For most tugboat companies, building one new azimuthing stern drive (ASD) tugboat would make for a pretty good year. McAllister Towing and Transportation added two within just eight months. The 6,772-hp Capt. Jim McAllister left Eastern Shipbuilding in late August 2019, arriving soon afterward in Charleston, S.C. The 100-foot vessel routinely escorts and assists post-Panamax containerships calling on the sprawling Wando Welch Terminal across the Cooper River in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. Eileen McAllister, a 93-foot, 6,772-hp, ship docking and escort tugboat built at Washburn & Doughty, provides similar services in Port Everglades, Fla. McAllister paired Eileen with Tate McAllister, built six years ago with the same hull but different propulsion and winch packages. Both new tugs are powered by brawny Caterpillar 3516 Tier 4 engines paired with Schottel z-drives.…
Foss Maritime Company has updated the venerable Valor-class azimuthing stern drive (ASD) tugboat for a new era. Foss, a Saltchuk subsidiary based in Seattle, took delivery of the 100-by-40-foot Jamie Ann this spring from Nichols Brothers Boat Builders. Jensen Maritime Consultants and Foss partnered on upgrades to the existing design that include new safety features and crew amenities. The MTU Tier 4 engines are the first for any U.S. tugboat. Jamie Ann, named for Saltchuk co-founder Fred Goldberg’s daughter, will work in Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif., escorting and assisting containerships and tankers. It is also equipped with large fuel tanks and a sturdy towing winch to handle rescue tows far from shore. Bollard pull is 92.36 tons off the stern and 90 tons off the bow. “It’s…
In 1999, Bisso Towboat of Luling, La., introduced the first tractor tug on the Mississippi River with the delivery of Cecilia B. Slatten. With the delivery of Andrew S. in November 2019, Bisso has introduced the first Tier 4 tractor tug on the mighty river. At 6,008 hp, it’s also the most powerful. Main Iron Works in Houma, La., the towing company’s go-to-boatyard for nearly 30 years, built Andrew S. Bisso’s 13-boat fleet now includes eight z-drive tugs, boasting the largest tractor tug fleet on the inland waterways. “The company is committed to z-drives,” Bisso Towboat President Scott Slatten said. “They have proven admirably suited to ship-assist work in tight spots and in the river’s difficult currents. They’re also not as vulnerable to river debris as once thought.”…
The following is text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard: (HONOLULU) — The Coast Guard continues to investigate the loss of 21 cargo containers from the barge Ho Omaka Hou and monitor response operations in Hawaii on Tuesday (June 30). All cargo was successfully removed from the barge over the weekend, and it returned safely to Honolulu on Monday, where a further damage assessment is being conducted. Of the 21 missing containers, 12 remain unlocated. One was initially located north of Hilo and sank. One washed ashore at Onomea beach, where it was refloated and towed to Hilo Harbor. The rest were recovered to Hilo Harbor and were removed from the water. On June 22, the tug Hoku Loa operator reported to the Coast Guard a loss…
Capt. Joe Farish eased the tugboat Sheri Lynn S. off the Picton Terminals dock before 0730. It had snowed overnight, and the channel in from Lake Ontario was smooth on the calm, overcast December morning. With the tug’s full-vision wheelhouse, Farish had visibility all around him. Looking forward, he could see one deck hand readying lines on the port bow, and he could turn to spot the other clearing the remaining snow and ice off the spacious aft deck. Through the sky windows, an indispensable feature when docking and undocking ships, a crane and the top of the cliff beyond were visible. The tug broke through ice near the dock while awaiting assist instructions from the bulk carrier Lake Erie. Radar and AIS displays showed the ship less than…
The following is text of a news release from Sea Machines: (BOSTON) — Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics, a leading developer of autonomous marine systems, has announced that the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) have approved the company’s SM200 commercial wireless helm for installation aboard a class of U.S.-flag tugboats that support articulated tug-barge (ATB) sets. An industry first in wireless vessel control, the two bodies granted their approvals after a review of Sea Machines’ technology and the SM200’s applications aboard these tugs, deeming the system satisfactory for shipboard installation and trials. Sea Machines managed the review process in partnership with its dealer Rio Controls & Hydraulics of Houston. The SM200 introduces flexible control for mariners, meaning the primary operator is no longer bound to a…
It has taken decades to build the fuel supply chain for the 50,000-vessel global merchant fleet. The pending 0.5 percent sulfur cap on marine fuel stands to upset this entrenched structure, with price volatility likely as a result. To comply with a 2016 regulation enacted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), vessels must either treat their exhaust, use an alternative fuel such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), or begin using fuel oil containing 0.5 percent sulfur or less by Jan. 1, 2020. Contained in Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), the regulation reduces the sulfur limit from its current level of 3.5 percent. In response, fuel suppliers have adjusted refining processes, while operators are adapting to changes in fuel prices and quality…
There are electric ferries and tour boats, along with proposals for fully electric containerships, bunker tankers and barges. But how will all-electric vessels measure up to the extreme power demands of harbor tugs, or the distance and speed requirements of pilot boats? Two companies have taken on these challenges. In July, the Ports of Auckland in New Zealand ordered the world’s first full-size, fully electric ship-handling tug from Damen Shipyards of the Netherlands. The acquisition of the RSD-E Tug 2513 will help Auckland toward its goal of becoming emissions-free by 2040. And the naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia, unveiled plans for an all-electric pilot boat in 2018. Both companies are using existing designs and boats, reconfiguring them for all-electric propulsion. Damen’s all-electric tug is based…
After loading crude oil on the Lower Mississippi River, the articulated tug-barge Buster Bouchard and B. No. 255 sailed for Corpus Christi, Texas. Oil leaked from a forward cargo tank for most of that voyage, allowing fuel and vapors to build up in the forepeak, according to federal investigators. Before dawn on Oct. 20, 2017, as the ATB prepared to get underway near Port Aransas, Texas, those vapors ignited and caused a series of explosions. Two crewmen working at the bow of the barge died and roughly 2,000 barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators could not determine the source of ignition on B. No. 255. However, the agency reached damning conclusions about Bouchard Transportation’s safety culture and maintenance program. The NTSB…
These have been some lean years for a lot of American shipbuilders. But yards that kept the lights on, and their workforce intact, are benefiting from an apparent rebound in new tugboat and towboat construction. There are several factors influencing the uptick, perhaps none as significant as the approaching deadline for all tugboats to meet Coast Guard Subchapter M standards. Ahead of the July 20, 2022, deadline, operators are laying up or scrapping older tonnage, and in many cases they’re building new vessels to replace them. Market conditions are also forcing bigger operators to respond. Neo-Panamax ships are routinely calling on East Coast ports, and more powerful tugboats are needed to safely escort and assist them. The same trend is happening on the Gulf Coast, which has seen ever-larger supertankers…
