For nearly four years, E.N. Bisso & Son’s Gladys B. was the lone z-drive tugboat designed by Robert Allan Ltd. working the Mississippi River. Now, it has some company.
Eastern Shipbuilding of Panama City, Fla., delivered the 80-by-38-foot C.D. White in January 2020, and as of April 2020 was building a sister tug. Both are robust RApport 2400-series tugboats outfitted for ship handling and ocean towing.
“It’s a go-anywhere tug,” said Mike Killelea, E.N. Bisso’s port captain.
By that, he meant ship assist and escort duties over 230 miles of the Mississippi River from Pilottown near the river’s mouth to Baton Rouge, and ocean towing primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast.
“The tug is very stable with plenty of power and is the perfect size,” said Capt. Craig Henderson. “This tug will handle any ship at any place on the Mississippi River.”
The 5,100-hp C.D. White is something of a sister tug to Gladys B., acquired by E.N. Bisso in 2016 from Signet Maritime of Pascagoula, Miss., which built the vessel at a company yard. E.N. Bisso decided to build its new tugs with the same dimensions and general layout — albeit with some customizing from Robert Allan Ltd. and Eastern Shipbuilding. The vessel also meets Coast Guard Subchapter M standards.
“Our new boats were designed to meet escort standards, but the keel was changed to allow the boat to work well with the Mississippi River’s high river current and still ride well offshore,” said Mike Vitt, an E.N. Bisso vice president.
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