,…
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Seabulk spreads Rotortug fleet across the Gulf of Mexico
03 Jul

Seabulk spreads Rotortug fleet across the Gulf of Mexico

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Tugboat Review, Maritime News
Seabulk Towing turned heads in January 2017 when it welcomed Trident, the first U.S. Advanced Rotortug (ART), to its home base in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. In March 2018, Trident’s sister ARTs, Triton and Trinity, gave Mobile Bay tugboat watchers a treat, churning all three z-drives and propelling a water dance of omnidirectional moves. Trinity was delivered in February, and since…
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