The slowdown in new tug construction over the last few years has been tough for shipyards, naval architects and suppliers. The outlook for the next 12 months doesn’t appear a whole lot better, although some firms see reason to be optimistic. Many of the same factors that have dogged the industry since 2016 haven’t gone away. Demand for new offshore/platform supply vessels is virtually nil. In their absence, shipyards along the Gulf of Mexico are competing fiercely for tug projects. “Boats will never be this low again on price,” said Joe Rodriguez, owner of Rodriguez Shipbuilding. Cutthroat competition for work means historically low margins for shipyards. This leaves little room for error if costs exceed projections. Horizon Shipbuilding noted “higher than anticipated” labor and materials associated with building new EPA…
The deadline for Coast Guard Subchapter M compliance is fast approaching, but within the towing industry there is still uncertainty around the new inspection regime. Operators and even some third-party surveyors have expressed frustration with the regulations, which they argue are not being enforced uniformly across different Coast Guard districts — and even sometimes within the same district. Taken together, many towing companies will not be ready when the rules take effect July 20, according to Rob Keister, manager of compliance and special projects for Sabine Surveyors, one of nine third-party auditing organizations under Subchapter M. “Some are a lot better off than others,” he said in a recent interview, but others “are just not ready for it. And three months is not enough time to get ready for it.”…
Seabulk Towing turned heads in January 2017 when it welcomed Trident, the first U.S. Advanced Rotortug (ART), to its home base in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. In March 2018, Trident’s sister ARTs, Triton and Trinity, gave Mobile Bay tugboat watchers a treat, churning all three z-drives and propelling a water dance of omnidirectional moves. Trinity was delivered in February, and since then has served Seabulk’s Mobile, Ala., customers. A month later, Triton was in Mobile for trials and crew training before heading to Port Arthur, Texas. “The best way to describe the Rotortug would be as the next-generation SDM (Ship Docking Module),” said Rick Groen, Seabulk vice president and Seacor Ocean Transport vice president of operations. Seabulk is a subsidiary of Seacor Holdings. Capt. Bryan Welch helming Triton. “Even though the…
Dozens of RAmparts-series tugboats designed by Robert Allan Ltd. work in North American ports, but none quite are like Harley Marine Services’ Dr. Hank Kaplan and Rich Padden. These 5,350-hp RAmparts 2400 harbor tugs are the first with Caterpillar integrated propulsion systems featuring Cat engines and z-drives. Cat also supplied electrical generators powering the 80-by-36-foot vessels. Diversified Marine of Portland, Ore., delivered Dr. Hank Kaplan in mid-2017, and Rich Padden followed about five months later. Seattle-based Harley Marine assigned both to Starlight PNW, a newly formed unit providing ship-assist and barge-handling services in Puget Sound. Diversified is building a third tug in the series, Vern Patterson. Capt. Mitchell Hetterle described the tugs as nimble, stable and powerful. He said they’re responsive and forgiving, particularly when handling barges, which account for…
Over the past two decades, 92- and 93-foot tugboats have become the backbone of Moran Towing’s ship-assist fleet. With Benson George Moran, that venerable class has undergone its first update since 2011. The 6,772-hp vessel, named for Moran chairman Paul Tregurtha’s grandson, is the company’s first with EPA Tier 4-rated propulsion. The 93-by-38-foot tug is 12 percent more powerful than its predecessors. It’s also the first newly built Moran tug with Caterpillar engines and Rolls-Royce z-drives. Washburn & Doughty built the tug at its East Boothbay, Maine, shipyard. Bruce Washburn, the firm’s naval architect and executive vice president, said the proven design required a series of modifications — largely to accommodate the aftertreatment modules and urea tanks. Moran assigned Benson George Moran to Port Arthur, Texas. Since arriving in early…
Rodriguez Shipbuilding has made shallow-draft, triple-screw tugboats something of a specialty. Its latest product is Daisy Mae, built for Coeymans Marine Towing (CMT). The 83-foot tugboat is based at the Port of Coeymans 10 miles south of Albany. It’s primarily used for moving material to New York City more than 100 miles to the south. “The bulk of the business is aggregate, but we are getting into everything,” said Mark Pearson, a senior captain and vessel manager for CMT. Rodriguez Shipbuilding of Coden, Ala., delivered the 3,300-hp vessel in fall 2017. Yard owner Joe Rodriguez designed it with input from Pearson and Matt Hofmann, CMT’s vice president of operations. Capt. Mark Pearson operating the aft winch controls on the Markey TDS-24 stern winch. Originally, Daisy Mae’s power was to be…
Over the last decade, Vane Brothers upgraded its fleet with nearly 25 new model bow tugboats. But with those big projects winding down, the company has set its sights on a new articulated tug-barge (ATB) class. The lead tugboat Assateague went to work in mid-February with the 80,000-bbl barge Double Skin 801. Since then, the vessels have hauled clean oil products from Texas to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with additional stops at several Gulf of Mexico ports. Jim Demske, Vane’s senior port captain overseeing tugboat construction, said the vessel showed impressive handling during sea trials and has remained a high performer since joining the fleet. “The first load the guys took was in Texas City and from there they headed for Port Everglades. The entire way over, the crew reported beam…
Three years ago, following the arrival of the ASD tug Becky S., Bisso Towboat Co. President Scott Slatten said every new delivery made him feel “like a kid in a candy store.” The following year, in 2016, the candy store featured the ASD tug Mr. Ruben. Late last year, his sweet tooth for new tugs was sated with delivery of the 100-by-38-foot Liz Healy. In January 2018, two months after Liz Healy’s christening on the New Orleans waterfront, the tug was already hard at work in the Mississippi River. Capt. Bryan Tastet steered alongside Alma S. and Mr. Ruben to assist the loaded bulker Super Luna into the Zen-Noh grain terminal upriver from New Orleans. “This boat has great maneuverability and horsepower,” said Tastet. “And the winch is a deck…
The industry took notice last spring when Harley Marine Services welcomed Earl W. Redd, the first EPA Tier 4-rated tractor tugboat. A year later, the company has two more with OneCURE and Todd E. Prophet. Conrad Shipyard built the 4,560-hp pusher tugs at its Morgan City, La., shipyard using plans from Entech Designs. They are paired with 80,000-bbl tank barges built by Gunderson Marine through an Articouple pin system. GE Tier 4 engines provide propulsion. In all, Conrad built four articulated tug-barge (ATB) units for Harley Marine in 2017, including the 4,500-hp Tier 3 siblings Bill Gobel and Min Zidell. All four are working along the West Coast, where they serve ports in the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii. The new vessels represent a doubling of Harley Marine’s ATB fleet…
Last August, the 84-foot Elizabeth Prince left the John Bludworth Shipyard in Corpus Christi, Texas, and joined Genesis Marine’s inland fleet. The 2,680-hp pushboat has proved a worthy addition. “It’s a go-anywhere type of boat,” said Capt. Chris McBain, a vessel group manager for Genesis Marine. “She can work anywhere: around Houston, the Lower Mississippi or Illinois River, the (Intracoastal Waterway).” About a month after delivery, on a clear mid-October day, Elizabeth Prince was moored near the San Jacinto Battleground Monument on a loop of the Old River in Channelview, Texas. Where the Old River, the San Jacinto River and Buffalo Bayou meet in the upper end of the Houston Ship Channel is a workboat aficionado’s El Dorado. At any given time, more than 50 vessels gather there across multiple…
