ARTCo Hosts Vessel Christening, Open House
Despite the midsummer heat, there was a festive atmosphere August 8 at ARTCo’s St. Louis riverfront facility at First Street in south St. Louis as the company christened the newly refurbished George A. Archer, the former mv. Andrew Cargill MacMillan.
ARTCo made the event into an open house for employees of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), of which ARTCo is the river transportation division. Hundreds of guests turned out, mostly ARTCo and ADM employees and their families. For the kids, besides the boat tour, there was a bouncy house, line throwing, dunk tank and photo booth featuring a new or like new propeller and a smoke-and-bubble machine. Covered booths offered face painting and toy boat races. For the whole family, there was pickleball and a row of food trucks offering wood-fired pizza, Greek gyros and tacos, as well as frozen treats. A covered pavilion provided a shaded place to enjoy the food-truck offerings, and there were plenty of iced tubs of free drinks to keep everyone cool.
Blue-shirted ARTCo employees guided families as they wandered all over the spic and span boat, with its whistle periodically sounding out as the kids were allowed to blow it.
The christening took place at 11 a.m. Miles Merriman, ARTCo’s lineboat operations manager, former vessel manager and lineboat captain (and a recipient of a 40 Under 40 award from The Waterways Journal) introduced Chris Boerm, president of ARTCo. Boerm explained that ARTCo doesn’t do this type of rechristening very often. Andrew Cargill MacMillan, the boat’s former namesake, is one of the heirs of Cargill, the biggest rival of ADM, so it was felt to be appropriate to rename the boat for George A. Archer (1850-1932), a co-founder of Archer Daniels Midland.
Boerm thanked the boat’s crew, who performed all the cleaning, painting, remodeling and maintenance. He joked, “I’m responsible for all the extra work you’ve been doing. … Please don’t throw me overboard!” He led a round of applause for the crew’s refurbishing work. Boerm noted that next year marks the 125th anniversary of ADM, and this year is ARTCo’s 55th anniversary. He also thanked the many families for turning out, saying, “Family support is incredibly important in the marine industry.”
Conducting the rechristening were three chaplains: the Rev. Grace Pardun, the Seamen’s Church Institute’s supervisory chaplain; the Rev. Glenn Mason, an SCI chaplain associate, and the Rev. Charles Uhlik, who will begin work in October as SCI’s chaplain for the Upper Mississippi region. The boat tour and open house ended at 3 p.m. The readings included Matthew 14, in which Jesus walks on the water.
The kid-friendly features were an important part of the event, said Chad Pregracke, a guest and founder of Living Lands & Waters. “It’s a great way for the next generation of kids to see what a career on the water is all about,” he told The Waterways Journal.
The Crews
The George A. Archer carries a 10-person crew, or 20 in total in two shifts of 10 each that relieve each other. Most of the regular and relief crews were present, including Capts. Chris Rook and Steve O’Ferrell, pilots Michael Todd and Brandon Smith, Chief Engineer Diego Granados, assistant engineers Charles Johnson and Ricky Caldwell and mates Kendal Hayes and Trenton Martin. The crews work a 28 days on, 28 days off rotating schedule.
The crews are rounded out by watchmen Nolan Flint and Tyler Lingle and deckhands Jeremy Liles, Jesse Brent, Jeffrey Cendeno, Decoreon Clark, Sarah Brooks and Daniel Eckard.
Two very important crewmembers, according to the rest of the crew, are the cooks, Todd Winters and Tobi Johnson. They had laid out a nice spread of snacks in the kitchen for the families and guests touring the boat.
Vessel Specs
The mv. George A. Archer was originally built in 1974 by Dravo Corporation as the Argonaut. The vessel was transferred in 1980 from Union Mechling Corporation to Dravo Mechling Corporation and sold to National Marine Inc. in 1988. Hugh Mac Towing acquired the boat in 1991, and ARTCo purchased it in 1998.
The George A. Archer measures 190 feet by 54 feet, with a 9-foot operating draft and an overall height of 51 feet, 3 inches. Propulsion is provided by three EMD 16-710-G7C main engines producing a combined 10,500 hp., coupled to Falk 3548MR-C reduction gears with a 4.515:1 ratio. Ship’s service power is supplied by John Deere 6081-powered generator sets rated at 175 kW. The vessel has three five-blade stainless-steel propellers, each measuring 120 inches in diameter.
Fuel capacity is 195,000 gallons, with average northbound consumption of approximately 11,000 gallons per day. The George A. Archer routinely pushes up to 49 loaded barges northbound from New Orleans and as many as 46 barges southbound from St. Louis to New Orleans, a testament to the size and horsepower of the vessel. Operating speeds are approximately 5 mph. northbound and 11 mph. southbound, with the St. Louis-New Orleans run taking about five days.
Featured photo caption: The mv. George A. Archer on display dockside in south St. Louis ahead of its rechristening. At 10,500 hp., it is one of the most powerful towboats on the river. (Photos by Nelson Spencer, Jr.)
