Z-Drive for Gulf inland waterways

American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) has been around since 1915. Along the way, it has developed into one of the dominant players in the inland marine transportation industry. ACBL has embraced technology, innovation and safety. ACBL’s decision to outfit at least 15 of its towboats with ZF Marine’s Z-drive systems was one of those decisions. The Z-Drive installations are a small part of a $500M fleet and equipment investment by ACBL over the past five years. Today’s ACBL fleet includes about 4,200 barges powered by 175 towboats. Only a small number of those ACBL towboats are Z-drive propelled, but the percentage of its changes has eclipsed that of the U.S. flag pushboat population. ZF Marine supplies propulsion system components for military and commercial vessels and workboats. With more than 150 Z-drive units delivered for the inland waterways, ZF thruster equipped fleet has well over a million operating hours. Two Z-Drive tugs can theoretically take the place of four conventional tugs during the typical ship docking operation. (Source: Marine Link 07/18/17) Gulf Coast Note: ACBL has terminal and port services located at its Gulf Operations in New Orleans and Harahan, La. ZF Marine’s newest Gulf of Mexico/Inland Waterway sales and service operations is in Elmwood, La., and nearly three times the size of its former site.