Ingram Marine Group, Nashville, Tenn., christened two vessels this month, the Len O’Connor and Jerry W. Long. Both vessels are named after longtime employees of the company who began their maritime careers on deck and rose through the ranks.
The Len O’Connor is Ingram’s ninth newbuild in a series of ten towboats. It was designed by Ingram Marine Group, Main Iron Works, Houma, La., and Ashraf Degedy, PE. The four-deck, Subchapter M-compliant vessel measures 69'x30' and features a 33' eye level.
Len O-Connor is powered with twin Caterpillar C32 Tier 3 diesel engines, each rated 800-hp and supplied by Louisiana CAT. The main engines are attached to Reintjes gearboxes and Michigan Wheel propellers. Ship's sevice power comes from a pair of John Deere generators. The live-aboard vessel has capacities of 12,000 gals. of fuel and 4,600 gals. of potable water.
The vessel is named after Len O’Connor, Ingram’s director of fleet operations. O’Connor joined the river industry in 1985 and became part of Ingram through its 2002 acquisition of Midland Enterprises. His son Brandon now serves as a pilot aboard the vessel.
The 166’x42’ Jerry W. Long is a twin-screw towboat powered by GM 16-645F diesel engines producing 6,800 hp. The vessel was originally acquired through the Midland Enterprises purchase in 2002. The vessel was built in 1969.
The vessel honors Jerry Long, Ingram’s director of engineering projects. Long started as a deckhand aboard the Eileen Bigelow in 1990 and worked his way up to chief engineer before taking on shoreside responsibilities overseeing vessel repowers, engine overhauls, and other engineering initiatives.
WorkBoat reached out to Ingram Marine for further specs on the new vessels.
