VESSEL REVIEW | Jared Phillips – Barge assist towboat for Mississippi River sailings

Parker Towing Company, a family-owned towage provider that operates out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has added a new vessel to its fleet of river towboats.

The all-steel towboat is named Jared Phillips after Parker Towing's director of business operations who is also the son-in-law of Parker vice chairman and CEO Charlie Haun. The vessel was built by Florida Marine Transporters, through its Harvey, Louisiana-based shipbuilding arm FMT Shipyard and Repair, to a John W. Gilbert Associates design.

The newbuild will be used primarily for towing hopper and tank barges along the Mississippi River. It will be operated as a line-haul towboat, which means it will transport barges over long distances between ports unlike a shift boat that is used in moving barges within a port's own waters. Other areas of operation include the Intracoastal East Waterways, the Ohio River, the Tennessee River, and Mobile Bay. For its initial operations, the towboat will move coal, steel, and related raw materials along those same waters.

The towboat has a length of 128 feet (39 metres), a beam of 34 feet (10 metres), and a draught of 9.25 feet (2.8 metres).

Power is provided by two Caterpillar 3516 diesel engines that each produce 4,200 hp (3,131 kW) and are connected to Sound open-wheel propellers via Reintjes 873 gearboxes with 7:08:1 reduction. This configuration delivers a maximum speed of nine knots and a cruising speed of 7.9 knots. Coupled with a large and highly responsive rudder, the propulsion arrangement enables the towboat to easily negotiate sharp turns like those of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway even when handling 600 feet (182 metres) of barges.

The steering system is a full electric-over-hydraulic arrangement and was supplied by Eagle Control Systems. Eagle also installed the gearwork for the main switch, the engine alarm system, and the shaft tachometer system.

Auxiliary power is available in the form of two John Deere 6090 engines and Marathon 280kW generator sets supply electrical power for the onboard systems. Duraweld keel coolers are fitted on the main engines.

The deck equipment consists mainly of winches from Patterson.

The bridge electronics include Furuno radars and radios and were provided by Wheelhouse Electronics while the coatings are from Carboline Paint. The floor coating and the galley equipment were supplied by Kenn Martin.

Six cabins are available to accommodate a crew of nine. Insulation provided by Mascot is fitted in all interior spaces to reduce noise and vibration.

Total tank storage capacities are 58,000 gallons (219,500 litres) for fuel, 11,400 gallons (43,153 litres) for potable water, 1,500 gallons (5,678 litres) for lube oil, 4,000 gallons (15,141 litres) for waste oil, and 550 gallons (2,081 litres) for hydraulic oil.

See more stories from this month's Tug and Salvage Week here.