Moran Towing Corporation News

Master Boat Builders, Inc. announced the successful launch of the Jill, marking a milestone in its ongoing partnership with Gulf LNG Tugs of Port Arthur, LLC, a joint venture comprised of Bay-Houston Management, LLC; Bay Towing, LLC; Moran Towing Corporation; and Suderman & Young Towing Company. Together, the Gulf LNG partners have more than 400 years of experience in ship assist and towage services. The Jill is the sixth and final vessel in a Rapport 2800 tugboat series designed by Robert Allan Ltd.

Master Boat Builders launched the tugboat Jill, marking a major milestone in its ongoing partnership with Gulf LNG Tugs of Port Arthur, LLC , a joint venture comprised of Bay-Houston Management, LLC; Bay Towing, LLC; Moran Towing Corporation; and Suderman & Young Towing Company. Together, the Gulf LNG partners have more than 400 years of experience in ship assist and towage services. Jill is the sixth and final vessel in a Rapport 2800 tugboat series designed by Robert Allan Ltd.

Expansion into Harbor Tug sector helps Master Boat Builders nearly double in size, from 200 to 400 employees building eight to nine vessels per year, and the prospect of a new drydock plus additional partnerships and government construction contracts promises to power the company forward further, faster. Garrett Rice, President, Master Boat Builders, discussed the impetus for the company’s growth, and the growth in U.S. shipbuilding overall since the start of 2025 when President…

Moran Towing Corporation acquired Bisso Towboat Co, as it aims to accommodate growing needs of New Orleans and the Lower Mississippi River communities.Moran was founded in 1860 and is privately owned and operated. It offers ship assist services in 17 ports along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts and has operated in New Orleans since 2006. In addition to its ship assist business, Moran also services LNG terminals, and transports liquid and dry bulk cargo with its fleet of liquid and dry bulk barges. Bisso was founded in 1890 in New Orleans, and its headquarters remain in the area to this day.

Gulf LNG Tugs of Port Arthur on Thursday announced it has placed orders for four new escort tugs to serve the Port Arthur LNG export facility in Texas. Two will be constructed by Master Boat Builders in Coden, Ala., and two by Sterling Shipyard in Port Neches, Texas. Gulf LNG Tugs—a joint venture comprised of Bay-Houston Towing, Moran Towing Corporation and Suderman & Young Towing Company—said the new high horsepower, highly maneuverable RApport 2800 tugboats have been designed by naval architect Robert Allan Ltd.

Master Boat Builders has launched Patricia B. Moran, a new tugboat it is building for Moran Towing Corporation, based in New Canaan, Conn.The newbuild is one of two 86-foot (LOA) tugs the Coden, Ala. shipbuilder is building for Moran. Ordered in 2022, the tugs were designed by Crowley Engineering Services and will produce a bollard pull of over 55 metric tons. The vessel will each feature two Caterpillar main engines (3512E) that are EPA Tier 4 certified and produce 2,549 horsepower…

Gulf LNG Tugs of Texas has been selected to provide towage services for the Texas LNG export terminal to be constructed in the Port of Brownsville.Gulf LNG Tugs, a consortium of Suderman & Young Towing Company, Bay-Houston Towing, and Moran Towing Corporation, will build, deliver and operate tugboats under a long term agreement to assist LNG carriers arriving at the facility.Texas LNG will be a 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal owned and managed by Glenfarne Energy Transition.

Gulf LNG Tugs of Brownsville has ordered four new tugs to serve the Rio Grande LNG export facility (RGLNG), which has commenced construction in Brownsville, Texas.Gulf LNG Tugs is a joint venture formed between Bay-Houston Towing Co., Moran Towing Corporation and Suderman & Young Towing Company to provide tug services for RGLNG under a long-term tug services agreement.The company announced Tuesday it signed construction contracts with Coden, Ala. shipyard Master Boat Builders and Port Neches, Texas shipbuilder Sterling Shipyard.

New Canaan, Conn. based towage provider Moran Towing Corporation announced it has ordered another pair of tugs from Coden, Ala. shipbuilder Master Boat Builders for delivery through 2025.The newbuilds, developed by Moran in collaboration with Vancouver, B.C. naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd., are RApport 2800 escort tugs designed to provide more than 80 metric tons of bollard pull. At 92 feet and with a breadth of 40 feet, the tugs will rank among the largest and most powerful in Moran's fleet, slated to help handle the larger, deeper draft vessels calling ports along the U.S.

Coden, Ala. shipbuilder Master Boat Builders on Tuesday announced it has executed a contract to build two new tugboats for Moran Towing Corporation based in New Canaan, Conn. Naval architect and marine engineering firm, Crowley Engineering Services created the tugboat design, which will meet U.S. Coast Guard Subchapter-M regulations and will be classed through the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).The new tugboats will have an overall length of 86 feet, beam of 36 feet and produce a bollard pull of over 55 metric tons.

The Training & Consultancy division of KOTUG International (KOTUG) and U.S. maritime education and maritime training provider the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) entered into a strategic partnership to offer exclusive training of tug masters, ships’ crews, river barge shippers, and pilots by certified KOTUG trainers at SCI training facilities across the United States. The partnership was officially kicked-off by hosting Moran Towing Corporation for a week of ASD operator training assisted by Riven Marine founder Captain Jay Rivera.Since 2019…

Washburn & Doughty, of East Boothbay, Maine, has announced the execution of a new vessel construction contract with Moran Towing Corporation, of New Canaan, Connecticut, to build two 86’ x 36’ ASD-Type Ship Assist and Escort Z-Drive Tugs, with options to build up to ten vessels.In addition to the two firm tugs, which will be delivered in 2020, the contract provides Moran with four, two-tug options keyed to production milestones of the tugs then under construction.W&D’s team of in-house naval architects and designers will complete the production designs for the new 86’ tugs based on the contract plans and regulatory package prepared by Jensen Maritime Consultants, Inc.

