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BIG MAMMA: The Sprague, the largest sternwheel towboat ever built, recently moved into Avondale Shipyards for hull and bottom repairs. The 318-foot-long vessel, built in 1901 and maintained in continuous service for 46 years, holds the world's record for size of tow handled. In normal service, the Sprague carried 46 coal barges along with three fuel barges. In February of 1907, she set a world record that remains unbeaten—60 units totaling 67,000,307 tons of cargo. The tow measured 1,125 feet in length, was 312 feet wide, and carried as much cargo as could be handled by 1,500 railroad cars. After repairs at Avondale, the Sprague, known to rivermen as "Big Mamma," will return to Vicksburg, Miss., where it will be displayed as a his- torical site. For the past 15 years she has been in Vicksburg. ABS Signs Agreement With Iranian Society Mohsen Zahedi (seated at left), chairman and president of the Radeh Bandi Company, classification organization in Iran, and Robert T. Young (seated at right), chairman and president of the American Bureau of Shipping, sign the documents establishing a dual class agreement between the societies. Officers attending the ceremony are (stand- ing left to right) William J. Zwick, secretary, ABS Worldwide Technical Services, Inc.; William N. Johnston, assistant to chairman, ABS; Charles J.L. Schoefer, senior vice president, ABS; Walter D. Vandegrift, vice president, ABS Worldwide Technical Services, Inc., and John R. Blackeby, secretary, ABS. The American Bureau of Ship- ping has entered a dual class agree- ment with the Radeh Bandi Com- pany, a newly formed classification organization in Iran. The agree- ment is for the purpose of promot- ing the interests of shipowners, shipbuilders, underwriters, and oth- er parties concerned with ships holding, or intending to hold, the classification of iboth societies. The memorandum of agreement was signed by Robert T. Young, chairman and president of the American Bureau of Shipping, and Mohsen Zahedi, chairman and president of Radeh Bandi Com- pany, at ceremonies held last month at the Bureau's headquarters in New York City. Mr. Young stated: "The es- You need to Dept. tablishment of the new classifica- tion organization in Iran is an im- portant action that will be of bene- fit to the development of the Iran- ian merchant marine and to mer- chant shipping in general." The ABS chairman told Mr. Zahedi: "The Radeh Bandi Company has the Bureau's complete support, and we will do everything possible to assure its success." The RBC chair- man expressed his appreciation and desire for close and effective co- operation. The Bureau will station an ex- clusive surveyor in Iran and main- tain an exclusive office in that country. It will also assist in the training of field surveyors and members of the technical staff of the new society. Philadelphia Resins Appoints McGuckin Gulf Coast Manager Philadelphia Resins Corp., Mont- gomeryville, Pa., has announced the appointment of John C. Mc- Guckin as Gulf Coast manager, with offices in Metairie, La. He will be responsible for sales engineer- ing and technical service for the company's pourable chocking res- ins, nonskid deck coatings, protec- tive tailshaft coatings, and glass- epoxy cable. A major field of in- terest will be cryogenic applica- tions for chocking resins. The company has stocking dis- tributors in Mobile, Ala., Jackson- ville, Fla., Houston, Texas, and Greenville, Miss. Mr. McGuckin has been a sales engineer for the company, and was formerly a diesel engine test co- ordinator for the Naval Ship Engi- neering Center in Philadelphia. He was also employed in the produc- tion department at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. He is an engineer- ing officer in the Coastal River Sup- port Division 22 of the U.S. Naval Reserve, home-based in Algiers, La. Avondale Awards Transformer Shipsets Order To Magnetics The Industrial Control Division of Magnetics, Sandy Lake, Pa., is under contract to Avondale Shipyards to build transformer shipsets of various KVA ratings for LASH cargo ves- sels. The order is an industry first in that Magnetics advanced the unique concept of banking three single-phase transformers in a common structure, with all interconnections bussed or wired at the factory, resulting in sav- ings in wiring labor costs to the ship- yard. With the Magnetics units, the ship- yard electrician merely has to connect his incoming primary and outgoing secondary three-phase. The new con- struction retains flexibility since any single-phase unit can readily be re- placed, or the bank can be operated in open delta in an emergency. In addition to being factory-wired, the Magnetics units have the added advantage of being completely factory tested as a three-phase transformer before delivery. Safmarine Acquires So. African Lines Ltd. South African Marine Corp. Ltd. has completed negotiations for the purchase of outstanding stock of South African Lines Ltd., it has been announced in Capetown. The two companies maintain services between South Africa and Europe, with Safmarine also oper- ating cargo liners to the United States. Safmarine owns 25 vessels and regularly charters 10 others. South African Lines operates seven vessels. the overdue "machine" The perfect answer for sanitary toilet facilities on board boats working the inland waterways. Needs no water, chemicals or holding tanks. Operates on cool forced air venting and hy- gienic gas flame. Easily installs onboard new or old boats. Does not pollute the environ- ment . . . and isn't it about time? troilet iw all about it--write the Leader: DTO I INDUSTRIES, INC. 772, Walworth, Wisconsin 53184 A LEADER IN PROTECTION OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT Wiley can steel anything (almost) Special Steel Fabrications / Barges / Self- Propelled Vessels / Hatch Covers / Dump Scows / Mid Bodies / Tunnel Tubes / Pier Forms. Wiley c/o Equipment Systems, Inc. P.O. Box 95 Port Deposit, Maryland 21904 A Microdot Company 42 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
