MV Florida get new Cat Power at Bollinger

The Crescent Towing tug Florida undergoes sea trials on the Mississippi River at New Orleans following repowering from single screw to double screw and the replacement of her pilothouse with new equipment and greater visibility provided by new lower exhaust stacks. Florida is the first of eight Crescent tugs to receive the conversion at Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., Algiers (New Orleans) shipyard. Bollinger Shipyards recently completed the conversion of the Crescent Towing tug, Florida, from a single engine to a twin-engine boat with 4,000-hp. It is the first of eight Crescent Towing 105-ft. sister ships to undergo the same major conversion at Bollinger's Algiers (New Orleans) repair and conversion shipyard. Florida's old engine was replaced with a pair of Caterpillar 3512B engines coupled to Reintjes WAF 673 reduction gears driving 83-in. Bollinger stainless steel propellers. They were installed in 84-in. type 37 kort nozzles with stainless steel inner rings and leading and trailing edges. It has a 45 degree rudder angle for better maneuverability and its new power package is designed to generate 100,000 pounds, or 50 tons, of bollard pull. The boat's stern was also modified to accommodate the new propulsion system. Bollinger also reconstructed the Florida's wheelhouse with low profile stacks for maximum visibility and installed new radars, GPS, depth sounders, hailers, VHF radios, fax machines, sound powered telephones, fuel emergency shut off systems, and remote control start and stops for the main engines. New Coast Guard approved oil and water separators and sanitary systems were installed and channel coolers were replaced with keel coolers. Living spaces and the galley were refurbished and new air conditioning and heating was installed. Larry Ohler, Crescent vice-president and port engineer said, “Florida is running great and is everything we thought it would be. She went up the Mississippi River at over 10 knots at a river stage of 13.5 ft. and downstream at over 16 knots. Power, maneuverability and visibility are all excellent. She pulled out a sea-going barge that was aground without the need for full throttle and normal docking and undocking has been improved all around, along with crew comfort."