Jeffboat Builds Shawnee Forest For ACBL

Jeffboat delivered a new towboat to American Commercial Barge Line January 26. Named the mv. Shawnee Forest, the 2,000 hp. azimuth-drive boat measures 70 by 32 by 12 feet, with a draft of 9 feet, 3 inches.

The vessel has two ZF Marine drive units powered by twin 1,000 hp. Caterpillar engines that are cooled by Fernstrum skin coolers. A pair of 65 kw. John Deere Tier 3 gen sets provide ship’s power. The boat has tankage for 22,200 gallons of fuel, 5,800 gallons of potable water and 4,650 gallons of ballast.

A harbor boat with no crew quarters, the Shawnee Forest has an eye level of 31 feet. It has split-tire style, laminated rubber fenders located across the head log and wrapping continuously along both sides. Its name is derived from a 280,000-acre wilderness area in Southern Illinois near where the boat will be working.

The Shawnee Forest is the fourth towboat Jeffboat has built since it suspended vessel construction in 2000. The first was the American Power in October 2016.