Maritime Partners, Metairie, La., has repowered the pushboat John Austin,
After 28,000 hours on the previous platform, the decision to repower was driven
“At 28,000 hours, it came down to a full overhaul or a repower. We chose to repower with the Mitsubishi S12R,” Austin Sperry, Maritime Partners’ co-founder and president, said in a statement announcing the repowering. “It meant less downtime, more value over the long haul, and confidence that Laborde’s team would be there with the right support.”
The emphasis on fit and follow-through was central to the project.
“The John Austin needed a repower that made sense not just on paper, but in the water,” said Bradley Matte, sales representative, Laborde Products. “The S12R-Y3 has hundreds of installs in commercial service, and operators know it as a workhorse. Our role was to spec it properly, commission it cleanly, and make sure Maritime Partners had a reliable platform from day one.”
The repower installation leveraged the vessel’s existing systems while making minor modifications. The S12R-Y3 fit within the original rail centers and paired with the Reintjes WAF 665 gearbox via adapter plate. Key modifications included new grid coolers, an adjusted exhaust system, remote air canisters, new pedestals, and rerouted cooling lines. Other systems, including electronic controls, Racor filtration, fuel supply, and air start, all remained fully compatible. The result was a straightforward repower with limited yard time and no surprises.
By choosing repower over overhaul, Maritime Partners avoided the uncertainty of teardowns, delayed parts, and escalating rebuild costs, the statement said.
(Additional specifications were not released.)
