ACBL Christens America's Largest, Most Powerful Towboat
In a ceremony Tuesday night at the WorkBoat Show in New Orleans, American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) christened the largest, most powerful inland towboat in service on U.S. waterways.
The new ACBL Mariner is a 200-foot, 11,000-horsepower ship of a towboat. With twin Caterpillar C280-12 engines and ten-foot wheels, the Mariner can push up to 56 barges at a time - more than any other towboat on the Mississippi. This is enough capacity for 75,000 tonnes of cargo, about the same as a seagoing Panamax bulker.
Fireworks at ACBL's christening ceremony (ACBL)
"You can look at all the engineering drawings, but until you see it - see the size of the stacks on that vessel - it's incredible," said Mike Ellis, CEO of ACBL.
The towboat is part of ACBL's plan to expand its network, and it will reduce fuel consumption and carbon footprint per tonne-mile by about 20 percent (when compared with a typical 6,000-horsepower boat). It can deballast to adjust its draft by up to 18 inches if needed during low water conditions, which can be a challenge during the summer months. Its design also improves crew comfort, thanks to amenities like single-bunk staterooms and a springloaded isolation system for the superstructure.
"This vessel is the first of several that we hope to construct, as there is a need for vessels with this kind of horsepower in the market," said C&C Marine and Repair President Tony Cibilich last year.
ACBL is one of the largest inland transport companies in the U.S., with a fleet of 130 towboats and 3,500 barges. Its 2,000 employees move about 50 million tonnes of wet and dry bulk cargo per year.