Washburn & Doughty Associates, of East Boothbay, Maine, has delivered twin z-drive docking tugs to Moran Towing Corp.
The first, James A. Moran, launched in October 2011, marked a new class of escort/docking tug. The 93-foot tug is named for James A. Barker, the son of Moran CEO Paul Tregurtha’s longtime business partner, James R. Barker. The tug sets a new standard for Moran’s growing fleet of z-drives, with enhanced escort capabilities stemming from a deep forward keel, exceptional tracking and broad beam. The 38-foot beam greatly expands crew accommodation space, while adding space to the engine room.
James A. Moran will serve the port of Savannah, Ga. Moran is based in New Canaan, Conn.
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Brian Gauvin |
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Seaspan Eagle is a 92-foot ASD escort tug designed by Robert Allan Ltd. Seaspan Marine will operate the boat in Vancouver, Canada. |
Designed by Washburn & Doughty, the 6,000-hp tug is propelled by two MTU 16V-4000 M63L Tier II engines powering twin Schottel SRP 1515 FP z-drives. The bow winch is a Markey DEPC-48 with 400 feet of 9-inch Samson AmSteel-Blue line with a 100-foot pendant of the same material. The capstan is a Markey CEW-60.
Loaded draft aft is 17 feet.
Mark Moran, the other z-drive built by Washburn & Doughty for Moran, was delivered in March 2012. Designed by Jensen Maritime Consultants of Seattle, it is slightly smaller than James A., at 86 feet by 36 feet with a loaded draft of 14.75 feet. Mark Moran also maximizes crew accommodation and engine room space thanks to its beam. Its poop deck adds reserve buoyancy, while greater freeboard aft adds to the headroom in the machinery space.
Mark Moran has been assigned to the port of Baltimore.
The tug is designed with a large forward skeg to enhance its escort ability and has a keel window to facilitate blocking in dock.
Mark Moran is powered by two MTU 16V-4000 M61 Tier II engines delivering 5,100 hp and driving two Schottel SRP 1215 FP z-drives.
The bow winch is a Markey DEPC-48 with 500 feet of 9-inch Samson AmSteel-Blue line. The capstan is a Markey CEW-60.
Hercules and Tristan K
Along with Suderman & Young Towing Co. and Bay-Houston Towing Co., Moran is participating in a joint venture — Moran Towing of Lake Charles LLC — that acquired two new z-drive escort tugs in June 2011. The tugs serve Sempra LNG’s facility in Cameron, La.
Built by Washburn & Doughty, the 98-foot sister vessels were designed by Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia.
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Brian Gauvin |
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The 100-foot ASD Michael S is a sister tug to William S, nearing completion at Main Iron Works for Bisso Towboats. They are 4,000-hp vessels powered by Caterpillar 3516B diesels. |
Hercules and Tristan K were designed for ocean towing and LNG escort services.
The tugs have MTU 16V-4000 M70 engines delivering 6,300 hp to twin Rolls-Royce US 255 z-drives through Lufkin MV1600S reduction gears with a 2:1 ratio. Auxiliary power is from two John Deere 180-kW generators. Both the engines and the generators meet Tier II emission standards.
A skeg located forward of the propulsion units serves to support the vessel when dry-docking, eliminating the need for time-consuming and costly blocking.
Deck equipment includes a Markey DESF-48 200-hp high-performance single-drum hawser winch with automatic render/recover capabilities, adjustable tension and scope set points and a dynamic high-speed, water-cooled slip brake. Bollard pull ahead is 90.7 tons and 84.2 tons astern. The Markey winch carries 400 feet of 9.5-inch Samson AmSteel-Blue line and a 125-foot pendant of 9.5-inch AmSteel-Blue line.
For firefighting each vessel is equipped with two FFS monitors and two Caterpillar C-18 pump engines. Each pump is rated at 5,300 gpm.
Seaspan Eagle
Seaspan Marine of North Vancouver, British Columbia, took delivery of a new ASD escort tug, Seaspan Eagle, for service in the port of Vancouver.
Designed by Robert Allan Ltd., Seaspan Eagle is the second in a series of four RAstar 2800 ship-berthing/escort tugs. Their dimensions are 92.5 feet by 41.3 feet with a maximum draft of 16.3 feet. They were built by the Sanmar Denizcilik shipyard in Istanbul, Turkey.
Seaspan Eagle is powered by twin Caterpillar 3516B marine diesels, each rated at 2,466 hp at 1,600 rpm. Each engine drives a Rolls-Royce US CP z-drive with a 94-inch propeller through a Cardan shafting system. The combination delivers a bollard pull of 71.2 tons and a speed of 13 knots.
The designer says the tugs’ roll motions will be 50 percent less than that of conventional tugs. The RAstar design claims greater energy efficiency because the reduced waterline beam reduces free running resistance.
Deck equipment includes a forward-mounted, single-drum hydraulic winch and an aft deck harbor towing winch. Both winches are built by Rolls-Royce. For auxiliary power there are a pair of 120-kW MAN gensets.
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John Snyder |
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The bow winch is a Markey DEPC-48 with 400 feet of 9-inch AmSteel-Blue line. |
For firefighting the tug is rated FiFi-1 with a water capacity of 10,566 gpm. The fire pumps are driven from the front end of the engine through a Kumera gearbox, which also drives the rest of the hydraulic systems.
Bob Franco
Diversified Marine, Inc. of Portland, Ore., has built a 120-foot tractor tug for Harley Marine Services of Seattle.