For more than 30 years, Markey Machinery has worked with the LNG and marine transportation Industries with the goal of developing winches designed to work under the most challenging conditions. The effort includes extensive design shop testing and actual commercial work, a combination that has ultimately produced an understanding of the operational issues facing terminal and tug operators. The many milestones in the development of Markey’s Asymmetrical Render/Recover (ARR) – technology by which hawser winches are able to maintain mean line pulls up to the bollard pull of the tug – came over a period of time that spans 25 years. The initial 20+ years of hawser winch design and Render/Recover development followed a traditional design path, influenced, in part, by market pressures.

Viking Systems International is a worldwide leader in the advanced design, analysis and 3rd party verification of structures, focusing on the offshore oil and gas industry, commercial ship business, and the military and defense community. Viking executes advanced structural design, analysis, 3rd party verification and FEA engineering services. Viking Systems’ core structural assessment software, SAGA, integrates regulatory body requirements by applying world class state-of-the-art software…

Fincantieri Marine Group’s Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) has delivered the Articulated Tug Barge unit (ATB) Barbara Carol Ann Moran and the 110,000-barrel barge Louisiana to Moran Towing Corporation. The 5,300-HP, 121-foot vessel is certified ABS Class +A-1 Towing Service, +AMS, and is equipped with state-of-the-art navigation and communications technology. The ATB unit was delivered on the exact day called for by the contract and will work the East Coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico.

AWO members converge on Washington D.C. The American Waterways Operators’ (AWO) 2016 Spring Convention attracted more than 200 members to Washington, D.C. April 19-21, including 36 first-time attendees. The annual event included a day of organization-wide and sector-specific meetings to discuss priority industry issues, the 14th Annual Barge-In, the Annual Membership meeting, at which AWO’s new member leadership was elected and new members of the Board of Directors were enrolled, and the Board of Directors meeting.

The members of the American Waterways Operators, the national trade association representing the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, elected a new slate of leaders during AWO's Spring Convention held recently in Washington, D.C. James F. Farley, Corporate Vice President – Industry Relations, Kirby Corporation, was elected Chairman. Edward J. "Ted" Tregurtha, President of Moran Towing Corporation, was elected Vice Chairman. Mr. Farley succeeds outgoing Chairman David G. Sehrt, Senior Vice President and Chief Engineering Officer of Ingram Barge Company.

Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) is a Seattle-based, employee-owned enterprise with offices in New Orleans and Ketchikan that provides full-service naval architecture, marine engineering and production support to owners, operators and shipyards worldwide. The firm’s extensive project portfolio spans a number of vessel types including barges, tugs, offshore vessels, ferries, passenger vessels, and workboats, and encompasses unique projects from lofting art installations and high-end yacht hulls to one-off service vessel designs and structures.

Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) announced that long-time partner Moran Towing Corporation has been granted US Patent 8,967,174 for "Articulated conduit systems and uses thereof for fuel gas transfer between a tug and barge." The patent was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on May 2, 2014, and in general terms describes arrangements and methods for transferring boil off gas between a liquefied natural gas barge and its tug, while taking into account the relative motion between the two vessels. "This design represents an advance in natural gas fuel transfer technology and demonstrates EBDG's and Moran's commitment to the emerging maritime LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) transport industry…

Moran Towing Corporation of New Canaan, Connecticut have sold their U.S. flag, ocean deck barge “Norfolk” (ex-Columbia Norfolk, Ponce Trader, UMTB 331, MLC-331) to a private buyers on the U.S. East Coast who specialize in the transport of aggregates. The 331.3’ x 78.0’ x 20.3’ depth, double raked barge was built in 1982 by Marine Power and Equipment of Seattle, Washington for their affiliated companies Marine Leasing Company and Marine Logistics Corporation to operate in the Puget Sound / Alaskan trade. The ABS +A1 classed barge is fitted with 14.5ft.

Boatracs Announces Multi-Year Contract Renewal with Moran Towing Corporation - Maritime Services Company Extends Satellite Data Communications Services and Adds BTConnect as Messaging and Mapping Platform. Boatracs Inc., a leader in providing integrated satellite communications and software solutions to the maritime industry, announced today that Moran Holdings, Inc., a leading maritime services company, has signed a multi-year extension to its satellite communications services contract.

On January 4, 2011, Washburn & Doughty Associates, Inc. of East Boothbay, Maine began construction of a 93-ft by 38-ft, 6,000 hp Z-Drive tug for Moran Towing Corporation of New Canaan, Conn. Washburn & Doughty is building the vessel to its newest in-house design based upon the yard’s previous 92-ft by 32-ft design, of which there are 22 tugs in operation. The increased length and beam will allow for increased horsepower while maintaining the maneuvering characteristics and handling capabilities.

On September 1, 2010, Washburn & Doughty Associates, Inc. delivered the Mary Ann Moran, a 121 ft x 36 ft x 18 ft Intercon Tug, to Moran Towing Corporation. Designed by Ocean Tug & Barge Engineering Corp., Mary Ann Moran is the fourth vessel built by Washburn & Doughty to this design and delivered to Moran Towing. According to the vessel’s captain, Mr. Jake Jarrell, “I can say that this boat is by far one of the best vessels I have ever had the pleasure of working on in over 30 years in the industry.