Southern Illinois Transfer towboat will be Mitsubishi-powered

Mitsubishi S6R2-Y3MPTAW Tier 3 diesel

A retractable pilothouse towboat under construction at Kaskaskia Shipyard Inc., Red Bud, Ill., is to be powered by two Mitsubishi diesel propulsion engines, supplied by Covington, La., headquartered Laborde Products.

Ordered by Southern Illinois Transfer (SIT), Sparta, Ill., the towboat will be powered by a pair of Mitsubishi S6R2-Y3MPTAW Tier 3 diesel marine engines rated at 803 hp at 1,400 rpm each.

Additionally, this is the first build where Laborde-supplied Mitsubishi engines will be coupled to Veth Z-drives.

“We are excited about building our first Mitsubishi-powered boat, and will be building a second vessel with the Mitsubishi’s following the completion of this one,” says Kurt Johnson, president of Southern Illinois Transfer. “Our extensive experience with large displacement and slower-turning engines like EMD’s on the locomotive side of our business, really attracted us to the Mitsubishi S6R2, not to mention we really like the fact that they are mechanical and we can work on them ourselves.”

“Laborde Products is excited about the growing partnership with Kurt and the whole SIT team, and providing a fully mechanical solution to their fleet,” says Trace Laborde, vice president of sales at Laborde Products.