C&C Marine and Repair to build

198', 11,000-hp towboat for ACBL

leading mainline operations. The addition of this new towboat is an example of our continuous efforts to modernize ACBL’s eet and offer more innovative marine transportation solutions to our customers,” ACBL’s CEO Mike Ellis said in a statement.

Upon delivery, the vessel will operate on ACBL’s mainline network pushing up to 56 barges, averaging approximately 75,000 tons of cargo. Designed by Portland, Maine-based CT Marine, the towboat’s pilothouse will have an eyeline at 47' above the water.

“This vessel is the rst of several that we hope to construct, as there is a need for vessels with this kind of horsepower in the market,” said C&C Marine and Repair’s President Tony Cibilich.

C&C Marine is nishing up detailed design and is expected to begin construction later this year. The estimated delivery date is the third quarter of 2024.

Amherst Madison repowers Campbell Transportation towboat

American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) has awarded a contract to C&C Marine and Repair, Belle Chasse, La., to build a 198'×50'×12', 11,000-hp class towboat.

The towboat will be out tted with two Caterpillar C280-12 main engines, producing approximately 11,000 hp, supplied by Louisiana CAT. The engines will be paired with two Reintjes WAF 6755 reduction gears supplied by Karl Senner LLC. Generator power will be supplied by three Cat 275kW generators. The towboat will be outfitted with CT Marine CT28-SL nozzles housing 124"-dia. stainlesssteel, 5-bladed fixed pitch propellers and features twin-DIFF flanking and steering rudder systems.

The new vessel will accommodate a crew of up to 12 and the design incorporates a oating, spring-mounted superstructure for additional crew comfort.

“When comparing this 11,000-horsepower-class towboat to smaller 6,000-horsepower-class towboats frequently used for mainline operations, this larger horsepower vessel will increase ef ciency by 20% or more on both a cost per ton mile and CO2 emission per ton mile basis due to the increase in tow size and tonnage capacity,” Patrick Sutton, ACBL’s chief operating of cer, said in a statement.

“We are investing in our future by building on the strength of our industry-

In March, Campbell Transportation’s Lincoln Thomas, a 70'×24'×10' towing vessel built in 1975, was repowered with a pair of 850-hp Mitsubishi S12A2s main engines at Amherst Madison, Charleston, W.Va. The engines were provided by Laborde Products. The towboat works on the Ohio River out of Pittsburgh.

The new diesels replaced two 850-hp Cummins KTA38s. This seems to be a signi cant shift away from Cummins engines for Campbell Transportation’s liquid towing vessels, of which there are 10 listed on Campbell Transportation’s website. Prior to the repowering, seven of the vessels had Cummins main engines. No engine was listed for the remaining three.

The Mitsubishi engines are somewhat lighter and slightly smaller than the Cummins engines. Trace Laborde, vice president of sales at Laborde Products in Covington, La., doesn’t think the weight savings was a factor in selecting the Mitsubishi’s. “They really liked the simplicity and their ability to service the Mitsubishi engine and the support we could provide.” That includes parts availability and “training their team on the engines,” he said.

Though the Mitsubishi engine’s size and weight weren’t major factors in its selection, they contributed to a relatively easy installation. “It was the simplicity of repowering. It wasn’t an exact drop in but was a very simple engine replacement for Campbell to do,” said Laborde.

That might be part of the reason why Laborde’s 850-hp Mitsubishi S12A2 has repowered several vessels that had been powered with 850-hp Cummins KTA38s. Enough so that Laborde said he considers vessels powered with the Cummins KTA38 a niche market “for the Mitsubishi (S12A2) engine.”

In late March, Laborde said the Lincoln Thomas had nished sea trials with its new Mitsubishi main engines and Campbell “is very happy with it.”

In a previous press release, Campbell Transportation’s Michael Pilgrim said, “We have had great success with the Mitsubishi engines and are excited to add a few more to our growing eet.” —

Michael Crowley

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