Photo by: Captain Ted

Built in 1999, by Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, Louisiana (hull #342) as the Vera Bisso for E.N. Bisso an Sons of Metairie, Louisiana.

She is named in honor of Vera Bisso, wife of Joseph A. Bisso, one of the company's co-founders.

Powered by by two EMD 16-645 E6 diesel engines, with Haley reverse/reduction gears at a ratio of 6.1:1. Turning two Kaplan four bladed, 138(in) diameter, 111(in) fixed pitch, stainless steel propellers, mounted in Kort Nozzles, and Flanking Rudders. Her rudders also feature two hydraulic cylinders to improve steering response. The rudders can be operated in either a "combined" or "traditional" mode in which they turn in tandem, or in a "split" mode. The tug is rated at 4,200 horsepower.

She was designed for dual applications. Her initial focus is ship assist work along the Mississippi River, but she is also equipped for offshore operations. The Vera Bisso was designed with all glass surrounding the pilothouse all the way to the deck. Inside of the pilothouse itself, a seven foot void was created and all machinery placed within the air conditioned area. The only machinery required in the pilothouse, are repeaters. There is one blind area on the vessel near the deckhouse on the stern. This was remedied through the use of a closed circuit television in the pilothouse, allowing the captain full visibility of the vessel.
Among the other features included on the tug is the wide clearance between the sides of the tug and any structure on the tug that might come in contact with a ship, during assist work. The tug's stacks are angled inward, permitting the tug to get very close to the bow of any ship. The engine room is laid out with maintenance in mind, with both generators in separate spaces, which also allows for better noise control.

Her fuel capacity for in port operations is 36,400 gallons, the tug's fuel capacity for offshore operations is 120,000 gallons. She can carry 12,000 gallons of potable water, 25,200 gallons of wash water, 750 gallons of lube oil, 800 gallons,700 gallons of hydraulic oil, 41,700 gallons of salt water ballast, 2,100 gallons oily water retention, 2,000 gallons fuel overflow tank capacity, 1,500 gallons sewage retention capacity, 12,200 gallons fire fighting foam capacity, and 2,000 gallons gray water retention.

Her towing gear includes a double drum Markey deck winches outfitted with 300(ft) of 8(in) plasma line. Emergency stop switches, and the controls for the deck winches are located only in the pilothouse. Thereby, removing the necessity of requiring personnel to be near operating equipment, thereby reducing the possibility of injury.

Photo by: Unknown

Photo by: Unknown

Photo by: Captain Peter

Photo by: Unknown