Canal Barge expands fleet modernization efforts

Canal Barge Company is continuing its fleet modernization efforts through a combination of new vessel construction and towboat repower projects designed to improve operational consistency, maintenance efficiency and long-term reliability across its inland fleet.

At C&C Marine & Repair, the company recently took delivery of the M/V Deborah H. Valentine and the M/V Cabby H. Boone, the second and third vessels completed under an ongoing four-boat construction program at the shipyard’s Belle Chasse facility.

Both 2,600-hp towboats measure 87 by 34 feet and are powered by twin Mitsubishi S12R Tier 4 engines, each rated at 1,260 hp at 1,600 rpm. Each vessel is also equipped with two 99-kW generator sets supplied by Laborde Products.

Designed for inland river, canal and intracoastal service, the vessels were built around a common propulsion and onboard power platform intended to standardize operation and maintenance practices across the fleet.

“Alignment across the program is important from both an operational and maintenance standpoint,” said Mark Allen, vice president of asset management and engineering at Canal Barge Company. “These vessels are being built on a common platform, which gives us consistency across the fleet as the program moves forward.”

Tony Cibilich, president and owner of C&C Marine & Repair, said the program has become more streamlined as construction has progressed from one vessel to the next.

“Three boats in and the whole program just keeps getting better,” Cibilich said. “Little things get picked up along the way, small tweaks here and there. By the third one, the whole thing is running smooth.”

Laborde Products supplied both the main engines and generator sets for the vessels and worked alongside Canal Barge Company and C&C Marine throughout construction.

“This is part of a series where everything is tied together from one boat to the next,” said Bradley Matte, sales representative at Laborde Products. “The engines and generator sets were selected to match that approach and keep things consistent across the build.”

In addition to the newbuild program, Canal Barge Company recently completed a repower project aboard the M/V Hallie M. Merrick at Sterling Shipyard.

The 75-foot towboat, originally built in 2013, was repowered with two Mitsubishi S12R Tier 3 engines rated at 1,100 hp at 1,800 rpm, replacing the vessel’s original Cummins KTA38 engines. Laborde Products supported the repower project, which company officials said was aimed at improving fuel efficiency, simplifying maintenance and supporting long-term fleet reliability.

“A repower is an investment in the next decade of a vessel’s life,” Allen said. “The S12R gives us the reliability and fuel curve we want, and Laborde gives us the local support that keeps these projects moving.”

Matte said the Hallie M. Merrick project continues a broader effort to standardize equipment across Canal Barge Company’s fleet.

“Canal Barge Company expects their equipment to perform, and the S12R gives them the power and simplicity they want while supporting reliable day-to-day operation,” Matte said.

The Hallie M. Merrick repower follows previous Canal Barge Company projects involving Mitsubishi S16R and S12R engine upgrades aboard the M/V Ned Merrick and M/V Integrity.