Hines Furlong Acquires Mv. Capt. Randy Hopson

Before its acquisition by Kirby Corporation, Houston, Texas, earlier this year, Higman Barge Lines sold the mv. Capt. Randy Hopson to Hines Furlong Line Inc., Nashville, Tenn.

Hines Furlong Line renamed the vessel the Donna H. Furlong, after the mother of company owner and president Kent Furlong, and repainted it in the company’s red and white color scheme with an adapted “flying H” stack logo reminiscent of that used on the Hines Inc. boats of old.

“The mv. Donna H. Furlong will work in Nashville as one of our two 24-hour harbor tugs,” Furlong said. “The larger size and horsepower will allow us to better serve our customers during more extreme water conditions and also it will provide more comfortable accommodations for our crews.”

Designed by Entech and built by Westport Orange Shipyard, Orange, Texas, in 2016, the vessel measures 78 by 34 by 10 feet and gets its 2,000 hp. from a pair of Caterpillar C32 Acert, Tier 3 engines. The engines turn Sound 73- by 58-inch propellers through Twin Disc MGX5321 gears with a 6:1 reduction ratio. A pair of 65 kw. John Deere generator sets supply electrical power. The three-deck boat has accommodations for seven crewmen in four staterooms.