Designed by Jensen Maritime Consultants, Bob Franco has a bollard pull of 78 tons. It is powered by twin Caterpillar C175 engines driving Schottel 1515 FP z-drives. The tug’s assignment is yet to be determined.
Hunting Creek
Chesapeake Shipbuilding of Salisbury, Md., has delivered the 94-foot Sassafras-class tugboat Hunting Creek to Vane Brothers of Baltimore. The tug is named for Hunting Creek, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.
The tug is the sixth Sassafras-class tug built by Chesapeake Shipbuilding for Vane Brothers and designed by Frank Basile of Entech & Associates of Houma, La. The tugs are nearly identical in design and hull form.
Hunting Creek will be towing the company’s 30,000-barrel barges coastwise in the Northeast.
Hunting Creek is powered by two 1,500-hp Caterpillar 3512 C diesel engines turning stainless steel Troost propellers. The maximum speed is 13 knots. Bollard pull is 35 tons.
The towing winch is a single-drum 500 Series unit from JonRie with Spectra soft line.
For auxiliary power it is equipped with two 99-kW John Deere model 6068 generators.
Wheelhouse electronics include Furuno NavNet 3D displays, Furuno AIS, Furuno autopilot and King-Dome satellite navigation equipment.
Firefighting gears includes port, starboard and aft monitor stations supplied by 5-hp Barnes self-priming pumps.
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John Snyder |
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James A. Moran is a 93-foot boat with enhanced escort capabilities resulting from its deep forward keel and wide beam. |
Hovensa escort tug
Hovensa LLC, of Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, is scheduled to take delivery of a new 92-foot escort tug later this year. The tug, which has yet to be named, is being built by Great Lakes Shipyard of Cleveland, Ohio, and was designed by Jensen Maritime Consultants of Seattle.
The vessel will serve in the Caribbean.
Propulsion for the new escort and towing vessel comes from twin Caterpillar C280-6 Tier II certified engines each delivering 2,320 hp to the two Rolls-Royce US 205 FP z-drives. The 90-inch propellers are fixed pitch and made of cunial bronze. Two Caterpillar C6.6 130-kW generators provide auxiliary power.
For towing there is a bow-mounted JonRie model A220-1030 dual-drum escort winch with 28,000-pound line pull at 150 feet per minute. Cordage is 7-inch diameter Samson AmSteel-Blue. Other deck equipment includes a JonRie model A421-201 capstan winch with a line pull of 15,000 pounds at 30 feet per minute.
For firefighting there are two FFS1200 monitors, one FFS 11,971-gpm pump coupled to at Caterpillar C32 pump engine.
Triple Crescent
For a couple of days in April, three identical Crescent Towing ASD tugs met in New Orleans for a triple christening. Crescent Towing is a Cooper/T. Smith company, and the Cooper family is well represented in the naming of the vessels.
Lisa Cooper, delivered in May 2010, is named for the eldest daughter of the company chairman, Angus R. Cooper. His son, Angus Cooper III, broke the champagne bottle over the bulwarks, thereby christening the boat bearing his sister’s name.
J.K. McLean, delivered in January 2011, is named for the late James Kenneth McLean Sr., cofounder of the pioneer container line Sea-Land Service Inc. (along with his brother Malcom McLean and sister Clara McLean). He was a member of the board of Cooper/T. Smith. His granddaughter, Sadie McClean Cooper, the wife of Crescent Towing President Scott Cooper, christened the tug.
David J. Cooper, delivered this spring, is named for Cooper/T. Smith’s longtime president and now vice chairman, David J. Cooper Sr. His 11-year-old granddaughter, Cooper Knowles Leland, christened the tug.
J.K. McLean and David J. Cooper operate in New Orleans and Lisa Cooper operates in Mobile, Ala.
All three 92-foot tugs were built at C&G Boat Works in Mobile, Ala. Each tug is powered by two six-cylinder GE engines producing 5,225 hp and Rolls-Royce 255 z-drives. The bollard pull is 65 tons. For winches they carry a JonRie model 230 assist winch on the bow and a JonRie model 200 hawser winch on the stern.
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Brian Gauvin |
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Three Crescent Towing ASD tugs, David J. Cooper, J.K. McLean and Lisa Cooper, met in New Orleans for a joint christening. They were built by C&G Boat Works. |
William S.
Bisso Towboat’s new ASD tug William S. is nearing completion at Main Iron Works in Houma, La. It will be the fourth z-drive and the 13th tug in the 122-year-old company’s fleet.
“It’s named for my brother Bill’s son,” said Scott Slatten, company president.
All four tugs are very similar in design — 100 feet by 38 feet with Rolls-Royce US 205 MK2 z-drives. The 90.6-by-82.4-inch, four-blade stainless steel propellers are set in stainless steel nozzles. The bollard pull is 57 tons.
But there are some differences. The first two, Cecilia B. Slatten and Alma S., are 4,300-hp boats driven by EMD engines. The 4,000-hp Michael S. and William S. have Caterpillar 3516B diesels. Cecilia B. Slatten, delivered from Main Iron Works in 1999, was the first ASD tug on the Mississippi River.
The newest boat has a Markey DYSF-42 hydraulic bow winch with 500 feet of 8-inch Plasma line, aft of a stainless steel bow staple and H bitt on the foredeck. On the aft deck is a Washington Chain and Supply RSRH100 100-ton quick release tow hook.
William S. has two 99-kW Marathon Mariner generators powered by John Deere 6068TFM76 engines. The tug has accommodation for seven and will carry a crew of four housed in quarters that are insulated against machinery noise. Each room has a flat screen TV and DVD player.
The Bisso Towboat fleet operates on the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico to Baton Rouge.
