Harley Marine building Tier 4 ATB tugs

Bouchard

Earl W. Redd isn’t Harley Marine Services’ only Tier 4 project in 2017. The Seattle operator will take delivery of four ATB tugs in 2017, two of which will be equipped with GE Tier 4 engines.

These 116-by-36-foot tugs will be among the first U.S.-flagged ATBs that comply with the more stringent EPA emissions standards. Harley has ordered four ATB tugs and four 80,000-bbl ATB tank barges to transport fuels and other petroleum products.

Conrad Shipbuilding of Morgan City, La., delivered the lead boat in the series, Bill Gobel, in February 2017. The vessel has twin GE 6L250 Tier 3 engines each producing 2,261 hp at 1,000 rpm. The engines turn 116-inch-diameter stainless steel props through Reintjes WAF 1563 reduction gears at a 4.846:1 ratio.

Electrical power is courtesy of twin John Deere 99-kW generators. The tug and barge connect through an Articouple FRC 55 pin system. The sister ship Min Zidell shares similar specs.

Propulsion on the two Tier 4 tugs, Todd E. Prophet and OneCURE, comes from twin GE Tier 4 6L250 engines producing 2,280 hp each at 900 rpm. Those engines turn 116-inch-diameter four-bladed stainless steel props through Reintjes WAF 1963 reduction gears at a 4.467:1 ratio. Twin 99-kW John Deere 6068TFM generators provide auxiliary power.

“Harley Marine Services has a long commitment to the environment and pioneering new technology across its vessel fleets and our latest ATB build program is no exception,” said Matt Godden, Harley Marine’s senior vice president and chief operating officer.

“Harley Marine is taking its next step in what has been a long commitment to environmental responsibility, safety and quality,” Godden continued.

Earl W. Redd, the company’s versatile tractor tug working on the West Coast, is outfitted with Caterpillar 3516E Tier 4 engines with a urea-based exhaust aftertreatment system. GE’s Tier 4 engines do not require urea.

Reinauer Transportation’s Gracie M. Reinauer.

Reinauer Transportation

The four new tugs will be paired with four new tank barges. Gunderson Marine of Portland, Ore., is building OneDREAM and All Aboard for a Cure, while Zidell Marine, also of Portland, is building Zidell Marine 277. Conrad is building Edward Itta.

All four tugs have 100,000-gallon fuel tanks and capacity for 7,390 gallons of water. Height of eye from the wheelhouse is 51.5 feet. Deliveries of the next three tugs are expected by the end of the year. 

Frederick E. Bouchard
Bouchard Transportation of Melville, N.Y., has added two new ATB units to its fleet with the delivery of the 6,000-hp Morton S. Bouchard Jr. and Frederick E. Bouchard. VT Halter shipyard of Pascagoula, Miss., built and designed the boats.

Propulsion aboard the 130-foot-by-38-foot tugs comes from twin EMD 12-710 G7C-T3 engines generating 3,000 hp each at 900 rpm. The mains turn five-bladed, 140-inch manganese bronze props through Lufkin RS2800HG gears at a 4.9:1 ratio.

The vessels have Furuno electronics and navigation equipment in the wheelhouse and EMI steering and controls. Two Intercon capstans are installed on deck. The tugs are paired, respectively, with the 110,000-bbl petroleum barges B. No. 210 and B. No. 220 and are linked with Intercon coupler systems.

Morton entered service in February 2016 and transports clean oil in the Northeastern U.S., while Frederick joined the company’s fleet in June 2016 and transports clean oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Both are named for Bouchard family descendants.

These ATB units follow the deliveries in 2015 and 2016 of the 10,000-hp, 150-foot Kim M. ​Bouchard and Donna J. Bouchard, which are paired with 260,000-bbl barges.

Gracie M. Reinauer/Tier 4 ATBs
Reinauer Transportation Co. has added another “facet tug” to its fleet of ATBs with the delivery of Gracie M. Reinauer in August 2016. The 112-by-35-foot SOLAS-class tug built at Senesco Marine in North Kingstown, R.I., is paired with a 100,000-bbl barge.

