VESSEL REVIEW | Jane McAllister – McAllister Towing newbuild to serve US East Coast

New York-based, family-owned vessel operator McAllister Towing and Transportation Company recently welcomed a new harbour tug to its fleet servicing customers along the US East Coast.

Jane McAllister is the first in a series of two ship assist tugs ordered by McAllister Towing from shipbuilder Washburn and Doughty Associates of Boothbay, Maine. Design work on the new tug and on sister vessel Grace McAllister was done in compliance to American Bureau of Shipping A-1 Towing, AMS, and Escort notations.

Jane McAllister has a steel hull, an LOA of 92.8 feet (28.3 metres), a beam of 38 feet (11.6 metres), a loaded draught of 17 feet (5.1 metres), a gross tonnage of 285, and a net tonnage of 194. The propulsion arrangement consists of two Caterpillar 3516E US EPA Tier IV diesel engines that each produce 3,385 hp (2,525 kW) and drive Schottel SRP 490 fixed-pitch rudder propellers. This configuration enables the tug to achieve a bollard pull of approximately 92 tons (84 tonnes) and a speed of 15 knots.

The engine room benefits from full automation with remote monitoring via the helm station. The wheelhouse also has displays showing live feeds from cameras in the engine room and on the deck. Power for these systems is drawn from two John Deere 4045 99kW generators.

The deck equipment includes Markey machinery in the form of a forward full render/recovery class II escort winch and an aft Hawser winch. The tug also boasts firefighting capability thanks to the installation of a foam monitor driven by a dedicated Caterpillar C18 diesel engine.

McAllister Towing said both Jane McAllister and Grace McAllister will be capable of handling some of the largest ships operated by its customers calling at East Coast ports.

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