McAllister Christens Tug Pair in NYC

There's nothing like New York City for a maritime event, and McAllister Towing and Transportation Co., Inc., one of the historic family-run companies serving the industry for more than 150 years, held a signature ceremony and party last night at Pier 16 in Manhattan with the christening of two tugboats, the Rosemary McAllister and the Capt. Brian A. McAllister, both ABS classed FiFi 1 with propulsion systems meeting EPA Tier 4 emission regulations: 3516E Tier IV Caterpillar engines with twin Schottel SRP4000FP units.

Following the christening a reception was help on board the historic Wavertree, a cargo ship dating from 1885 and the flagship of the South Street Seaport Museum Fleet.

The Rosemary McAllister is named after the matriarch of the company. Rosemary is Chairman Capt. Brian A. McAllister’s wife and mother to President Buckley McAllister and CFO Eric McAllister.

In early June 2018 McAllister Towing took delivery of Rosemary McAllister, the second in a series of four 100’ x 40’, 80 metric ton bollard pull tugboats. The new vessel, the 32nd tractor tug in McAllister’s fleet, was started at Horizon Shipbuilding, but the company went out of business so it was completed at Eastern Shipbuilding in Panama City, Fla.

Rosemary is powered by 3516E Tier IV Caterpillar engines with twin Schottel SRP4000FP units. Packed into her 100’ x 40’ hull is 6,770 hp. She has already exceeded expectations as she achieved 82.75 metric tons during her ABS bollard pull certification. Rosemary and sister vessel, the Capt. Brian A. McAllister, are together some of the earliest EPA Tier IV tugs on the U.S. East Coast.

Combining her power with a Markey class III escort winch on the bow and a Markey 2 1/4" wire towing winch on the stern puts the Rosemary at the head of her class of shipdocking tugs. State-of-the-art remote controlled fire monitors and deluge systems (ABS FiFi certified) complete the package, making the tug a total escort /shipdocking/rescue vessel.

The Rosemary McAllister is serving McAllister Towing’s operation in Virginia, and according to Buckley McAllister these powerful new tugs are in high demand at ports around the country, extra muscle needed to handle the bigger containerships entering port.

Eastern is building both remaining tugs in the series. The Ava McAllister is due in January 2019 and the Capt. Jim McAllister is due in May 2019.