McAllister adds low-emission tug ahead of Port Everglades deployment

McAllister Towing has announced the arrival of the Mary McAllister, a US-built, low-emission tractor tug that will ultimately be based at Port Everglades in Florida. In a company press release published by The Maritime Executive, the operator presented the addition as part of its investment in equipment to serve larger customer vessels and increasingly demanding towing assignments.

Built by Washburn & Doughty Associates in Maine, the Mary is the sixth vessel in a seven-tug series classed and certified by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). According to the release, the tug has a certified bollard pull of 84 metric tonnes and is powered by CAT Tier IV engines delivering 6,770 horsepower. McAllister described the series as combining high towing capability with low-emission equipment, although the announcement did not provide emissions-reduction figures.

The vessel’s ABS certifications and endorsements include +A-1 Towing, +AMS, Fire Fighting (FiFi 1), Escort and Low Emissions Vessel. Its firefighting equipment comprises pumps and monitors capable of delivering 12,000 gallons of water and foam a minute, the company said. These capabilities add firefighting and escort functions to the tug’s towing role within the McAllister fleet.

The journey to Florida includes stops along the US East Coast. McAllister said the Mary had left the Maine shipyard ahead of an approaching nor’easter and would weather its first North Atlantic storm in Portland before travelling south. It is then due to join sister vessel Isabel in Baltimore, where it will undertake its first work assignment for the operator. Following that deployment, it will continue to its homeport at Port Everglades.

McAllister said it had remained family-owned across five generations since 1864 and was continuing to invest in new American-built tugs, with another expected in 2027. The announcement did not state a delivery date for the Mary’s arrival in Florida. The Maritime Executive carried the account as a press release and noted that it did not endorse the products or services described.