New Towboat from McGinnis
McGinnis Inc. of South Point, Ohio at Mile 318 on the Ohio River delivered a new towboat to sister company Excel Marine Corp. of Cincinnati Ohio with a christening ceremony at Ashland Kentucky on January 26 2008. The 75 x 27-f.t boat is the first new build for McGinnis in over 20 years. According to a report in the Ashland Daily Independent, the new vessel was named in honor of James Allen Ward III who has worked for McGinnis since 1978 and oversaw the construction of the $3.5 million vessel. Main engines on the vessel are a pair of 12-cylinder Cummins KTA 38 M1 engines each with a continuous duty rating of 1050 HP at 1800 RPM and turning 72 by 58-inch props through Twin Disc MG532 gears with 5.96:1 ratios. Cummins 6BT engines power the twin 80 kW generators sets.
Coast Guard Environmental Awards
The US Coast Guard announced the winners of the Rear Admiral William M. Benkert Marine Environmental Protection Awards for 2006. In the large business vessels operations category, the winners are Ocean Shipholdings of Houston; Marathon Petroleum Co. of Ashland, Kentucky; and Matson Navigation Co. of Oakland. In the large business facility operator category, the winners are Dow Chemical Co. of Freeport, Texas; BP Cooper River of Wando, South Carolina; Odjfell Terminals of Houston; , and Todd Shipyard of Seattle. In the foreign business vessel operator category, the winner is BP Shipping of the United Kingdom. In the small business vessel operations category, the winner is US Shipping Partners of Edison, New Jersey.
