Gulf Island Shipyards delivers towboat to Marquette

OCTOBER 18, 2016—This past September, the Houma, LA, shipyard of Gulf Island Shipyards, a division of Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc., delivered the 10,000 hp M/V Chad Pregracke, the last of a series of three towboats to Marquette Transportation Company, Paducah KY.

The M/V Chad Pregracke is capable of pushing 40 barges up and down the Mississippi River system. Sister vessels M/V Loree Eckstein and M/V Rick Calhoun were delivered in August 2015 and February, 2016, respectively.

The M/V Chad Pregracke is 180 ft x 48 ft x 11.5 ft and is powered by two EMD 20-710 G7C Tier 3-compliant, low-emission diesel engines capable of producing over 10,000 horsepower via Reintjes gearboxes, which were supplied by Karl Senner, LLC, Kenner, LA. Pushing the vessel are two ducted, stainless steel, five-bladed propellers 10 ft in diameter.

There are two sets of flanking rudders and two sets of Becker “High-Lift” steering rudders that provide excellent steering control and maneuverability. The upper deckhouse is spring-mounted to the main deck reducing noise and vibration for additional crew comfort.