Page 20: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 15, 1980)

Cummins-Powered Pusher Tug

Is First Of Three For Archway

Campbell Industries of San Di- ego launched the new tuna super- seiner Kukulkan recently, adding impetus to the rapidly developing fisheries of Mexico. She is the first of two such seiners ordered by Atunera del Carmen, an asso- ciation of veteran fishing people in the state of Campeche.

Kukulkan is the Mayan name for the Aztecan supreme diety

Quetzalcoatl, personified by a feathered serpent. "Qetzal" means bird, and "coatl" means snake.

Like its name, the new ship sig- nifies the combining of two herit- ages. Over the years, her owners have devoted themselves to the development of the Gulf shrimp fishery. Now, their move to the tuna schools of the Pacific brings a second arena and a clear indi- cation of the broad spectrum of interest within Mexico's fishing community.

Much of this vital interest in new fishery developments has been the result of encouragement and support from the Mexican govern- ment. A prime example is the fi- nancing for the Kukulkan, which comes from Banpesca (Banco

Nacional Pesquero y Portuario).

This fisheries-oriented bank was formed by the government in

January of this year to provide some of the financial assistance required by the fishing industry in order to expand.

Principal speakers for midday

Saturday launching were Fer- nando Rafful, head of Mexico's

Department of Fisheries, and

Victor Abraham, president of

JtAHHt IfcMNL

Marine Builders of Clarksville, Ind., built the Cummins-powered tugboat Jeanne

Marie, and are completing work on two sister ships for Archway Fleeting and

Harbor Service of St. Louis.

Poised on the ways prior to recent launching at Campbell Industries' San Diego shipyard, the superseiner Kukulkan is being built for Atunera del Carmen, Mexico.

Campbell Industries Launches

Superseiner For Mexican Owner

Atunera del Carmen. Brief re- marks were also delivered by

Peter G. Schmidt, president of

Campbell Industries and MARCO

Seattle, and Ray Bryant, presi- dent and directing business rep- resentative, District Lodge 50,

International Association of Ma- chinists.

Exhibiting the same grace with which she christened the Azteca I at the Campbell yard in February this year, Mrs. Bertha Maldonada de Rafful dealt the champagne honors to Kukulkan's waiting bow.

She thus became only the second lady in modern-day history to serve as sponsor for two ships at the Campbell shipyard. Monsignor

Patrick Fox of St. Agnes Catholic

Church blessed the ship prior to its launching into San Diego Bay.

The Kukulkan is a 1,200-ton- capacity tuna superseiner built to fish the oceans of the world at a cruising speed of 16 knots and designed for helicopter opera- tions. She is 221 feet 5 inches long, with a beam of 40 feet and a draft of 20 feet. The vessel's major components include a 3,600- bhp General Motors EMD diesel main engine, Caterpillar auxiliary diesel generator sets, MARCO fishing deck machinery (including the newly developed WS444 seine winch and associated systems),

Vilter refrigeration, and a full complement of electronics and other navigational aids.

The vessel is scheduled for de- livery in December of this year, following the outfitting and trials period.

The recently delivered Jeanne

Marie is the first of three sister vessels to be built for Archway

Fleeting and Harbor Services of

St. Louis, Mo., by Marine Build- ers, Clarksville, Ind. Powered by a matched pair of Cummins KT- 2300-M diesels generating a com- bined 1,400 bhp at 1,800 rpm, the

Jeanne Marie is the first newly constructed boat powered by KT- 2300-M's on the nation's inland waterways.

David Houlihan, Archway's op- erating manager, sees high-horse- power engines like the KT-2300-M replacing lower rated engines on future inland waterway tugboats. "There are times when we need that horsepower to pivot quickly or fight the current when the riv- er is at flood stage. It takes all day for a small boat with only 700 bhp or so to push barges upriver for a single switching operation on days like that," Mr. Houlihan said.

The tug measures 70 by 26 feet with draft of 51/. feet. A pair of

Cummins 40-kw N-495-GS gener- ator sets, one a standby unit, pro- vide power to lights, winches, and radios.

The sturdy Jeanne Marie has been designed to handle heavy traffic. Twin Disc 530 marine gears with a 6.06:1 reduction ra- tio transmit power to twin 72:60 stainless-steel Kahlenberg propel- lers. Two knees rising 8 feet above the deck are bolted to the ship's understructure for added strength and stability. A Racor 800B-5 re- cycle blending system helps save fuel by centrifuging crankcase oil after changes and recirculating the 35 to 40 gallons into the fuel system.

The steel-hulled pushboat will be used in Archway's switching operations based at Reidy Ter- minal in St. Louis. Archway now operates four boats between mile 156.4 and Lock No. 26.

Surprising fuel economy ratings and low anticipated maintenance costs were cited by Mr. Houlihan as reasons for the selection of the

Cummins engines. Mr. Houlihan said published fuel consumption curves showed the KT-2300 using nearly five gallons of fuel less per hour than the closest competitor in the same horsepower class. "We project an annual fuel sav- ings of $80,000 per boat using the Cummins engine, which comes out to nearly a quarter of a mil- lion dollars savings in fuel alone when all three boats are working.

That's a figure that's sure to catch your eye."

Archway owner Eugene Slay authorized purchase of the en- gines from Cummins Kentuckiana of Louisville after consultation with Dave Evancyzk of Marine

Builders; Pete Fanchi, a consult- ant; St. Louis port engineer Den- nis Crank; and representatives of the major marine engine manu- facturers.

Mr. Houlihan estimates the

Jeanne Marine will work more than 20,000 hours before an over- haul will be needed. Workload capability is part of the reason behind the surprising durability expectations. The engines will often operate below their maxi- mum capacity, reducing wear and extending engine life.

Reliability and minimum down- time are vital to Archway. Their contract with Wisconsin Barge

Company, a major bulk transport- er on the Mississippi, requires that boats be available on a 24- hour, 365-day basis.

To further protect against lost time due to maintenance work, a service agreement has been signed with the local Cummins Marine distributor, Cummins Missouri,

Inc., for parts and service re- quests on a priority basis.

The addition of the Jeanne

Marine, named after Mr. Slay's eldest daughter, and two sister boats is a major move for Arch- way, doubling the size of its fleet.

Archway also handles switching operations in the St. Louis area for Peabody Coal, Burlington

Grain, Pillsbury, and several ma- jor barge owners. 22 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News