Albert was constructed in 1979 by American Gulf Shipbuilding of Harvey, Louisiana, as the conventional tugboat Hercules. She is 114’05’’ long, 35’ wide, and 18’08’’ deep, and was originally powered by a pair of Burmeister & Wain 14V23LU diesel engines, producing 4080 BHP. She was not fully completed in 1979, and laid idle at the shipyard until purchased by Tidewater Marine, who had her completed in 1981. Tidewater renamed her El Bronco Grande.

El Bronco Grande operated in the Gulf of Mexico, supporting the offshore oil industry. She was laid up at Bollinger Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1999. She was purchased by Reinauer Transportation in 2006, and shifted to the Bollinger shipyard in Morgan City, Louisiana, where she underwent a major refit. While in the shipyard, her exterior fittings were replaced, hull and deck equipment reconditioned, and a new upper pilothouse constructed. She was renamed Craig Eric Reinauer.

After the completion of her refit at Bollinger, she was taken to SENESCO Marine in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, where she was repowered with a pair of new GM EMD 12-645-E7C 4000 BHP diesel engines and an INTERCON ATB coupler system installed. She entered service later in the 2008 season, operating with ATB’s in the Reinauer fleet.

In 2018, the Craig Eric Reinauer and her fleetmate barge RTC 101 were purchased by U.S. Oil of Appleton, Wisconsin, and brought onto the Great Lakes. Craig Eric Reinauer was renamed Albert, and her barge was renamed Margaret. The pair are operated by Andrie, Inc., transporting petroleum products between Green Bay, Wisconsin, and several other Great Lakes ports.

Written by Brendan Falkowski

RTC-101 was constructed in 2005 as a tanker barge by SENESCO Marine of North Kingstown, Rhode Island, for Reinauer Transportation of Staten Island, New York. She is 391’ long, 74’ wide, and 27’ deep. She was delivered to Reinauer on December 16, 2005.

In 2018, the RTC-101 and her fleetmate tugboat Craig Eric Reinauer were purchased by U.S. Oil of Appleton, Wisconsin, and brought onto the Great Lakes. RTC-101 was renamed Margaret, and her tug was renamed Albert. The pair are operated by Andrie, Inc., transporting petroleum products between Green Bay, Wisconsin, and several other Great Lakes ports.

Written by Brendan Falkowski