River Tug News

Technological advancement is opening new doors for hybrid and fully electric vessels.In mid-2020, the U.S. Navy accepted the delivery of the USS Zumwalt, the Navy’s first full-electric power and propulsion surface combatant. The ship’s new electric propulsion plant provides favorable efficiency coupled with a reduced total cost of ownership. The design is flexible and efficient to deliver power where it’s needed, when it’s needed. Its adoption is symbolic of a maritime future and what could be in store for other marine craft…

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) in St. Michaels, MD begins a new speaker series entitled “Working Waterfront” on Thursday, November 1, with later sessions on Friday, November 16 and Thursday, November 29. Held in the Van Lennep Auditorium along the museum’s waterfront campus, the series welcomes CBMM members and the general public, with pre-registration needed. From 6-8pm on Thursday, November 1, “Working Waterfront: Delaware” gives participants an in-depth look at the museum’s 1912 river tug, Delaware. Now celebrating her centennial, the Delaware was built in Bethel, DE, and is one of the last survivors of Bethel’s great age of wooden boatbuilding.

In recognition of her upcoming centennial, the tug Delaware is now being restored to her 1912 appearance in full public view at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland. Delaware is a rare example of a typical early 20th century wooden river tug. Built in 1912 in Bethel, Delaware by William H. Smith, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s tug Delaware measures 39’8” x 11’4” and is now a floating exhibit at the museum’s waterfront campus. Delaware is a product…

In May 2010, in conjunction with the presence of the International Tug & Salvage Conference in Vancouver, Robert Allan Ltd. will celebrate its 80th continuous year in business as an independent, privately held, consulting Naval Architecture firm. The firm will commemorate this significant milestone in its history with many of its local and international clients who will be attending the conference. Robert Allan Ltd. is currently Canada's most senior Naval Architectural firm, and with 65 employees is one of the largest in the country.

The Sesok, Crowley's newest triple-screw diesel powered tug joined the fleet of Alaska river tugs this month, when it called St. Mary's on the Yukon River to pick up its first barge. Soon thereafter, the Sesok and her crew made stops along the Yukon River in Emmonak, Nome, Hooper Bay and Bethel to meet with Crowley personnel and villagers to celebrate the vessel's maiden voyage with community barbecues. Residents gathered at the barbecues to learn more about the latest vessel to enter the Alaska region and to hear Crowley's commitment to providing the safest and most environmentally sound fuel and freight delivery services in Alaska. The Sesok will continue to work along the coast throughout the season.

The Coast Guard, in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Navy's Supervisor of Salvage, is reviewing a plan submitted by the owners and contracted salvors of a sunken tug and a barge impeding vessel traffic in the Elk River in the Upper Chesapeake Bay. The tug and barge, which sank in the shipping channel following a collision with a freighter, have caused the adjacent C&D Canal to remain closed to all vessel traffic pending their safe removal. Four men remain missing following the incident. The salvage plan, submitted by Norfolk Dredging Marine, the sunken tug Swift's owners, and Ellsworth Salvage, the contractor, must adequately address a number of safety, environmental, and navigational considerations in order to receive the agencies' authorization to begin operations.

Josip Gruzling, P.Eng., President of NautiCAN R&D Ltd., passed away Monday, September 10. Josip was a pioneer in the use of hydrofoils to increase the efficiency of tugs and barges. He used his inventiveness and determination to develop two types of devices: the High Efficiency Nozzles and Hydralift Skegs for barges, receiving nine patents for his efforts. Over 100 High Efficiency Nozzles have been built and over 40 Hydralift skegs have been installed worldwide. Josip got his start in 1968 working for Robert Allan Ltd., going on to found NautiCAN in 1972 to develop his ideas. Hydralift Skegs provide directional stability to barges with much less resistance than standard skegs, typically between a 35 to 50% improvement.

Construction of Articulated Tug Barge units (ATB) continues to occupy a prominent place in the order books of several shipyards. However the pace of current building and back ordered units is not as high as the 2000-2002 period. "It looks like we are in for a little 'breather' for a while," said Allen Craft, senior vice president of Intercontinental Engineering-Manufacturing Corporation, Kansas City, Mo. The company manufactures Intercon, one of the most popular couplers between the tug and the barge, which makes the ATB concept workable. "Vessel Management Services, a division of Crowley Maritime was a major driving force in this market when they had two different yards each built two ATBs with 9,280 hp tugs and 155,000 barrel barges using our couplers," Craft said.

There's N.Y., and there's N.Y., N.Y. They are as unalike as two places can be. One is upstate, the other is downstate. One is composed of small and medium-size towns, the other ranks with the biggest cities in the world. One is a land laced with rivers and canals, the other occupies islands on one of the Atlantic's broadest harbors. Attitudes and styles are different in both places, too. Ed Koch, a television personality who once campaigned for governor, can tell you from experience that a big-city boy never mentions "gingham dresses" north of White Plains. Waterford and Manhattan are a three-hour ride apart, two if you speed, but even the language sounds different in both places. But they both have their tugboats. And everyone loves tugboats.