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(Continued from page 33) company knows: "it would have 100 percent synergy with what we do now ... we're not looking to dive into new fields, or make acquisitions just for an acquisitions sake." The move, if and when it happens, could go a ways in lev- eling the playing field with longtime rival Moran, which gained a leg up on its close rival with the acquisition of Ture- camo maritime in the mid-1990s. "[The purchase] was really a disappointment to me," said Brian McAllister in a 1998 interview with MarineNews magazine. "McAllister had the reserves to buy Turecamo, but we couldn't resolve our own problems quickly enough." Of the business MT&T already owns, Captain McAllister admits that the ship docking portion of the business is not an area for future growth, primarily due to the growing trend towards larger ships and deeper channels, meaning that more cargo can arrive on fewer ships. The push for increasingly larger container- ships and tankers, often found within the pages of Maritime Reporter, is a testa- ment to this trend. He notes that this is hardly a new trend, rather a long, drawn- out attrition which has resulted in the a marked reduction in competition, from nearly 50 tug and towing companies that used to service New York Harbor to, basically, McAllister and Moran today. Conversely, the demand for Z-drive vessels and their unique capabilities is set to expand significantly, as will the company's fleet of this type over the coming months. While Captain McAl- lister declares the power and maneuver- ability of the current Z-drive as out- standing, he does concede that the ves- sel's capabilities are a bit of an overkill, noting that only rarely will such maneu- verability be required in the normal course of operation. However, vessels of this capability are needed to win con- tracts, and McAllister is ensuring that it is equipped to handle the demand. The new Z-drive fleet — that currently con- sists of five boats, three owned and two chartered — will be expanded next year, said Captain McAllister. "There are cer- tain clients (for example, the Navy) that demand this caliber of boat. If you don't have them, you don't get the business," he said. "There are bids out right now that require this type of boat, and that's why we built them at 5,000 hp with all of the bells and whistles," so that they could be used in a number of demanding applications. Identifying oil barging as a potentially significant growth area, the company is also contemplating building an offshore tug that would be able to handle the articulated tug barges, units which have increased in popularity due to their inherent efficiencies, and units that will likely be in higher demand as shuttle September, 2001 tankers if and when Floating Production Units start operating in the deeper waters of the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to ATB's, McAllister would like to see the company build on its con- tainer barge business. Currently, MT&T owns a pair of container barges holding up to 640 TEU's, which should be high- ly profitable by now. The company entered into an agreement two years ago to haul garbage from New York to Vir- gina, but an environmental concern has put the contract on hold with fears of transporting the garbage on the waters of the James River. Meanwhile, the garbage is moving — nearly 12,000 tons per day — via truck and rail, which are obviously more expensive options. 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