Harley Marine Services’ Bill Gobel.

Harley Marine Services

Gracie is powered by twin MTU 16V 4000 Tier 3 engines each rated for 2,400 hp turning 104-inch Nautican props in nozzles with triple independent rudders through Lufkin RS2850HG reduction gears. Electrical power comes from three John Deere 99-kW 4045 Tier 3 generators, with one generator dedicated to the coupler system.

The tug and barge are paired through an Intercon Series C coupler system with 34-inch pins, and a JonRie InterTech capstan is installed on the tug’s deck. Other components include an EMI steering system, Red Fox Sanitation system and Furuno GMDSS.

Gracie is the ninth facet tug in the Reinauer fleet. Robert Hill from Ocean Tug/Barge Engineering of Milford, Mass., provided the design.

Reinauer Transportation also has two 4,000-hp and one 8,000-hp Tier 4 ATB tugs under construction at Senesco. The largest, scheduled for completion in January 2018, will be mated with a newly constructed 150,000-bbl barge also from Senesco.

“It will be very similar to our existing Nicole-class tugs utilizing GE engines with on-engine technology to reduce NOx emissions (with no urea) required,” said company vice president Christian Reinauer. 

Assateague
Baltimore towing company Vane Brothers has ordered three Assateague-class ATB tugboats from Conrad Shipbuilding. The vessels are based on a design from Castleman Maritime. Delivery of the lead tug, Assateague, is expected in summer 2017.

Propulsion on the 110-foot-by-38-foot vessels will come from twin 2,200-hp Cummins QSK60 Tier 3 diesel engines turning 102-inch open-wheel propellers through Reintjes WAF 873 gears with a 7.087:1 reduction ratio. Ship service power comes from twin Cummins 125-kW generators, and a third Cummins generator producing 60 kW will provide emergency power.

The tugs will be paired with 405-foot, 80,000-bbl barges through a Beacon Finland JAK-700 coupler system. Bristol Harbor Group of Bristol, R.I., designed the double-hulled barges. Conrad is building the tugs at its Orange, Texas, yard and the barges in Amelia, La.

The ATB tug Abundance.

Brian Gauvin

Abundance
Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Freeland, Wash., is building two 139-by-39-foot ATB Ocean-class tugboats for Savage Marine Services. The design is from Ocean Tug & Barge Engineering of Milford, Mass., and the first delivery is scheduled for mid-2017.

The ABS-classed vessels will be powered by twin EMD 16-710T13 engines each rated at 4,000 hp at 900 rpm. These Tier 3 mains will turn Rolls-Royce 133-inch propellers in Rolls-Royce InnoDuct nozzles through Lufkin RHS 3200 reduction gears. Auxiliary power comes from two 200-kW Caterpillar C7.1 Tier 3 generators and a Cat C9.3 200-kW generator with a mounted fire pump. A Cat C7.1 138-kW genset provides emergency power.

The SOLAS-compliant tugs will push 500-foot barges paired using an Articouple coupler system. Vessel speed is estimated at 14 knots. The second tug will be named Vision and delivery is expected in fall 2017. 

Sea Power
BAE Systems Southeast shipyard in Jacksonville, Fla. delivered the ATB tug Sea Power to Seabulk Tankers in August 2016. The 141-foot Jones Act-compliant vessel is paired with the 185,000-bbl chemical and petroleum barge Sea-Chem 1 built in Erie, Pa., by Donjon Shipbuilding and repair.

BAE Systems and Guido Perla & Associates of Seattle collaborated on the ATB design. The 12,000-hp ATB tug is powered by twin Wartsila mains generating 6,000 bhp each. 

Heath Wood
Kirby Corp. took delivery of the ATB tug Heath Wood from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in November 2016. The 6,000-hp tugboat will be paired with the 155,000-bbl barge Kirby 155-01, which is outfitted for hauling petroleum and chemical products.

Houston-based Kirby, which already operates ATBs built by Fincantieri about a decade ago, will take delivery of a second ATB unit from the yard this summer.

By Professional Mariner Staff