Mavericks Buys Seven Towboats From Ingram

Mavericks Towboat Solutions announced October 7 that it has purchased seven harbor boats from Ingram Barge Company. This is Mavericks’ first purchase since forming in May.

The boats, all of which work in St. Louis harbor, are:

• Cindy L, 1,000 hp., built in 1981;

• Cumberland Express, 2,000 hp., built it 1973;

• Eva Walker, 1,250 hp., built in 1952;

• Miss Shirley, 1,600 hp., built in 2000;

• Terry Gifford, 1,200 hp., built in 1969;

• Theresa Ann, 1,000 hp., built in 1974; and

• Tripper, 1,000 hp., built in 1974.

Mavericks Towboat Solutions is a joint venture between Inland Marine Service (IMS) of Hebron, Ky., and James Marine of Paducah, Ky. (WJ, May 20). The unique venture—between a vessel-operating company and a shipyard—was formed to help vessel companies cope with the new Subchapter M regulations.

Jeff James, president of James Marine, and Dave Hammond, president of IMS, said when the venture was formed that the collaboration was designed to help vessel owners comply by refurbishing vessels to meet the new standards, replace vessels with a new-construction program and assist with the sale of non-compliant vessels.

“At Mavericks, we specialize in Coast Guard Subchapter M relief of pain points,” said Hammond. “We have various options available to help small, medium and large companies.”

Mavericks said it can help vessel owners by:

• identifying the problem—Mavericks does the research to find what the shipyard costs will be to bring vessels into Sub M compliance;

• vessel management—Mavericks takes on the responsibility of managing and operating those vessels;

• assuming liabilities—Mavericks also takes on the burden of insurance liabilities of the crew and vessel fleet; and

• planning for the future—building new vessels to replace those that are beyond refurbishing status as a viable option for vessel owners.

All seven of the vessels purchased by Mavericks last week were operated by IMS, and they will continue under contract between Ingram and IMS.

The purchase is a notable expansion for IMS as a vessel management company—now the company owns vessels as well as operating them. IMS is also responsible for managing 57 vessels.

James Marine is one of the largest shipyard providers in the U.S. with facilities strategically located from Paducah to New Orleans. In addition to surveying, auditing, documenting, inspecting, repairing and refurbishing existing vessels, James has state-of-the-art new-construction and painting facilities.

Inland Marine Service is one of the largest vessel management providers in the U.S. The company’s services include vessel management, planned maintenance, compliance management, harbor services, training, safety, and marine insurance.

This week’s Mavericks announcement was just the latest in a string of major contracts or acquisitions for IMS. In June, the firm announced it would manage all of Apex Oil’s vessels and tank barges. And in September, IMS announced it would operate Tennessee Valley Towing’s entire fleet of more than 20 towboats. Later in the month, the firm announced it would manage five of the large line-haul towboats in the American River Transportation Company fleet.

Caption for photo: The mv. Cumberland Express, built in 1973 by Scully Bros. Boat Builders, is one of seven towboats that Mavericks Towboat Solutions purchased from Ingram Barge Company. (Photo by Jeff L. Yates)