McAllister Towing has announced the arrival of the Mary McAllister, a US-built tractor tug that will ultimately be based at Port Everglades in Florida. In an announcement carried by gCaptain, the company presented the addition as part of its response to larger customer vessels and increasingly demanding towing requirements, alongside continued investment in lower-emission equipment.
Built in Maine by Washburn & Doughty Associates, the Mary is the sixth vessel in a seven-tug series. The tugs are classed by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and certified for 84 metric tonnes of bollard pull, according to the announcement. McAllister described the series as combining tractor-tug capability with a low-emission design.
The new vessel is equipped with CAT Tier IV engines delivering 6,770 horsepower. Its ABS notations and endorsements include +A-1 Towing, +AMS, Fire Fighting (FiFi 1), Escort and Low Emissions Vessel. The announcement also highlighted its firefighting equipment: pumps and monitors can deliver 12,000 gallons of water and foam per minute, adding firefighting capability to its towing and escort functions.
The journey to Florida includes stops along the US East Coast. McAllister said the Mary departed Washburn & Doughty ahead of an approaching nor’easter, with Portland scheduled as the place where it would weather its first North Atlantic storm. The vessel’s planned onward passage then takes it south to Baltimore before its eventual deployment in Florida.
In Baltimore, the Mary will join sister tug Isabel and undertake its first assignment for the McAllister fleet. Once that period of work is complete, it is due to continue to Port Everglades, its designated home port.
McAllister said it had remained family-owned across five generations since 1864. The company linked the Mary’s arrival to its continuing investment in modern, American-built tugs and said another new tug was coming in 2027.