Shipyards across the US have delivered 12 tugboats for inland waterways transportation and harbour support
Yards across the US continued to deliver tugs in Q2 2021 to support rising demand for maritime trade in the nation’s ports and inland waterways. Some shipyards delivered multiple towboats for different owners, while others are working on a new fleet of vessels for one owner.
International Tug & Salvage recorded 12 tugboat deliveries, including eight for inland waterways transportation, in Q2 2021.
C&C Marine and Repair completed a vessel for Kirby Inland Marine and another for Parker Towage. Main Iron and Cenac Marine worked together to produce two towboats for Ingram Marine, while Steiner Construction delivered two to American Commercial Barge Line.
C&C Marine and Repair delivered Bowling Green to Kirby as the second in a series of three towboats built at the Belle Chasse, Louisiana shipyard. This 52-m tugboat was designed by CT Marine with a 15-m beam and accommodation for 12 people. It has installed power of 4,920 kW coming from three Cummins QSK60-M main engines that drive stainless-steel, fixed-pitch Sound propellers through Reintjes WAF 1173 H/V reduction gears.
Parker Towing took delivery of towboat Olive Parker earlier in June from C&C Marine’s shipyard. This vessel was also designed by CT Marine, but with 3,290 kW of power coming from two Caterpillar 3516B main engines driving stainless-steel, fixed-pitch Sound Propeller Systems’ propellers through two Reintjes WAF 873 HL-HR reduction gears supplied by Karl Senner. The 45-m towboat has two Nabrico 60-tonne winches, a Schoellhorn-Albrecht capstan on its deck and two John Deere 6068 AFM 85 generators, producing up to 150 kW of electrical power.
Steiner continued its long association with American Commercial by completing two towboats this year – Texas Transporter and Houston Honor. This pair have Veth Z-drives powered by two Cummins QSK-19 main engines.
Texas Transporter is 20.5 m long with VZ-700 drives on Kort nozzles, while Houston Honor is 19.8 m and has VZ-550 thrusters. They both have 65-kW Northern Lights generators for service power. American Commercial has a fleet of 150 towboats and 3,500 barges.
Nichols Brothers Boat Builders delivered Rachael Allen, the final tractor tug in a four-vessel series, to Saltchuk subsidiaries AmNav and Foss Maritime. This ASD-90-class tug was designed by Crowley’s Jensen Maritime Consultants and built to US Coast Guard Subchapter M regulatory standards, with ABS loadline certification and notations.
It is powered by two MTU Series 16-valve 4000 M65L main engines, rated at 2,560 kW and complying with EPA Tier 4 standards for reducing particulate emissions through in-cylinder combustion technologies and NOx emissions to near zero through a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system. The MTU SCR system will help reduce fuel consumption by 8% at full power and 14-22% over a wider operating range compared with previous MTU engines in this power range.
The MTU Series 4000 engines are paired with Kongsberg US255 azimuth thrusters with the propulsion system producing over 90 tonnes of bollard pull. Rachael Allen will be the first tugboat in the US delivered with the Sea Machines SM300 autonomous system, including transit autonomy and remote access of the tug’s onboard machinery.
Rachael Allen is the fourth vessel in the series which includes Jamie Ann, Sarah Avrick and Leisa Florence, all operated by Foss Maritime. Two vessels will be stationed in Los Angeles/Long Beach and two in San Francisco Bay, providing escort and assist services to large tankers and container ships calling at Californian ports.
Crowley Maritime had a busy Q2 2021 as it took delivery of an articulated tug-barge (ATB) unit and an escort tug. It bought Aurora tug and Qamun barge into service from two separate shipyards and linked them together to form an ice-class ATB.
This 125-m unit is the second ATB in Crowley’s fleet, after Aveogan and Oliver Leavitt, to be dedicated to the Alaska market. It has capacity to transport 55,000 barrels of clean products for Crowley Fuels, the company’s Alaska-based business unit.
Alabama-based Master Boat Builders constructed the tug, and the barge was built by Gunderson Marine in Portland, Oregon. Aurora and Qamun meet ice class and polar code requirements, which include increased structural framing, shell plating and extended zero-discharge endurance with shallow water capability.
Propulsion consists of main engines compliant with US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 4 emissions reduction requirements driving Z-drive propulsion with bow thrusters for manoeuvrability in tight areas. This ATB has a range of 6,900 km to access most locations in Alaska.
Crowley also expanded its harbour support capabilities in the US, receiving a new escort tug with 94 tonnes of bollard pull. Tugboat Apollo was built by Diversified Marine Inc in Portland, Oregon to assist ships in congested western US ports.
This 23.7-m tug was constructed to a Robert Allen Ltd design to escort ultra-large container ships into Californian terminals. A pair of Caterpillar 3516 main engines provide power, engineered to comply with EPA Tier 4 emissions requirements and California’s environmental regulations. Crowley says it is deployed to serve ships docking in San Francisco Bay.
Apollo exceeds environmental requirements for operating in this sensitive area as it has the latest emissions reduction technologies and will operate on biofuel improving the vessel’s fuel efficiency, while lowering its carbon footprint. Shell Trading is supplying biofuels to Crowley for harbour and escort tugs, including tugboat Veteran, in California.
Other US shipyards with Q2 deliveries include Blakeley BoatWorks, Chesapeake Shipbuilding and Metal Shark’s shipyard in Alabama. Florida Marine Transporters took delivery of its third towboat from Metal Shark in June. Gianna Hull is a 36.5-m vessel, design by John W Gilbert Associates, with two Caterpillar marine diesel engines and over 3,000 kW of power.
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