Crescent Towing has added a new vessel to its ship assist operations on the Lower Mississippi River, the 6,000-hp Z-drive tugboat Kentucky.
The Kentucky, which measures 92’x38’ and has a 19’ draft, was built at Blakeley BoatWorks in Mobile, Ala. Blakeley BoatWorks and Crescent Towing are both part of The Cooper Group. The vessel, powered by twin Caterpillar 3516E Tier 4 engines that drive Kongsberg 255 fixed-pitch Z-drives, is the second 6,000-hp tugboat that Blakeley has built for Crescent Towing.
“Crescent Towing is proud to introduce the M/V Kentucky to the maritime community on the Mississippi River,” said Scott H. Cooper, president of Crescent Towing. “This new 6,000-hp vessel will be a great addition to our fleet on the Mississippi River and will further strengthen our abilities to provide the best service to our customers.”
The first vessel in the ongoing series from Blakeley BoatWorks was the Angus R Cooper II, which operates in the Port of Savannah, Ga. Last summer, The Cooper Group announced Blakeley would build a third 6,000-hp tug for Crescent Towing.
“It’s been a great pleasure to watch the Crescent Towing Port Engineering Team work together with the fine professionals at Blakeley BoatWorks to produce these extraordinary vessels,” said Keith Kettenring, executive vice president of Crescent Towing. “Their success shows in the craftsmanship and attention to detail seen on the recent deliveries of tugs M/V Kentucky and M/V Angus R. Cooper II.”
The Kentucky meets ABS classification standards for Maltese Cross, A-1 towing, AMS, full ocean service, international load line, and escort class towing. Designed by Crowley Engineering Services, the Kentucky has tankage for 43,846 gallons of fuel and 16,811 gallons of potable water.
“Blakeley BoatWorks is proud to carry forward our collaboration with Crescent Towing in building this class of 6,000-hp tugboats,” Blakeley BoatWorks Managing Director Swathin Kannalath said, speaking of the Kentucky. “The opportunity to deliver highly advanced vessels for service on the Mississippi River represents a significant achievement and a source of great pride for our entire organization.”
Crescent Towing, which dates to 1942, offers ship assist towing on the Lower Mississippi River in Louisiana and in the ports of Mobile and Savannah. The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Cooper Group, operates a fleet of 24 tugboats.
Blakeley BoatWorks is located on 26 acres in Mobile and has the capacity to service up to 15 towing vessels and barges at a time. The shipyard, which features a 1,900-ton floating dry dock, 660-ton travel lift, and four covered fabrication shops, offers small vessel repair, barge repair, and new vessel construction.
