Case Study: John Bludworth Shipyard enables Enterprise Marine Services’ Z-drive inland towing fleet with Cummins power

Z-Drive Technology Spreading on US Inland Waterways

John Bludworth Shipyard, LLC, working with Cummins, needed reliable propulsion and power systems for a growing fleet of inland waterways towboats serving Enterprise Marine Services. The challenge was to support double-hulled 30,000-barrel tank barges on the Mississippi River and inland waterways with efficient, high-horsepower Z-Drive vessels.

Cummins supplied 1,000 hp QSK 38M and K38-M II Tier III diesel engines, along with QSB7 generators on some vessels, for multiple Z-Drive towboats built by John Bludworth Shipyard and other builders. The result was a standardized fleet of powerful, compliant towboats equipped with ZF Marine Z-drives, helping Enterprise Marine Services expand to four vessels in service, with additional boats delivered and more under construction.

John Bludworth Shipyard, LLC

Gasper C. D’Anna

President