(MOBILE, Ala.) — Silver Ships has delivered a custom-built Explorer 26 designed for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Mobile District. The 26-foot marine surveying vessel, Miss Agnes, will conduct hydrographic survey analyses along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.
The Explorer 26 workboat is powered by twin 200-hp Mercury SeaPro outboards and includes a double jack plate which simultaneously controls both engines when lifting or lowering them within the water. Miss Anges is a multibeam- and single-beam capable vessel that features an enclosed center console, a three-monitor survey station and an air conditioner unit that is paired with a generator.
The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, also known as the Tenn-Tom, is a 234-mile stretch of water that connects the Tennessee River at Pickwick Lake in Tennessee to the Blake Warrior River at Demopolis, Ala. Completed by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1985, the Tenn-Tom has 10 lakes and 10 dams and locks which provide a direct navigable route between the eastern Gulf Coast to the mid-continental United States. The waterway’s federally authorized purposes are navigation, wildlife mitigation and recreation.
The Tenn-Tom is located in the USACE Mobile District, whose mission is to maintain and operate key infrastructure projects that contribute to the nation’s economy, environment, safety and quality of life. Miss Agnes is custom designed for the USACE Mobile District to survey inland waterways and shallow draft operations in the Tenn-Tom. This mission-specific vessel provides a stable work platform allowing the Mobile District to efficiently collect and document accurate data when conducting hydrographic surveys of the waterway.
“Silver Ships is committed providing our customers with the ideal vessel to meet their needs. Our team designed and constructed Miss Agnes for the USACE Mobile District to best equip their team in daily operations on the water,” said Dave Hunt, business development specialist at Silver Ships.
The vessel’s name honors Agnes G. Zaiontz, who was a member of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority since its opening in 1985. She began her time with the authority as local volunteer to help coordinate the waterway’s inauguration in June 1985. Shortly after the waterway’s grand opening, she became a full-time employee where she ultimately served 34 years, reaching the position of office manager.
Her unassuming title does not capture the enormous influence she had on the development of the waterway. Revered as the continuity that held the authority together during a series of leadership changes, she has forever left a mark on the agency.
– Silver Ships
