Page 58: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 1998)

propeller tug on the East Coast.

Tractor tugs have the ability to steer a vessel astern, as well as ahead. This concept was started on the Mississippi River, with the introduction of flanking rudders and became a necessity for the riverboats when handling their large fleet of barges.

Tractor tugs - whether cycloidal, Z-propeller or flanking rudder - are all major improve- ments to conventional tugs, which had no ability to control the tug in "reverse." Today, Z-propeller tugs are the least expensive, compared to cycloidal or flanking rudder design. For this reason, McAllister has chosen the Z-propeller option for its future building program, which includes plans to build four new Z-propeller tractor tugs, over the next few years. Designs have already been sent to four or five

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Contact: Tom Johnson operate the fastest passenger vessel in the nation shipyards, but the planning is still in the early stages. "The Z-propeller is a highly maneuverable and powerful tug that allows an operator to control how the tug is reversed as com- pared to a single-screw tug, which provides reverse movement along- side the ship only," says A.J.

McAllister, the company's new vice-president of sales, and former pilot captain for the company, "With the single-screw tug, the shipdocking procedure must be precisely executed, to maximize the ahead and stern thrust of the tug." "It's the ultimate tool for ship- docking work," says Eric, Brian's son, the investment banker, now holding the title of vice-president, corporate development. "But even rebuilding existing tugs can be expensive," Brian says. "To rebuild as a Z-propeller or a twin-screw tug can cost nearly $5 million alone. That's a lot of money when you're looking to refurbish a fleet of 50 tugs."

Yet, he freely admits some older single-screw tugs in the fleet do need to be replaced or upgraded, to at least 3,000 hp - in fact, that is the main problem on his plate, cur- rently. Still, he realizes upgrading is definitely the way to go, since newbuild costs are prohibitive. "New building prices won't go down unless we experience a recession," Brian says. "And then, we wouldn't be looking to buy, any- way."

But for now, the company is looking to get itself back on track as a major player in the industry. "For years, there's been a per- ception in the industry that we were undermanaged and there was little communication with some of our major customers," says

Brian. "Basically, there are three main areas for us to focus on," says

Buckley, Brian's son, the attorney, now vice-president and general counsel. "We need to focus on addressing our customer's needs - a lot of the company's focus the past few years was on the oilfield services industry. We intend to improve our equipment and our training programs, and we need to focus on the maritime commerce on the Eastern seaboard. For years, that was nearly a zero focus, as much of the company's interest was in oilfield services; today, we're making it our priority." 58 Circle 272 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News