Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., Lockport, La., with the Riverway Co., Eden Prairie, Minn., christened the M/V Bootsie B., a 188-ft. (57.3 m), 8,000 hp towboat. Bootsie B. is the first such vessel for the Riverway Co., in 25 years. It was christened by Ms. Mary Sutton Becker, granddaughter of Mrs. Mary Sutton "Bootsie" Baskerville, whose family established Riverway's predecessor company, the Upper Mississippi Towing Corp. in 1937. "This is our first new construction project for Riverway," said Walter Berry, executive vice president and COO of Bollinger said. Bollinger Northshore Engineering designed the vessel, and Corning Townsend, with C.T. Marine, provided naval architectural services for proper water flow through the kort nozzle and across the rudders.
