Barbour JB Completing Mv. Kaskaskia Warrior
Completed earlier this year and awaiting its final touch up, the mv. Kaskaskia Warrior is the second towboat to come out of the recently-founded Barbour JB Shipyard, which is located on the Kaskaskia River near its confluence with the Upper Mississippi River at about Mile 117. The first was the towboat David J. Bangert built in 2016 for Gateway Dredging & Contracting.
The Kaskaskia Warrior is owned and operated by Southern Illinois Transfer Inc., Sparta, Ill. Designed in part by The Shearer Group, it measures 68 feet long by 26 feet wide with a 9-1/2 foot draft, and has a double-chine hull featuring transverse limber bulkheads for added strength.
A lunch-bucket boat with an efficiency galley, the Kaskaskia Warrior is powered by two Cummins QSK19MM diesel engines from Cummins Mid-South, rated 1,500 hp. total. Reduction is 6:1 via Twin Disc MGX5222DC gears supplied by Palmer Johnson. The engines turn Sound 76- by 49-1/2-inch propellers on 7-inch shafts with Wärtsilä seals and Thordon bearings.
Auxiliary power is from two Kubota 45 kw. generators provided by CK Power. The engines are cooled via Fernstrum grid coolers.
The vessel can hold 12,800 gallons of fuel, 3,228 gallons of potable water and 150 gallons of lube oil. Custom Hydraulic Components designed the electric-over-hydraulic steering system. Dickson Marine supplied the Wintech 40-ton winches.
The hull is protected by M&M fenders. Fire safety equipment includes a Fire Lite alarm panel located in the pilothouse and numerous ABC Amerex fire extinguishers located throughout the vessel.
Barbour JB Shipyard also recently launched the hull of its third vessel, a Z-drive towboat to be named mv. Karl Johnson after the late brother of Southern Illinois Transfer owner Kurt Johnson. The boat, designed by Sterling Marine LLC, measures 68 by 28 feet and will be powered by twin Cummins QSK 19 engines rated 1,500 hp. total, with Veth Z-drives. Two Kubota 40 kw. generators will provide ship’s power. The engines will be cooled by Fernstrum coolers, and the electronics package features Furuno radar and AIS.
