Towing Barge News

During January-April 2019, four incidents of unauthorized boarding of ships in locations of close proximity to each other were reported in the western sector of Singapore Strait.All four incidents occurred to tug boats towing barges and dredger while underway in the westbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS). Of the four incidents, two incidents reported loss of scrap metal, and nothing was reported stolen in the other two incidents. The crew was not injured in all four incidents.With the occurrence of four incidents in close proximity to each other within a period of three months…

A storm off the Philippines caused a ship grounding incident in Antique yesterday morning which claimed one casualty, local authorities reported. The 18 other seafarers involved in the incident are reported safe. The Philippines Coast Guard’s investigation revealed that M/Tug Benny and its towing barge Brian took shelter at the vicinity waters of Barangay Balud, Tobias, Antique as Tropical Depression Seniang battered the Visayas region. Both vessels drifted toward the shoreline due to strong winds and waves. Twelve crew members from Barge Brian were able to swim towards the shoreline while the remaining seven crew of M/Tug Benny transferred to the barge waiting for rescue, the coast guard said. Upon receiving a VHF call from barge master Dillio S.

Designed by Jensen Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, and built by the Great Lakes Shipyard of Cleveland, Ohio a 74-foot workboat is quickly making a name for itself; in and out of the water. The “HandySize” Class Tug was designed to fill the niche between the 2,400 to 3,200 HP market for harbor workboats, fireboats, and construction operations and coastal towing, too. The Tug model 2800 is powered by two Cummins QSK38,1400HP diesel engines rated at 1800 rpm, providing a total of 2,800 HP – or in order words, just right for those niche tasks assigned to a Great Lakes workboat.

Tugs 'Triton' and 'Honcho' of the Puerto Rico Towing & Barge Co. recently assisted a drifting vessel off the coast of Puerto Rico. The cargo ship Global Destiny, owned and operated by Diavlos Maritime based in Athen, Greece, called for assistance the morning of Saturday, March 16. The vessel reported that it had run out of fuel and was drifting approximately five miles off the coast of Dorado, approximately nine miles north west of San Juan. Puerto Rico. Towing’s tug Triton came…

Cleveland’s Goodtime III arrived at Great Lakes Shipyard earlier this month to undergo drydocking and repair work. The vessel received its five-year year US Coast Guard hull and machinery inspection and had its hull repainted. Great Lakes Shipyard has performed work on the previous Cleveland-based excursion boats, Goodtime and Goodtime II. This is the first repair contract that Great Lakes Shipyard has had for Goodtime III. Goodtime III, a family owned and operated business since 1958…

Great Lakes Shipyard Performs Emergency Repairs on USCG Aids to Navigation Barge. United States Coast Guard Cutter MOBILE BAY of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin departed Great Lakes Shipyard, Cleveland, Ohio after completion of drydocking and repairs to the bow thruster on it 120-foot Aids to Navigation Barge. The barge was hauled out on Monday, September 17th using the Shipyard’s 770-ton Marine Travelift. The shipyard immediately removed the bow thruster and disassembled it in the shop for repairs.

Great Lakes Shipyard completed repairs on the Ohio Department of Natural Resources research vessel GRANDON. In late June, ODNR awarded Great Lakes Shipyard with the contract to provide repairs to the vessel, including drydocking, blasting, painting, and electrical and lighting replacements. The R/V GRANDON is part of the Fairport Harbor Fisheries Research Station for the ODNR’s Division of Wildlife. Their primary focus is assessing and managing fish populations and fisheries by taking samples, monitoring population demographics, and insuring the protection of habitats and resource integrity.

Puerto Rico Towing & Barge Co. is expanding the size of its tugboat fleet with the addition of the newly constructed Handy-Three which arrived in San Juan Thursday morning. Puerto Rico Towing & Barge Co., a subsidiary of The Great Lakes Group, is located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and has been providing vessel assistance and towing services to commercial vessels and barges in San Juan Harbor, other Inland Ports, and ports throughout the Caribbean for over 15 years. Recently constructed at Great Lakes Shipyard, Cleveland, Ohio, the Handy-Three is now the fifth tug in the Company’s fleet.

A newly constructed tugboat, HANDY-THREE, is to be ceremoniously named at Great Lakes Shipyard, Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday, May 2, 2012. The tugboat has been sold to Puerto Rico Towing & Barge Co. of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Representative of Northern Ohio’s Ninth Congressional District, will be the Sponsor and Principal Speaker for the tugboat HANDY-THREE. The vessel is the third of a class of Handy Size tugboats designed by Jensen Maritime Consultants, Seattle, Washington.

The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to a report of acrylonitrile in the Mississippi River, near mile marker 775.5, one mile north of the Hachie River inlet. At approximately 9 p.m., July 26, watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River received a report from the master of the Merrick Jones, a 128-ft towing vessel pushing 26 barges, that a collision had occurred involving the Merrick Jones and the Dixie Express, an 87-ft towing barge pushing two barges of acrylonitrile. A marine and pollution investigation team from Sector Lower Mississippi River were dispatched to assess the incident. An unknown amount of acrylonitrile was released into the water after one of the barges being pushed by the Dixie Express was damaged in the incident. The source of the spill has been secured.

A tank barge that ran aground outside the channel in Raritan Bay near Wards Point Bend successfully re-floated. Reinauer Transportation conducted lightering operations throughout the night, and with the rising tide in the morning they were able to free the grounded vessel. The barge George Morris was being towed out to sea by the tug Rowan M. McAllister carrying 50,000 barrels of Ethanol aboard when it ran aground around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Coast Guard pollution response officers and marine investigators report that the ship suffered no apparent hull breach and no oil or Ethanol has entered the water. The barge George Morris and the towing barge Rockland are being moved to Perth Amboy Anchorage to continue lightering operations.