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December 2005

Horizon Maritime Continues Expansion

This December Horizon Maritime will have a powerful new retractable wheelhouse towboat, the Norman P. Proehl, pushing barges along the canals that connect the Great Lakes to the Illinois and Mississippi system south of Chicago.  The most challenging section of this waterway is between Lemont, Illinois at mile 304 above Grafton, and mile 333 on Lake Michigan in South Chicago. It is this stretch of the waterway that is a man-made canal, known as the Cal-Sag Channel, which leads to the Calumet River. Another branch takes barges along the Chicago Sanitary Ship Canal that leads to the Chicago River and then into the area around North Chicago where tourists ride cruise boats between the city's skyscrapers.

Dug largely by convict labor in the nineteenth century, the canal was widened and deepened in the 1960s and 70s. The old sandstone blocks that formed the vertical wall of the original canal still show in places while much of shore, where the widening has been done, is rough rip wrap style. But the greatest navigational hazard for towboats along this canal is not the narrow channel, nor the water draft. It is the air draft. With over 40 bridges along the 30-mile course, the boats require a wheelhouse that is mounted on a large hydraulic ram so that they can be lowed to pass under the bridges but raised to visibility over the tow.

Designed and built by Main Iron Works of Houma Louisiana the new vessel is named for the father of Horizon’s manager, Steve Proehl. The 100x30x10-foot hull is powered by a pair of Cummins KTA50 main engines each rated for 1600 HP at 1800 RPM turning a pair of 80x64-inch propellers.

With accommodation for a crew of six the towboat has tankage for 31,500 gallons of fuel, 26,000 gallons of water and 800 gallons of lube oil. Patterson 65-ton deck winches will secure the boat to three 300x54x13-foot black oil/asphalt barges.

   
All photos courtesy of Horizon Maritime.

For more information contact:

Steve Proehl
Horizon Maritime LLC
P.O. Box 15315
Houston, TX 77220
Phone: 713 673 8200
E-mail: sproehl@horizonmaritime.com

Mannie Seale
Director of Marketing
Horizon Maritime, LLC
Phone: 713.673.8200
E-mail:  mseale@horizonmaritime.com

Main Iron Works Inc.
148 Old Ferry Rd.
P.O. Box 1106
Houma LA 70361-1106
Phone: 985 876 6302

Jay Rowan
Cummins Mid-South Inc.
P.O. Box 1367
4750 Homestead Rd.
Houston TX 77251-1367
Phone: 281 812 0175
Mobile: 713 515 8978
E-mail: jay.w.rowan@cummins.com

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