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Lebeouf Bros News

27 Mar 2017

Coalition Urges Congress to Address Asian Carp in the Great Lakes

© Dale Stagg / Adobe Stock

A coalition of maritime business and industry organizations sent a letter to key Members of Congress on Friday, March 24 urging funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to further support efforts undertaken by the State of Illinois to slow, stop and reverse the migration of Asian carp, an aquatic invasive species, through cost-effective measures. In the letter, the UnLock Our Jobs (UOJ) coalition members review the record of success that the GLRI has had in working with the State of Illinois to develop a range of strategies to control Asian carp…

10 Sep 2014

MN 100: LeBeouf Bros. Towing, LLC

LeBeouf Bros. Towing, LLC is one of the oldest marine towing companies operating the U.S. inland waterway system. Formed in the early 1940s by brothers Willard and Irvin LeBeouf, and joined in 1946 by Earl Gonsoulin, the company was purchased by the Gonsoulin family in 1968. Today LeBeouf Bros. is privately held and operated by Richard “Dickie” Gonsoulin and his son, Jon Gonsoulin, and continues to operate a growing fleet of inland boats and tank barges serving the petroleum and chemical industries on all major U.S. inland waterways.

24 Oct 2013

Double Delivery Houma Style

L to R: Jon Gonsoulin, Ralph Senner, Dickie Gonsoulin, Gerda Senner and Mike Senner.

Last month MarineNews was on hand in Houma, La., for a festive double celebration marking the delivery of a pair of high spec 95-ft. towboats for LeBeouf Bros. Towing. To say that Jon Gonsoulin knows how to throw a party is an understatement. The ubiquitous president of LeBeouf Bros. Towing, LLC of Houma, La., hosted a double delivery celebration without compare last month at his home; one which saw LeBeouf and Gonsoulin welcome the MV Karl Senner and MV Dickie Gonsoulin to the LeBeouf Bros. fleet.

17 Oct 2013

LeBeouf Celebrates Double Christening

Jon Gonsoulin hosted a festive double christening in Houma, La.  (Photo Greg Trauthwein)

Last month a special pair of towboats were celebrated, as LeBouef Bros. Towing of Houma, La., welcomed to its fleet the MV Karl Senner and MV Dickie Gonsoulin in a festive ceremony at the home of Jon Gonsoulin, President, Lebeouf Bros. Towing. While the boat represent many things – a continued boom in the U.S. energy transport business; a nod to the modern mariner as both are seamlessly outfitted for crew comfort – first and foremost they represent a long-standing and still strong bond between Gonsoulin and Karl Senner LLC. LeBeouf Bros.

25 Sep 2013

The Ties that Bind

A bond forged more than 40 years ago stands strong today.  L to R: Chris Senner, Jon Gonsoulin and Ralph Senner.

This month the M/V Karl Senner and the M/V Dickie Gonsoulin will be christened in Houma, La. While the event is centered on a pair of new, high-specification towboats, the celebration is the culmination of more than 45 years of business partnerships between Karl Senner, LLC and LeBeouf Bros. Towing. The inland towing business is filled with history, characters and long tales of business partnerships extending years, decades or even centuries. The partnership between LeBeouf Bros.

30 Nov 2012

Sneed Shipbuilding: An (Extended) Family Affair

When Martin M. Sneed embarked in the business of building for the demanding workboat market in the mid-60s, he likely did not imagine that four decades later, his son Clyde (pictured) and business partner and co-owner Mitch Jones would be at the helm of a highly successful boat building company, crafting finely appointed custom boats for some of the industry’s most discriminating owners. Sneed Shipbuilding was founded by Martin M. Sneed in 1965, and many of the principles upon which it was founded: quality, integrity and efficiency, are as valid today as ever.

26 May 2011

Iconic Engines: Cummins K38-M

Image courtesy Cummins Marine

Most Americans will recall an iconic automobile engine from their youth. It might be an early 1950s Ford V-8 flat head or a 1970s Dodge 426 Hemi. Over the decades other engines have been added to the list. In a similar fashion mariners have identified classic marine diesels. One such is the Cummins 38-liter 2300-cu. inch engine known over the years as the KTA38. Canadian fisherman John Lenic has been running one in his 1978-built steel purse seiner Ocean Marauder. Still running on the original engine he swears by it.

13 Dec 2007

Intracoastal Producing More Push Boats

Joey Portier shows the donut welded in place to protect the stern bearing on the Jackie Gonsoulin. Joey Portier, yard manager at Intracoastal Iron Works, Inc, carries a lot of construction details for the yard?s 72 by 30-foot push boat in his head. Asked about shafting details on the two that they are currently building for Lebeouf Bros. Towing, he explains that they are 19 feet long. The six-inch shafts swell to seven inches after the journal is installed. The journal is a piece…

14 Sep 2007

LaForce At Full Force

The M/V Michele Gronsoulin alongside at the LaForce Shipyard in Bayou LaBatre. There isn’t much space to spare in Bayou LaBatre?s LaForce Shipyard these days. Back-to-back orders are processed on a near assembly line schedule. A half dozen or more push boats in various stages of completion surround a single OSV. In early September a towboat was alongside the fitting out dock waiting paint and finishing details. At the end of the same pier a spanking new 74 x 28-ft. boat with black hull, red house and green trim awaited her crew. On board, LaForce workers scrambled with the final touches while the owner’s representative, Mark Bourgeois, was busy checking the details in advance of leaving the yard. The boat’s crew would arrive from the LeBeouf Bros.

06 Jul 2006

Pushing It: LeBeouf Bros. Towing

Jon Gonsoulin is not one to rest on his legacy. Jon’s grandfather, Earl, began working with the LeBeouf brothers back in 1946 and soon bought into the company. In time, Earl and his two sons, Richard and Jerry, were able to buy the LeBeouf brothers' shares. Earl turned over the helms to his sons in the 1970's. From that time forward, the two brothers continued to strengthen and consolidate the company’s position. In 2005, Richard “Dickie” Gonsoulin purchased his brother's interest in the company. Today the company is solely owned by Dickie with Jon taking an ever more active role in forging the company’s present and future growth. The current fleet is comprised of 22 push boats including the recently delivered M/V Merle Gonsoulin and the M/V Sydney Ann.

02 Jul 2003

Guascor Engines Make Serious Inroads

Guascor Inc, a manufacturer of diesel and gas engines, power systems and marine reduction gears based in Northern Spain and distributed throughout the Southeastern United States by Reagan Equipment Company, Inc. has accumulated a number of interesting references in the past six months, installations that should go a long way in extending the brand to users throughout the country. For the Louisiana Department of Transportation's Ferry Division, Guascor supplied a pair of SF 180 TAs for the repower and repair of the 30-year-old ferryboat, M/V Acadia. M/V Acadia has a busy work life, crossing the Mississippi River at State Route 75 in Plaquemine, LA, every half-hour, 16 hours a day, seven days a week carrying up to 35 cars per trip.