Page 41: of Marine News Magazine (November 2024)

40 42

Top

Vessels on, ACBL plans to expand the northbound tows to 64 barg- does that better than any other that I’ve seen. So, it’s easy es under the right navigational conditions, Chamness said. to recruit people to work on a boat like this.”

ACBL Mariner marks a pivot from what has been With accommodations for a crew of up to 12, the vessel the industry norm over the last decade or so: towboats incorporates a ? oating, spring-mounted superstructure for in the 6,000-horsepower range with Z-drives used for additional onboard comfort. Its pilothouse eyeline will be mainline operations. 47 feet above the water.

“ACBL thought outside the box here,” Chamness said. Tony Cibilich, president of C&C Marine and Repair— “We need ultimate productivity, but we also have to have one of the nation’s leading builders of towboats, sees the ef? ciency to go along with it; and some have thought you ACBL Mariner as a trendsetter. “This vessel is the ? rst of just can’t do that with a high horsepower boat. . . ACBL several that we hope to construct, as there is a need for ves-

Mariner is going to prove that you absolutely can have sels with this kind of horsepower in the market,” Cibilich maximum productivity and ef? ciency. When you break said. “We are proud to lead this project and know that it that down into cost per operating mile, I think this boat will contribute greatly to both ACBL’s customers and the would be unchallenged by any other in the industry.” capacity of the inland shipping industry once in operation.” “When comparing this 11,000 HP class towboat to smaller 6,000 HP class towboats frequently used for mainline operations, this larger horsepower vessel will increase ef? ciency by 20% or more on both a cost per ton mile and CO2 emission per ton mile basis due to the increase in tow size and tonnage capacity,” said Patrick

Sutton, ACBL senior vice president of ? eet development and strategy. “Our investment in this new towboat not only bene? ts our customers but also re? ects our commit- ment to promoting a more sustainable and low-carbon future for our marine supply chain.”

ACBL Mariner also features the “latest and greatest” in vessel monitoring technology, which allows ACBL to both enhance operational ef? ciency in real time and opti- mally plan preventative maintenance before issues arise—a “game-changer”, according to Chamness.

“We are investing in our future by building on the strength of our industry-leading mainline operations. The addition of this new towboat is an example of our continuous efforts to modernize ACBL’s ? eet and offer more innovative ma- rine transportation solutions to our customers,” said ACBL’s

CEO Mike Ellis. “Not only is this boat high-powered and highly capable, but it will also feature all the latest innova- tions in technology, crew comfort, safety and ef? ciency.”

The barging industry, just like many others, has strug- gled to recruit and retain the workforce it needs. To re- cruit crews effectively, “you have to have and offer the same level of [onboard] crew comforts and modern amenities that you would have at home,” Chamness said. “This boat www.marinelink.com MN 41|