OMAHA, Neb. - Two Missouri River towboats operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, are undergoing major engine overhauls to ensure reliable navigation and river maintenance operations ahead of the 2026 season.
“The engines were last installed on the Missouri towboat in 1996, so they have a little over 20,000-plus hours on them,” said Larry Morgan, Missouri River Project Office towboat pilot and maintenance supervisor. “So, they’re due for an overhaul.”
The towboats’ main engines and power generator sets were removed in early December and shipped to Memphis, Tennessee, for complete rebuilding.
Getting the engines out of the towboats required careful maneuvering and patience. Mechanics coordinated with a crane operator by radio to remove the engines through openings in the tops of the vessels. This process involved dismantling exhaust stacks and lifting thousands of pounds of equipment first.
“The mains are around 6,000 pounds apiece with no transmission on them,” Morgan said. “The power generator sets are somewhere between 650 and 750 pounds, depending on what fluids are in them, so it requires a pretty good-sized crane.”
The main engines are Cummins K19 six-cylinder diesel engines paired with twin disc gear reduction transmissions. The generator sets, powered by smaller four-cylinder Cummins diesel engines, provide electricity for onboard systems including lights, heat, steering and electronics.
Once removed, the engines were loaded onto trailers and transported to Memphis for full machining and rebuilding.
“They’ll go down for a full rebuild — new heads, new injectors, new pumps,” Morgan said. “All components that are bolted to the engine are going to be rebuilt, so when we put them back in, everything is new, just like a new engine would be.”
Once reinstalled, the rebuilt engines are expected to last decades.
“We anticipate the engines to last probably another 20,000 to 25,000 hours,” Morgan added. “With our timeframe of running on the river, that’s maybe 25 to 28 years of runtime.”
The towboats are essential to maintaining about 250 miles of the Missouri River, from Rulo, Nebraska, to Sioux City, Iowa. Crews use the vessels daily to push barges loaded with rock for bank stabilization, wing dikes and other underwater structures that keep the navigation channel open.
The Omaha District places approximately 30,000 to 40,000 tons of rock annually. The engine overhauls are expected to be completed and reinstalled in time for the 2026 Missouri River operations season.
“They’re used daily to push barges up and down, and when a boat is down, it’s a significant impact to the mission.”