Paul T. Moran | Moran Towing, New Canaan, Conn.
It’s been almost three years since Moran Towing took delivery of its first 86-foot tugboat from Washburn & Doughty. In the meantime, those tugboats have proven themselves in ports along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.
Fast forward to mid-2024, and Moran is prepared to take delivery of two more 86-footers. The fourth in the series, Paul T. Moran, is due out from Washburn in late May 2024 to be followed by a fifth tug, George James Moran, this fall.
Paul T. Moran is equipped with twin 2,550-hp Caterpillar 3512E engines, Kongsberg z-drives and an electric Markey hawser winch and capstan. Bollard pull is 60 metric tons ahead. As of mid-May, the tug was undergoing final outfitting at Washburn’s East Boothbay, Maine, shipyard.
Ron Droop, a vice president with the New Canaan, Conn., towing company, said the two new tugs have a similar hull to their predecessors, Wyatt Moran, Andrew Moran and Dennis Moran, delivered in 2021 and 2022. The design of the two new tugs changed to reduce the air draft from 29.5 feet to 24 feet.
“We wanted to make this tug as versatile as possible to work in any of our divisions,” Droop said in a recent interview. “And this one has the capacity to work for the Navy with the lower profile and with the submarine fendering and the nonmarking type of fendering we placed on her.
“It makes her much more versatile and meets requirements in all areas where we operate so we can continue to serve our customers,” Droop continued.
Moran Towing traces its history to 1850, when 17-year-old Irish immigrant Michael Moran started working as a mule skinner transporting barges on the Erie Canal in upstate New York. A decade later, he moved to New York City and in 1863 purchased a half-interest in the steam tugboat Ida Miller for $2,700, according to the company history.
Maggie Moran, the company’s first-ever newbuild, entered service in 1881. The 70-foot, 150-hp, steam-powered tug was named for Michael Moran’s wife. It was the first vessel to bear the Moran name, and similarly the first to use the “M” logo on the side.
Paul T. Moran is named after U.S. maritime industry legend Paul Tregurtha, who with James Barker acquired Moran Towing in 1994. The new tug is at least the second to bear his name. The first was a pusher tug designed to operate as an articulated tug-barge unit.
“Our new tug is a continuation of the program we initiated when we first acquired Moran in 1994 to modernize our tug fleet,” Paul Tregurtha said of his namesake tugboat. “Our ongoing investment in new tugs has been in response to customer requirements and to take advantage of technological change that enhanced our safety and environmental performance. Over the past 30 years, we have added 55 newly built tugs to our fleet. We will continue that trajectory for the foreseeable future. I am proud to have the Paul T. as our newest addition.”
These days, Moran Towing is one of the largest U.S. tugboat companies with a fleet exceeding 80 tugboats in its ship-assist and terminal transportation businesses. Its tugs operate in more than a dozen U.S. ports from Portsmouth, N.H., to Port Arthur, Texas, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean.
For the better part of two decades, the company solidified its fleet with 92-foot and later 93-foot tugboats designed and built by Washburn & Doughty. Those brawny tugs delivered 6,000 hp in the 92-by-32-foot package. The heavier 93-by-38-foot tugs were optimized for EPA Tier 4-rated engines with up to 6,778 hp. They were designed and outfitted to handle the larger ships calling on East Coast ports.
Wyatt Moran and its sister tugs, Andrew Moran and Dennis Moran, meanwhile, represent an updated version of five 86-by-36-footers Moran added to its fleet more than a decade ago separate from the larger Washburn tugs. Both feature the same Jensen Maritime (now Crowley Engineering Services) design characterized by a deep skeg forward that opens at the back. The result is a tugboat with robust escort capabilities and improved handling alongside a ship, according to Crowley naval architects.
The updated 86-foot tugs feature many updates compared to their predecessors built around 2010. The most obvious is in the engine room, which was modified to accommodate Tier 4-rated Caterpillar 12-cylinder engines and aftertreatment units. Tankage also changed to include diesel exhaust fluid necessary to meet EPA Tier 4 standards. The tugs were designed to meet Coast Guard Subchapter M standards, which didn’t yet exist in the earlier versions.
Moran has found plenty to like about the updated 86-foot platform. “It is quick to respond, and it provides just the right size for the capabilities we are asking for from the vessel,” Droop said. “We have found it to be nimble and quick with the capacity to accommodate all the engineering requirements.”
“We’ve found that the 86-by-36-foot boat is just the right size for all the equipment while meeting bollard pull requirements,” he continued. “For us, it is just about perfect.”
Reducing the air draft on Paul T. Moran and the forthcoming George James Moran required additional design changes. The waterline increased by a foot to 17 feet, which required other modifications to internal spaces. “With the reduced air draft, we had to rearrange underneath the wheelhouse,” said Katie Doughty Maddox, president of Washburn & Doughty. “We needed to adapt the design from there.”
She is proud of the workmanship and craftmanship displayed on Paul T. Moran. “The steelwork looks great. It is a tug that is going to serve Moran for many years.”
Moran Towing has not said where Paul T. or George James will be assigned. Wyatt Moran is currently based in Charleston, S.C., while Andrew works in Port Arthur. Dennis operates in Savannah, Ga., where Capt. Hunter Bunch uses it to assist ever-larger containerships and tankers calling on Savannah River terminals.
“The handling is pretty quick. And as far as increasing the rpm and the rotation of the drives, it is responsive and easy to pick up if you are coming from another tractor tug,” Bunch said in a recent interview.
“She is quick and responsive to the throttle commands, and you can get to any part of vessel you need without any delay,” he continued. “There is a nice big bow rubber for landing purposes and for overall grip against the ship’s hull.”
Like its predecessors, Paul T. Moran benefits from a comfortable, open wheelhouse with large windows offering 360-degree views. Shorter exhaust stacks further minimize blind spots. The tug is outfitted with Furuno navigation electronics, modern touchscreen displays and Icom VHF radios.
The engine space is open, accessible and well lit. Crews on its sister tugs have appreciated the layout, which creates breathing room between the equipment. Two Cat 3512 engines anchor the space, along with twin John Deere four-cylinder engines driving the 99-kW generators.
On deck, Paul T. Moran has a Markey DEPC-48 electric winch on the bow and Markey electric capstan on the stern, which allows the tug to tie up to a barge or perform dead-ship tows, Bunch said. The bow is wrapped with Schuyler and Shibata fendering. Cortland Rope supplied the sturdy Plasma hawser line.
Moran ship-assist crews typically run with four people, consisting of a captain, mate, engineer and deck hand working a week on followed by a week off. Bunch said the 86-foot tugboats are plenty comfortable with four cabins, two full heads and a functional galley-mess area.
“We stay busy most of the time on these boats … but overall, we are living and breathing on the tug. There is enough space where you can kind of spread out and not be on top of each other day in and day out.”
As delivery neared this spring, Moran leadership looked forward to the tug’s arrival. And they had nothing but positive things to say about Washburn & Doughty, their longtime partner on the Maine coast.
“I think there is none better than Washburn & Doughty in terms of craftsmanship and quality,” Droop said. “They build a good quality tug, and the craftsmanship and care we have found to be superior. They do a great job there.” •