Parker Towing Christens Mv. Tony Lowros
Employees, customers and four generations of the Lowros family gathered November 13 at Parker Towing Company’s headquarters in Northport, Ala., to christen the mv. Tony Lowros, a 1,200 hp. towboat named for one of the company’s most enduring voices in logistics. The boat, built in 2007 and recently added to Parker Towing’s fleet, honors the 39-year working relationship and more than 30-year tenure of Tony Lowros, whose career has spanned air, trucking and marine transportation across five decades.
For Lowros, the ceremony was a meaningful moment to reflect on a career that began far from the inland waterways.
“My background really started in Pennsylvania,” Lowros said. “When I was 20, I went to Alaska for what I thought would be a summer job. I landed work the next day with Wien Air Alaska, and that was my start in transportation 50 years ago. I’ve seen a lot of changes. I started out communicating on an old teletype machine. It’s come a long way.”
Lowros later worked in air freight, trucking and terminal operations before entering marine transportation in 1985. That experience convinced him that the river, despite its slower pace, demanded faster thinking.
“With an airplane, if you missed someone’s luggage, another flight would be through in a few hours,” he said. “On the river, if you miss a cue or a pickup, it could be days before you can fix the mistake. You have to think ahead a lot more. It’s a high-pressure environment.”
While managing coal operations for Scott Paper Company in Mobile, Ala., Lowros first contracted Parker Towing for river towing work in 1986. By 1995, he had joined the company full time. His deep familiarity with boat positions, customer needs and fleet movements quickly became essential.
“When I started, we had maybe 135 barges and a dozen boats,” he said. “Now we’re over 500 barges and 30 or 40 boats. It’s really changed. But it’s still a family atmosphere, and I hope we never outgrow that.”
Tim Parker III, president and CEO of Parker Towing, opened the christening with remarks about the vessel and the man for whom it is named.
“This is a new towboat for Parker Towing and among the newer towboats in our fleet,” Parker said. “It’s a very flexible size for us. We think it can work the upper end of this river system, shuttle barges from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa, serve as a shift boat in a pinch or work the intracoastal canal and the Mobile harbor. It reflects continued reinvestment, and it makes perfect sense that we named it after Tony.”
Parker added that Lowros has played a daily role in company decisions.
“For over 20 years, Tony has been the first person I see every morning,” Parker said. “I grab a cup of coffee and sit with him and look at the board. Those mornings where we talked about family or customers set my day. You have played a special role in this company, and we will be forever grateful.”
Chas Haun, Parker Towing Company’s executive vice president, also spoke about Lowros’ encyclopedic knowledge of the fleet.
“When I was on weekend duty, I’d call Tony with an issue, and he’d remind me of a barge I hadn’t even mentioned,” Haun said. “I started looking for a hidden camera in the dispatch office because he knew the board so well. He’s a friend and coworker, and I can’t think of anyone more deserving.”
For Lowros, the honor was made greater by the presence of four generations of his family—including his wife, Diana Lowros, with whom he shares a blended family of five children, 11 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
“Even though I’m not family by blood, this is my family,” he said. “I’ve been associated with Parker for 39 years. It means the world to me.”
Vessel Specifications
The mv. Tony Lowros is a twin-screw inland river pushboat originally built in 2007 by Eymard Brothers Towing Company Inc. in Marrero, La., as the Dixie Lee Eymard. The vessel measures 60 feet by 24 feet by 9 feet, 6 inches with a pilothouse eye level of 28 feet. It is powered by two Cummins KTA-19 diesel engines rated at 600 hp. each for a total of 1,200 hp., driving four-blade 66-inch by 54-inch stainless propellers through Twin Disc 5222 reverse reduction gears at 6.1:1.
The boat features drip-less Simplan packing glands, a Yanmar 40 kw. generator, a Max 30-point alarm system, a Custom Hydraulics steering system with two steering and four flanking rudders, Seahorse wastewater treatment, Spanish cedar trim and FRP paneling, two Patterson 40-ton deck winches and Schuyler fendering throughout. Accommodations include three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
The mv. Tony Lowros is crewed by Capt. Patrick Luke, Relief Capt. Christian Toomey, Pilot Colton Causey, Mate James Windom and Relief Mate Zeke Childress. The deck crew consists of Hunter Wiggins, Emery Lehr, Monchette Whitsett and Nicholas Thomas.
As the ceremony concluded, Parker Towing Company invited guests aboard the newly renamed vessel and welcomed the Lowros family for photos. The mv. Tony Lowros is expected to enter service immediately across multiple segments of the company’s river operations, carrying forward the work ethic of the man whose name it bears.
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Featured photo caption: The 1,200-hp. mv. Tony Lowros, the newest in Parker Towing’s fleet, with capacity to work the corridor from Birmingham to Mobile and the Intracoastal Canal. (Photos by Fred Miller II)
