by Guest » April 12, 2020, 12:13 pm
The operator at the time, K&K Warehousing Inc., wanted to move away from the aged and expensive to operate steam plants of the Maumee (Formerly the SS Reserve) and the Menominee (Formerly the SS Buckeye and earlier in life, the SS Sparrows Point).
For an example, during the final season for the Reserve as a steamship, she had engine troubles and had to sit out for a couple of months while repairs were made. The decision had already been made to turn her into an articulated barge, but this situation was one such concern that drove the decision.
They also wanted to do it cheaply. Buying a 2nd hand tug with a reasonably modern power plant and barging the ship of this size is the cheapest way to repower a Great Lakes vessel of this size and gain the efficiencies of a more modern diesel.
It also yields a slightly smaller crew size (It used to be that an ATB operated with significantly less crew, but the gap has closed up a lot) and Coast Guard standards for a barge are less stringent and expensive to comply with.
The big downside is the hull form is much less efficient in the water, which means fuel efficiency is decreased from a traditional repowering job. High fuel prices at times and projections of rising prices for the life of a repowering job have been a big driver for why the more mainstream operators on the lakes are sticking with powered vessels.
The initial outlay to repower is more, but they save money in the longer-term by burning less fuel.
The operator at the time, K&K Warehousing Inc., wanted to move away from the aged and expensive to operate steam plants of the Maumee (Formerly the SS Reserve) and the Menominee (Formerly the SS Buckeye and earlier in life, the SS Sparrows Point).
For an example, during the final season for the Reserve as a steamship, she had engine troubles and had to sit out for a couple of months while repairs were made. The decision had already been made to turn her into an articulated barge, but this situation was one such concern that drove the decision.
They also wanted to do it cheaply. Buying a 2nd hand tug with a reasonably modern power plant and barging the ship of this size is the cheapest way to repower a Great Lakes vessel of this size and gain the efficiencies of a more modern diesel.
It also yields a slightly smaller crew size (It used to be that an ATB operated with significantly less crew, but the gap has closed up a lot) and Coast Guard standards for a barge are less stringent and expensive to comply with.
The big downside is the hull form is much less efficient in the water, which means fuel efficiency is decreased from a traditional repowering job. High fuel prices at times and projections of rising prices for the life of a repowering job have been a big driver for why the more mainstream operators on the lakes are sticking with powered vessels.
The initial outlay to repower is more, but they save money in the longer-term by burning less fuel.