With a diverse fleet of 18 tugs, eight water taxis and 20 barges; 's Westar Marine Services is one of 's premier construction support companies. Their tug fleet will be 50% Cummins-powered when their good-looking boat Taurus goes back in service. While the fleet includes a range of Cummins engines from 14 to 38 liter models, the current repower will install a pair of Tier 2 compliant Cummins QSK19M engines for a total of 1320 hp at 1,800 rpm.The Taurus is 75 x 24-ft. model bow tug that is kept busy on a variety of jobs around and offshore the west coast. Not only will the repower extend the service life of the vessel it will significantly reduce emissions. Westar's Rich Smith reports that they were able to keep the boat?s Twin Disc MG527 gears with 5.17:1 ratios for the 660 hp per side engines. Once the Tarus is back in service it is planned to drydock the tug to tweak the props to maximize performance with the new engines.
Other projects underway at Westar Marine Services include the installation of a number of Tier 2 compliant generators in four tugs and two water taxis under the Carl Moyer grants program.