Page 43: of Marine News Magazine (January 2016)

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INLAND PROPULSION

Meanwhile, and back in the U.S. heartland, Marquette (Gilbert Associates, Inc. (GAI)) and propulsion OEM’s

Transportation Co. last year took delivery of the fourth and (Verhaar Omega: since 2012, 19 Omega V-pods have been ? fth 2,000-hp Z-Drive towboat from Master Marine, Inc., installed and are in service in Europe on various types of

Bayou La Batre, Ala. The St. Peter was designed by Frank vessels). In selecting the podded propulsion system for in-

Basile of Entech & Associates, Houma, La., for Marquette’s clusion on the design, Eastern came upon Verhaar Omega

Gulf-Inland division, based in Harahan, La. Master Marine after meeting with two inland owner/operators that cur- is continuing to build Z-Drive towboats, with more under- rently have Z-Drive towboats, and others that didn’t. Lis- way for Marquette, said the yard’s president Randy Orr. tening to each and noting their concerns, it was decided

The steel-hulled St. Peter is powered by a pair of Thompson that the V-Pod was the best solution. Because the Thun-

Power Systems Caterpillar C32 Tier 3 1,000-hp engines at derbolt will typically operate in shallow, sometimes turbid, 1,800 rpm connected to ZF Marine ZF AT 5111WM-FP debris ? lled water, ESG designed underwater protection in

Z-Drives with 1,650 mm (65-in.) four-bladed propellers in the form of a pipe guard protection system for each Omega nozzles. The package gives the boat a running speed of 10 V-Pod. These pipe guards protect the vessel from side bank knots with a loaded draft of 8 ft. impacts when turning in rivers and canals and stern impact

Not to be outdone, Houma, La.-based Enterprise Mari- protection when backing down. Currently, Omega has ner Services, LLC (EMS) added its eighth Z-Drive tow- V-Pod units ranging from 445HP (330kW) to 2,011HP boat, the fourth from Sneed Shipbuilding. The 87 x 34- (1,500kW), but the thrust ef? ciencies underway and the ft. Sebastian D, with an 11.5-ft. molded depth, was built maneuvering capabilities are far greater than conventional by Sneed Shipbuilding of Channelview, Texas. This boat tail shaft, propeller and nozzle propulsion systems.

is well-suited for working the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Finally, and pushing a complete design package in where they routinely push two 30,000-barrel petroleum much the same way as Eastern Shipbuilding has moved barges. Propulsion power is provided by a pair of 1,000-hp forward with its Thunderbolt, Karl Senner has introduced

Cummins QSK38M Tier III diesel engines coupled to the a unique pushboat design intended to accommodate the

ZF Marine AT 5111 WM-FP Z-Drives ? tted with 66-in. Steerprop solution and also maximize the utility of the diameter propellers mounted in Kort nozzles. With these thrusters / z-drives. Karl Senner, the Shearer Group and drives, the boats draw only 8.5 ft. The QSK38M engines Steerprop all look to leverage deep experience with the also give these very maneuverable Z-Drive boats plenty of U.S. inland markets as well as proven success and experi- power to safely handle the currents of the Mississippi River. ence with Steerprop in the offshore markets, starting back

And in an interesting twist to the equation, Eastern in 2001. According to Chris Senner, reliability is a key

Shipbuilding last year introduced its cutting edge 4,200 aspect of the Steerprop design. He adds, “We work closely hp Thunderbolt inland towboat designed around twin with all parties during all stages of the design, build, and azimuthing Verhaar Omega electric V-Pod propulsion operation to ensure the best solution for the application. and diesel-electric technology. The ESG approach was We aim to minimize downtime and maintenance for the collaborative, with input from operators, naval architects life of the vessel.”

Horses for Courses

All but a foregone conclusion, it is likely that Z-Drive propulsion will soon overtake conventional drive methods on the U.S inland rivers. With a little more front end out- lay, operators purchasing z-drive packages will likely see that money and more return to the coffers in the form of improved ef? ciencies, better safety and a host of other met- rics. We even found ourselves asking whether the (antici- pated) advent of subchapter M towboat rules might even expedite the sea change. That depends on a lot of things, of course, but without a doubt, owners who make the move will soon boast more bang for their buck in the same sized river platform. And, isn’t that what it’s all about? 43 www.marinelink.com MN

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