The following is the text of a news release from The Shearer Group Inc. (TSGI):
(SEABROOK, Texas) — The Shearer Group Inc. has announced that Gateway Dredging has taken delivery of a 55-foot, 1,200-hp twin-screw conventional towboat. TSGI provided the design and engineering services to JB Marine Service Inc., where the towboat was constructed in St. Louis, Mo.
The towboat was designed to ABS rules for building and classing steel vessels for service on rivers and intracoastal waterways. It was designed with TSGI’s best interpretation of the USCG 46 CFR Subchapter M regulations since it was still pending at the time of design. This was not difficult for TSGI’s engineers to accomplish because of their continued involvement in the critiquing of Subchapter M throughout the rulemaking process.
The towboat is the first of two designed by TSGI and constructed at JB Marine Services. The second is a 68-foot, 1,500-hp twin-screw conventional towboat that is currently under construction.