Construction of second MiNO 6000 towboat to start soon

U.S. shipbuilder Conrad Shipyard will soon start construction of a second tug of 6,000 hp for an unnamed customer for inland waterways operation. The MiNO 6000 class is designed by U.S. marine architects MiNO Marine. The vessel is Subchapter M compliant and is 55.4m long. It is propelled by two conventional propellers within Kort nozzles, each driven by a 3,000 hp, Tier IV compliant engine.
The first vessel of the type built was fitted with EMD engines, while the second will be fitted with GE engines. The deck superstructure is divided into two sections, one floating and one fixed. The floating section sits atop vibration isolators that can be either air bellows or spring type depending on owner preference. The hull form was developed through extensive engineering analysis using computational fluid dynamics methods to yield an efficient hull form suitable for a wide range of operating conditions while also minimising the potential for flow induced vibrations. Extensive structural vibration analyses using finite element techniques were made so as to minimise resonant structural vibrations thus ensuring greater crew comfort.