Master Marine Delivers Z-drive Towboat to Marquette
In July, Marquette Transportation Co. took delivery of a new 2,000-hp Z-drive towboat from Master Marine, Inc., Bayou La Batre, Ala.
The 78'x 34’x11' St. Matthew was designed by Entech Designs, La. for Marquette’s river division, based in Paducah, Ky.
Master Marine is continuing to build Z-DRIVE towboats, with two more underway for Marquette with an increased crew capacity of nine in five staterooms with 3.5 bathrooms.
The steel-hulled St. Matthew 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") four-bladed propellers in nozzles. The package gives the boat a running speed of 10 knots with a loaded draft of 8’. 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.
The St. Matthew has tankage for 24,000 gallons of fuel; 6,550 gallons of potable water; and 17,560 gallons of ballast water.
The vessel’s electronics were supplied by New World Electronics, and Rio Marine supplied the alarms and monitoring systems. Doors and windows were provided by Dales Welding & Fabrication, LLC. Rubber bumper systems were provided by Schuyler Companies. To secure barge tows, there’s a pair of Patterson 40-ton deck winches supplied by Donavan Marine.