Z-drive and retractable towboats are becoming familiar sights on the U.S. inland waterways. But when they're combined in a broad-shouldered, single-deck linehauler that can cut up to two-and-a-half days off an east-west Intracoastal Waterway passage and do it in style with the lowest possible fuel burn, people are going to take notice. The 2,520-hp Capt. Frank Banta Jr., jointly designed by the owner, Chem Carriers of Sunshine, La., and the builder, Rodriguez Shipbuilding of Bayou La Batre, Ala., has the maneuverability of a DP-class supply vessel and the air draft of a crewboat, while pushing up to 1,170′ of barges on the trickiest U.S. waterways. Chem Carriers said the new 90′×30′×10′ towboat is the first Z-drive towboat with a retractable pilothouse.
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