A new joint venture on the West Coast comprised of tugboat industry veterans will build Jones Act-compliant ship-assist tugboats specifically for the charter market.
Ursa Major is a partnership between the international oil giant BP and Tug Construction LLC, which includes Diversified Marine founder and owner Kurt Redd and Harley Franco, the founder of Harley Marine Services. The new company sees growing demand in the market for modern, efficient tugboats that can be made available without the time and upfront costs associated with building new.
“Let’s face it, in the maritime industry, building right is very capital intensive,” Franco said in a telephone interview. “It’s not like turning on a light switch. The construction process takes time, precision, approvals, inspections, you name it.
“Depending on the size and specs of the vessel, it can take more than a year to build these things especially considering the demands of the industry and the environment,” Franco continued.
Although many tugboat companies continue to build and own their own fleets, the charter market has long given operators a chance to reinforce their operations without building a vessel themselves. New companies have popped up in recent years to fill this need. This includes Maritime Partners, which has a fleet numbering more than 1,800 vessels that is primarily involved with leasing equipment for the inland towing market.
Another West Coast operator, Brusco Tug & Barge of Longview, Wash., has found success in recent years building powerful tugboats for charter. Recent examples include four 82-foot Hercules-class tugboats now working for Crowley, including Artemis delivered last year. Brusco tugs also have found work with Foss and its sister companies on the West Coast.
Factors other than cost are making chartering appealing, at least in the short term. The rapid pace of innovation around alternative fuels is making some operators gun shy about ordering new tugs. New regulations and the sharp increase in new construction costs also has kept some companies on the sidelines.
The net result of these changes is a ship-assist tugboat market that needs new tugs in short order to maintain current operations, let alone give operators capacity to expand. “Our opinion is that the market is underbuilt,” said Frank Manning, president and chief operating officer of Diversified Marine, a shipyard located in Portland, Ore.
“This is a model that I think makes sense,” he said of Ursa Major’s business strategy. “Right now, in the market, everyone is concerned about where the future is going.”
Ursa Major’s first towing asset is the 110-foot Earl W. Redd, which Diversified built in 2017 for Tug Construction LLC. At the time, it was the first tug in the United States with EPA Tier 4-rated engines. Foss has an agreement to charter the vessel into 2027 and is currently using it to tow offshore wind components on the East Coast.
The new firm has ordered two more tugboats from Diversified Marine using the proven RApports 2500 platform designed by Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia. The tugs will be similar in design and power to Athena and Artemis, Hercules-class tugs Crowley operates under charter.
“Artemis pulled 98 short tons,” Manning said. “It is the most powerful tug ever built in that size. Breaking 100 tons is definitely going to be cool for the number, but they are already beasts.”
Ursa Major’s partners did not share details about propulsion and other outfitting on the new tugboats. Construction is already underway at Gunderson Marine, which has partnered with Diversified to build tugboat hulls. Final outfitting will take place at Diversified, located on the banks of the Columbia River. The first delivery is expected in late 2025.
“We look forward to providing operators with commercially viable options for high-performance, safe and sustainable tugboats,” Kurt Redd, president of Tug Construction LLC, said in a statement. “We are excited about the future of Ursa Major and the positive impact it will have on the maritime sector.”
Details about the new company’s ownership structure were not released, although BP is a minority owner in the effort, which is allowed under Jones Act rules.
As of now, there are no firm takers for the new tugboats on order from Diversified. But Franco said he has already had productive conversations with multiple towing companies operating on both coasts. He expects the vessels will be put to work as soon as they are delivered.