131
February 5, 2001

Ingram Barge Lines Fleet Engine Standardization

Ingram Barge Lines operate one of the largest towboat fleets on the U.S. inland waters, with 70 towboats ranging from 600 to 9,200 HP and over 1,800 barges. The company operates on the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee, Kanawha, Illinois and the Monongahela. Rivers as well as the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

Under the direction of David O’Neill, Assistant Vice-President of operations based in Paducah Kentucky, the firm is undertaking a repower and engine standardization program in the 16 vessels of their Ingram Support Services division. These boats, in the 600 to 1800 HP range, are employed primarily in demanding short haul and fleeting operations. Currently powered with four different makes of engines, the company is working to standardize to Cummins marine engines. A repower currently underway at James Marine’s Paducah River Services facility is of particular interest. The 65x26x9-foot push boat, "Dick Tomayko", was built in 1981 with twin engines generating a total of 1400 HP. The boat was subsequently powered up with the addition of after-cooling which brought the boat to a total 1600 HP. Unfortunately this was just too much power for the hull size and the boat’s performance has suffered from propeller cavitation causing vibration and reduced bollard power. The pair of 900 HP engines were removed and replaced with a pair of IMO compliant Cummins KTA19 M-3 engines rated at 600 HP each. These were coupled to Twin Disc 540 gears with 7:1 ratios turning seven-inch shafts. The old propellers were replaced with Rolls Royce Naval Marine’s "Next Generation" Bird Johnson variable pitch 5-blade work wheels. With a 68-inch diameter, the propellers’ pitch varies from 53.5-inches at 3/10ths radius, to 60-inches at 7/10ths radius and 59.3 inches at the blade tip. Designed in consultation with naval architect Corning Townsend, the propellers, with these specs, offer up to 50% reduced propeller induced vibration up the shaft and thru the hull for superior backing characteristics while maintaining comparable thrust to that of conventional props. The engines are equipped with Cummins’ Centinel Oil Replenishment systems that removes a small amount of used oil and sends it to the fuel tank. The used oil is then blended with the fuel and burned during normal combustion. Simultaneously, CENTINEL adds the same amount of new oil from a make-up tank into the engine. The result is a better-protected, better-running engine offering enhanced environmental characteristics with less time and money spent on oil system maintenance. Ingram Support Services Port engineer Robert King anticipates that the new engines will only require new filters every 1000 hours and an oil change every 4000 hours.

On its return to service in February the "Dick Tomayko" will also have a refurbished superstructure, new pilot house controls and a pair of Cummins 6BT powered 60 Kw gen sets. Plans call for other boats in the fleet to undergo similar upgrades and standardization that will, in addition to the engines and gen sets, include standardized components such as gears, air compressors, steering systems, shafts and propellers. David O’Neill explains that, "Choosing Cummins as our small engine partner feels like such a natural fit. Their technological advances, customer focus and around-the-curve thinking are the must ingredients for a 21st Century relation."

For further information and photos contact:

David O’Neill
Assistant Vice-President of Operations
Ingram Barge Lines
Paducah, Kentucky
Phone: (270) 441-1600

or:

Robert King
Port Engineer
Phone: 270-441-1656
Cel 832-1408
E-mail: kingr@ingrambarge.com

or:

Mike Kilgore
Cummins Cumberland
Evansville, Ind
Phone: (812) 867-4400

or:

Jim Travis
Rolls Royce Naval Marine
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Phone: 800 237-7353
E-mail: jtravis@bird-johnson.com

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