Hunter Marine is building another line boat to add to our growing fleet. The vessel will be named the M/V Nashville Hunter in honor of the city where Hunter Marine began and where our corporate headquarters is located. The M/V Nashville Hunter is being constructed at Gulf Island Marine Fabricators in Houma, LA. This will be the second Hunter Marine vessel that Gulf Island Marine Fabricators has built. The M/V Nashville Hunter is 4000 HP and 142' long. The vessel is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The M/V Cumberland Hunter is currently undergoing major renovation at Gulf Island Marine Fabricators in Houma, LA. Gulf Island Marine Fabricators are re-plating the vessel's original haul. The vessel has been in operation for Hunter Marine since 1988. The project is expected to be completed in spring of 2012.

Hunter Marine is in the process of constructing a salt pad for storage and distribution of road salt at our Nashville location. The pad will have the capabilities of storing 25,000 square feet of salt. The road salt will be used as a method of ice control for the surrounding area roads. The project is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Hunter Marine completed a major project earlier this year for our Nashville Terminal. We purchased a CAT mass excavator in October of 2010. The Hunter Marine employees revamped the excavator by installing a new material handler front-end on it. Hunter Marine owns the only two excavators of this kind in the world. The project was completed in April of 2011. The excavator is a 1,200 ton per hour machine.

Designed by CT Marine, Edgecomb, Maine, and built at Gulf Island Marine Fabricators (GIMF), Houma, La., the 124' x 34' x 10'6" Danny L. Whitford has been working the Ohio and Cumberland rivers for Hunter Marine Transport since it was delivered early last year. The towboat is the first vessel constructed at the new shipyard owned by Gulf Island Fabricators.

Corning Townsend of CT Marine, also designed the near sistership, the James H. Hunter , which was built in 2007. Townsend said the newer boat has more power because the Caterpillar engines in the Whitford comply with Tier 2 diesel engine regulations while the Cats in the Hunter boat meet Tier 1 requirements. Main propulsion comes from twin Caterpillar 3516 diesels, producing a total of 4,000 hp at 1,600 rpm. "Physically they're the same engines as on the James H. Hunter ," said Townsend. "The engines just turn more rpms and create more horsepower."

The Cats connect to Rice 86" x 102" Heavy River 4-bladed, 8"-bore Aqualloy propellers in nozzles through Reintjes WAF 1173 marine gears with 6.696:1 reduction ratios. While the engines differ between the two Hunter pushboats, a plan was hatched that would allow spare wheels to fit either vessel. "We selected a gear ratio that a spare propeller could work on either boat," said Townsend. "The wheels are interchangeable." Other changes include additional fuel capacity, lower vertical pilothouse, and removal of the electronics suite from the pilothouse to the next level down.

The M/V James H. Hunter, 3,600 hp, is the first of two near-identical towboats introduced by Tennessee-based Hunter Marine Transport. The vessel was designed by navel architect Corning Townsend, President of CT Marine in Maine. The 124-foot James H. Hunter was the first new boat built particularly for this company. The towboat was built at Quality Shipyards in Houma, La. Named for President Ron Hunter's son, James H. Hunter, the vessel has accommodations comprised of berthing for 12, including a guest stateroom.