Washburn & Doughty Associates Inc., East Boothbay, Maine, in June launched the sixth vessel in a series of new tugboats for McAllister Towing and Transportation Co. Inc., New York.
Scheduled for delivery in September, the 6,770-hp tractor tug 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. It is classed by the American Bureau of Shipping as an A1 Maltese Cross 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 with 12,000-gpm foam injection capability. Capacities include 30,000 gals. of fuel oil, 4,000 gals. potable water, and 500 gals. aqueous film-forming foam.
The 293-grt newbuild is the sixth vessel in a seven-tug series built by Washburn & Doughty for McAllister Towing. All the vessels have been built in the yard’s climate-controlled facility.
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, and the seventh tug, the Cathy McAllister, is slated for launch in February 2027.
“It’s good to have a series. It’s good to have a class of boat, and that’s what we’ve done,” said Marty Costa, McAllister’s lead engineer for the newbuild program. “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 Washburn & Doughty series was built to a proven design from the shipyard.
“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.
“It’s a comfortable boat,” Costa said of the series. “The crews like them.”
The Mary McAllister features Rose Point navigation and Starlink internet connectivity. It is the first of the series with full firefighting capabilities, Costa said. McAllister has not yet determined where the Mary McAllister will operate, but Costa said the full firefighting capability gives the company more options.
“For a lot of contracts, especially for LNG, customers want to see firefighting,” Costa explained, “so it gives us the flexibility of putting these boats where they’re needed.”
