McAllister Towing and Transportation Co. Inc., New York, has taken delivery of the Mary McAllister, the sixth tugboat in a seven-vessel series built by Washburn & Doughty Associates Inc., East Boothbay, Maine.
The 6,770-hp tractor tug, launched in June, will eventually be homeported in Port Everglades, Fla., but will first make stops along the East Coast. After leaving the shipyard, the Mary McAllister headed to Portland, Maine, to ride out an approaching nor'easter before continuing south to Baltimore. There it will join sister vessel Isabel McAllister and receive its first work order as part of the McAllister fleet. After the Baltimore assignment, the tug will proceed to Port Everglades.
"As our customer's vessels grow larger and services for these behemoths become increasingly demanding, McAllister continues to meet their needs with modern and environmentally conscious equipment," the company said in announcing the delivery.
The Mary McAllister features a pair of EPA Tier 4-compliant Caterpillar 3516E engines that power Schottel SRP 490 FP Z-drive units, offering a bollard pull of 84 metric tons. The American Bureau of Shipping has classed the tug +A1 Towing, +AMS, Fire Fighting (FiFi 1), Escort, and Low Emissions Vessel.
The 93'x38' tug has a 17' loaded draft. It is equipped with 99-kW John Deere 4045 AFM85 EPA Tier 3 generators, Markey Machine winches on the bow and stern, as well as a CAT C18 fire pump and a Fire Fighting Systems monitor capable of delivering 12,000 gpm of water and foam. Capacities include 30,000 gals. of fuel oil, 4,000 gals. potable water, and 500 gals. aqueous film-forming foam.
The 293-grt tug is the first in the series with full firefighting capabilities, according to Marty Costa, McAllister's lead engineer for the newbuild program.
"For a lot of contracts, especially for LNG, customers want to see firefighting," Costa said in an interview earlier this year, "so it gives us the flexibility of putting these boats where they're needed."
The series' five previous vessels, the Eileen McAllister, Jane McAllister, Grace McAllister, Isabel McAllister, and Gerard McAllister, have been delivered within the past two years. The seventh tug, the Cathy McAllister, is slated for launch in February 2027. All the vessels have been built in the yard's climate-controlled facility.
"It's good to have a series. It's good to have a class of boat, and that's what we've done," Costa said. "It's the same equipment on all the boats, so spare parts are a lot easier to get."
Every time McAllister considers adding new vessels, the company targets improved maneuverability and crew comfort, Costa said, noting that the series was built to a proven Washburn & Doughty design.
"We've made subtle changes — nothing earth-shattering," Costa said. "Washburn & Doughty designed a good boat. It's well laid out. It does a very good job for us."
For maneuverability, the tugs feature a cutaway keel on the stern. "There's a window in the aft end of the keel so that it doesn't restrict the movement of the tug," Costa said. "When you're mated up to a ship, you can get on tight with no problem at all."
Crew comfort is enhanced by quiet, mini-split air conditioning units, satellite TV, and three heads. In the engine room, rubber underneath the deck plating reduces rattling. The Mary McAllister also features Rose Point navigation and Starlink internet connectivity.
"It's a comfortable boat," Costa said of the series. "The crews like them."
