The first of three articulated tug/barge (AT/B) units ordered through Conrad Shipyard was delivered to Vane Brothers in February and has been assigned to the company’s Philadelphia-based Charlie Fleet.
The 4,400-horsepower tug Assateague, constructed at Conrad’s Orange, Texas, facility, is paired with the 80,000-barrel barge Double Skin 801, which Conrad built in Amelia, Louisiana. Designed by Greg Castleman of Castleman Maritime, the Assateague measures 110 feet long by 38 feet wide and utilizes a Beacon Finland JAK 700 coupling system to connect with the DS-801, which is a 405-foot-long, 74-foot-wide barge designed by Bristol Harbor Group. The Assateague is powered by a pair of Cummins QSK60M, Tier 3 engines, each rated at 2,200 horsepower. Four-blade bronze propellers, measuring 102 inches apiece, are turned by Reintjes WAF 873 gears with 7.087:1 reduction.
The Assateague is named for a barrier island located within the borders of both Maryland and Virginia. Up next is the tug Chincoteague, named for a barrier island in Virginia, followed by the Wachapreague, a Virginian coastal town. Each tug will be paired with the barges DS-802 and DS-803, respectively.
Shepherding the AT/B projects to completion requires the combined oversight of Port Captain Jim Demske on the tug side and Steve Magdeburger on the barge side.
For more information, contact Blaise Willig at bwillig@vanebrothers.com
About Vane Brothers
The Vane Brothers Company has served the maritime industry in the Port of Baltimore and along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard since 1898, providing a wide range of maritime services. Today, the company has a fleet of nearly 150 tugboats and barges working out of seven locations: the ports of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah and Jacksonville.