McAllister Towing has awarded a contract to Horizon Shipbuilding Inc., Bayou La Batre, Ala., to build two new tugs.
The 100’x40’ escort/rescue tugs will be powered by a pair of Caterpillar 3516E Tier 4 engines with Schottel SRP4000 FP azimuth thrusters. The package will produce a total of 6,770 hp and 80 metric tons of bollard pull. The tugs will be classified ABS Maltese Cross A-1 Towing, Escort Service, FiFi 1 and Maltese Cross AMS. The hull design from Jensen Maritime is for enhanced shipdocking in addition to direct and indirect escorting. The tug has been designed and simulator tested to assist new post-Panamax and ultra-large vessels. Towing machinery will include a Markey asymmetric render-recover winch on the bow and a Markey tow winch with a spool capacity of 2,500' of 2¼" wire on the stern.
In a statement, Horizon president Travis Short said that the shipyard is “proud that McAllister Towing has put their trust in us to build their most recent vessels” and “by using our GORDHEAD management software I am confident we will be able to efficiently produce these state of the art tugs on schedule and within budget.” Horizon created GORDHEAD to enable its management and production teams to communicate in seconds, sharing drawings, specifications, schedules and other necessary information.
New York-based McAllister said the new tugs would be among the biggest in its fleet and on the East Coast. The first tug, the Capt. Brian A. McAllister, named after the company’s chairman, will be delivered early next year. The second tug, the Rosemary McAllister, named after his wife, will follow. The vessels will give McAllister 32 tractor tugs and will be the first Tier 4 tugs in the company’s fleet.
