Page 21: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 1977)

Mississippi Marine Begins

Offshore Boat Construction

Mississippi Marine Towboat Corporation,

Greenville, Miss., an established builder of inland river towboats and barges, has begun constructing boats for the offshore industry.

Currently under construction is a 112-foot- long by 26-foot-beam offshore utility boat.

The vessel was designed by the naval archi- tectural and marine engineering firm of van

Bentem & Associates Inc., Ocean Springs,

Miss. The hull depth is 11 feet 2 inches, and is to be powered by a pair of 16V71 Detroit

Diesel engines with MG 527 Twin Disc re- duction gears and two 4-71 50-kw generators.

Mississippi Marine Towboat Corporation naval archi- tect Joe Janoush (right) points out progress on the firm's first offshore boat to MMTC president John

Nichols. The 112-foot-long vessel is scheduled for completion in early 1978. Mr. Nichols says that con- struction on a second offshore utility boat will begin next month at the firm's Lake Ferguson shipyard on the Mississippi River at Greenville, Miss.

MMTC's yard, located on the slack-water harbor at Greenville, is equipped to handle boats of this size and larger. Equipment in- cludes a 2,500-ton drydock measuring 218 feet by 68 feet, a 200-foot wet dock, three 200-foot construction ways, a 35-ton floating crane, a 35-ton mobile crane, a 10-ton mobile crane, a 10-ton overhead crane, and a 200- foot by 70-foot enclosed fabrication shop equipped with a 10-ton crane.

MMTC's president John Nichols gave this reason for diversification: "When you're an established builder of inland river towboats and barges, it's a natural step to build for the offshore market, especially when you have the equipment and staff to handle the job."

Mississippi Marine has already produced 10 towboats in the 4,000-5,600-hp class since 1969, in addition to numerous smaller tow- boats (in the 2,200 and 800-hp class). They have also built drydocks, tank barges, deck barges and floating crane barges as well.

In anticipation of the continued demand for offshore vessels such as the 112-foot util- ity boat currently under construction, MMTC will lay out the keel for a second such boat at the end of this year.

For additional information on the yard operations, write to John Nichols, Mississippi

Marine Towboat Corporation, P.O. Box 539,

Greenville, Miss. 38701.

December 1, 1977

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