VIDEO: M/V ACBL Mariner: Mightiest Mississippi River towboat yet

Christened at a ceremony held in New Orleans yesterday, American Commercial Barge Line’s latest vessel, M/V ACBL Mariner is the most powerful towboat ever built for Mississippi River operations.

What that translates into is the capability to push up to 64 barges at once, equivalent to over 75,000 tons of cargo, along the Mississippi River. This huge barge capacity has a surface area of nine acres, easily surpassing the 4.5 acre surface area of the Navy’s Ford and Nimitz class aircraft carriers.

As a result, says ACBL, the ACBL Mariner increases efficiency by 20% compared to smaller vessels ensuring barge transportation remains one of the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly modes of transportation.

Built locally at C&C Marine & Repair’s shipyard in Belle Chasse, La., the 200 foot long by 50 foot wide 11,000 HP-class towboat is powered by only two Caterpillar C280 engines, unlike other vessels of similar horsepower that require three engines. The ACBL Mariner’s propellers have a 124-inch diameter, the largest in the industry.