Horizon Shipbuilding, Inc., Bayou La Batre, Ala., has delivered the M/V Capt. Kirby Dupuis to Florida Marine Transporters of Mandeville, La. She joins her sister ship, the M/V Capt. W. D. Nunley in pushing cargoes throughout the inland waterways of the United States.
The M/V Capt. Kirby Dupuis, designed by John Gilbert, is a 120 ft long by 35 ft wide, 10 ft draft, towboat vessel that is four-decked and is outfitted for service in areas restricted to overhead clearances and draft limitations. She is powered by two 2,000 hp 3512C Caterpillar engines, provided by Louisiana Machinery, that are coupled to Twin Disc MG5600 reduction gears with a 5.04:1 ratio, supplied by Sewart Supply. They turn 100-inch five-blade, stainless steel wheels made by
Sound Propeller, on ten-inch shafts. Auxiliary power is supplied by two 175 kw Caterpillar C9 generators. The M/V Kirby Dupuis is an open-wheel boat that holds 58,000 gallons of fuel.
The next vessel in the 120 ft series will be a 5,000 hp boat with Kort nozzles. Travis Short, Horizon’s president, expressed his appreciation for the continued working partnership with FMT in these tough economic times.