Crescent Towing has begun construction of a new 6,000-hp, Tier 4 z-drive tugboat at Blakeley BoatWorks in Mobile, Ala., to be immediately added to its Mississippi River ship-assist operations upon completion.

“The addition of this new 6,000-hp z-drive in support of our Mississippi River operations highlights our continued commitment to providing our customers with the most powerful and technologically advanced equipment in the industry,” said Scott H. Cooper, president of Crescent Towing.

“For over 81 years, our team of mariners and shore-based staff have worked relentlessly to provide the highest quality ship-assist towing service in the United States,” said Keith Kettenring, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Crescent Towing. “The addition of this new Tier 4 6,000-hp z-drive provides our team with another incredible tool to continue to offer the safest and most reliable towing services on the Mississippi River.”

This new escort towing vessel, to be named at a later date, was designed by Crowley Engineering Services and will be 92 feet long, 38 feet wide and will draft 19 feet. The tugboat will be powered by twin Caterpillar 3516E Tier 4 engines, each producing 3,004 hp to power Kongsberg 255 fixed-pitch azimuthing drives (z-drives). This is the fifth Crescent Towing escort tug design provided by Crowley.

“Blakeley BoatWorks is honored to partner with Crescent Towing and Crowley Engineering Services to design and construct the second of a series of 6,000-hp tugboats,” said Swathin Kannalath, managing director of Blakeley BoatWorks. “The opportunity to construct one of the largest and most advanced tugboats operating on the Mississippi River creates a great amount of excitement for our entire team.”

(Source: Professional Mariner)