Tugboats & Towing – Page 272 – Professional Mariner

10 Aug

Great Lakes Towing seeks opportunity in adversity

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & Towing

When Great Lakes Towing (GLT) was founded in 1899 by some of the most storied names in American business, the company was poised to, and did, become the largest tug assist company on the Great Lakes. The opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959 extended that dominance. From left to right, California, one of the original tugs in the…

15 May

Model-bow tugboats capable of inland, offshore operations

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & Towing

Lady Loren is one of three model-bow boats operated by LA Carriers. The three-screw design means the vessel can operate effectively even if it loses one of its engines. Courtesy LA Carriers The model-bow tugboat, a combination towing and pushing vessel, is not exclusive to Louisiana, but close to it. There are a smattering among her Gulf Coast neighbors, Mississippi,…

11 May

Tug captain’s career spanned era marked by progress and conflict

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & Towing

Capt. John Willmot with his wife Peggy at their home in St. Petersburg, Fla. Beginning his career at age 18 as a deck hand on a steam tug, he retired at age 70 in February from Moran, where he served as captain of a z-drive. (Brian Gauvin) One can imagine the Florida Room jutting out from Capt. John Willmot's home…

05 May

Tug operators on the lower Mississippi continue to update their fleets

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & Towing

Above, the E.N. Bisso & Son tugboat Josephine Anne moves past the office towers of downtown New Orleans. E.N. Bisso is one of four towing companies that work the lower Mississippi On a crisp, clear, December morning aboard E.N. Bisso & Son's tug Vera Bisso, Bill Summers, the company's vice president of operations, recalled catching his first ship at the…

27 Mar

Bisso Towboat gets ISM certification for its tug fleet

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & Towing

Alma S. is one of 13 tugs in Bisso Towboat's fleet. All of them received ISM certification from the American Bureau of Shipping. (Brian Gauvin) Bisso Towboat of New Orleans received ISM certification in November 2008 from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). As a domestic company operating on the Mississippi River, Bisso was not required to comply with the…

27 Mar

U.S. Coast Guard hopes to release proposed tugboat inspection rules this spring

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & Towing

Barge 455-3, launched at Gunderson Marine in Portland, Ore., was the third in Crowley Maritime Corp.'s Heavy Lift 455 Series. Gunderson anticipates delivering four more barges in the series to Crowley in 2009. (Courtesy Gunderson Marine) After nearly five years of talks and revisions, the U.S. Coast Guard will give the public its first look this spring at proposed inspection…

27 Mar

Gunderson, Jeffboat busy filling contracts for new barges

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Gunderson Marine and Jeffboat concluded 2008 amid a flurry of production, with Gunderson signing a contract to build eight additional deck cargo barges for Crowley Maritime Corp., and Jeffboat finishing a 50,000-barrel asphalt barge for Andrie Inc.Gunderson, a Portland, Ore.-based division of the Greenbrier Cos., has a longstanding relationship with Crowley, producing more than 40 vessels over the years for…

20 Feb

Following collision and spill, Coast Guard gets tough on unlicensed operators

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & Towing

Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Carlos Babilonia on a U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat taking part in Operation Big Tow on the Mississippi. While the machine gun is part of the boat’s equipment, the operation to check mariners’ licenses was not designed as an aggressive boarding action. (Brian Gauvin) As a result of revelations in the notorious Mel Oliver case, the…

20 Feb

McAllister boats tow Intrepid back to museum pier

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & Towing

The lead tug Rowan M. McAllister, assisted by Ellen McAllister, moves the aircraft carrier Intrepid away from its temporary berth on Staten Island. Four tugs participated in the 10-mile, four-hour operation that returned the historic ship to its museum berth following a two-year refurbishment. (Courtesy McAllister Towing and Transportation) “Let the head lines go!”“Sisters, easy astern.”“OK, Rowan, tighten it up.…

20 Feb

Tidewater Tug crew honored for rescue

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & Towing

The crew aboard a Tidewater Tug and Barge Lines vessel have received citations from the Coast Guard after they successfully secured a sternwheeler that had suffered a maritime casualty in the Columbia River.The nearby good Samaritan tugboat Invader responded when the sternwheeler Portland lost steering and drifted in the river June 27 near Cascade Locks, Ore. The sternwheeler eventually ran…