Marinette Marine Corporation has been awarded a contract by Beker Shipping Company of Greenwich, Conn., for the construction of a 7,200-bhp, twin-screw tugboat. The tug will be utilized by Beker in conjunction with a 610-foot self-unloading, notch type barge now under construction by Bay Shipbuilding. The tug/barge unit will transport phosphate rock between Taft, La., and Tampa, Fla.

The tug will have a 145-foot overall length, 42-foot beam, and an 18-foot design draft. The vessel will be powered with a pair of 20-cylinder EMD engines driving fixed propellers. Delivery is scheduled for April 1982. The vessel will be classed Full Ocean Service by the American Bureau of Shipping.