Fifth Z-drive Towboat from Master Marine
In September, Marquette Transportation Co. took delivery of a new 2,000-hp Z-drive towboat from Master Marine, Inc., Bayou La Batre, Alabama.
The 78 x 34 x 11-ft. St. James was designed by Entech & Associates, for Marquette’s Gulf-Inland division, based in Harahan, La.
Master Marine is continuing to build Z-DRIVE towboats, with more underway for Marquette, said the yard’s president Randy Orr.
The steel-hulled St. James is powered by a pair of Thompson Power Systems Caterpillar C32 Tier 3 1,000-hp engines at 1,800 rpm connected to ZF Marine ZF AT 5111WM-FP Z-drives with 1,650 mm (65") 4-bladed propellers in nozzles. The package gives the boat a running speed of 10 knots with a loaded draft of 8 ft.. For ship’s service power the towboat is outfitted with a pair of Kennedy Engine John Deere 4045AFM85 Tier 3 generator drive engines each driving an 80-kW Marathon Mariner generators. Cooling for all engines and z drives was provided by Eastpark Radiator Duraweld coolers. Doors and windows were provided by Dales Welding & Fabrication, LLC. Rubber bumper systems were provided by Schuyler . The electronics was supplied by New World Electronics and Rio Marine supplied the alarms and monitoring systems. To secure barge tows, there’s a pair of Patterson 40-ton deck winches supplied by Donavan Marine. The St. James has tankage for 24,000 gallons of fuel; 6,550 gallons of potable water; and 17,560 gallons of ballast water.
