Towing Company

Training the Next Generation at Great Lakes Towing

The Great Lakes Towing Company and Great Lakes Shipyard have entered into another year as a partner in St. Martin de Porres High School’s Corporate Work Study Program.  Four students, one from each grade level, work one day a week in various departments at the Company headquarters to help fund about 50% of the cost of their education. The relationship between the school and the Company is aimed at assisting the young men and women develop habits that give them an introduction to the marine industry and enable them to be successful in college, careers, and life. St. Martin de Porres, a Cleveland-based Cristo Rey Network school, aims to “to transform urban Cleveland one student at a time” by offering college preparatory education to students of modest economic means. Stephon Fisher, freshman, works in Accounting and Purchasing; Te'Sante Benjamin, sophomore, works with Human Resources; Tatayana Moore, junior, works in Accounting and Purchasing; and Regine Phillips-Collins, senior, in her second year with the Company, is working in the Operations Department.   Great Lakes Shipyard is a full-service yard specializing in new construction and repairs of all types of vessels and barges. Current projects include repairs on the US Coast Guard Cutter Buckthorn  and the US Army Corps of Engineers tug Mike Donlon and the construction of two state-of-the-art ASD tractor tugs for Caribbean Tugz, LLC, an affiliate of Seacor Holdings, Inc.

Legal Matters

Massachusetts Modifies Application for No-Discharge Zone The Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has modified the scope of an application for the designation of a "no-discharge zone." In 1998, the EOEA submitted a proposal to the EPA for a "no-discharge" designation encompassing all coastal waters within the jurisdiction of the state. In 1999, the application was withdrawn due to the substantial costs associated with providing the requisite

Towing Company to Pay $10M for Spill

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued a Press Release stating the Bouchard Transportation Co. was sentenced to pay a $10 million fine in connection with the oil spill in Buzzards Bay on April 27, 2003. A loaded tank barge being towed by a company tug grounded while outside the channel. The tug and barge were outside the channel because the mate on duty had left the pilothouse unmanned. The company was aware of repeated concerns raised about the mate’s

Washburn & Doughty Launches Fort Bragg

Fort Bragg, built by Washburn & Doughty for Cape Fear Towing Company of Wilmington, N.C., will be primarily used for docking shops and coastal towing. Fort Bragg was designed by Washburn & Doughty's naval architect and vice-president, Bruce Washburn, and built to ABS and USCG standards, but not classed. The vessel is powered by two Caterpillar 3516 electronic main engines rated at 2,200 hp at 1,600 rpm. These engines power two Ulstein model 1650H Z-drives

Rolls-Royce, Great Lakes Shipyard Sign Services Agreement

Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine Inc. has teamed up with Great Lakes Shipyard, a division of The Great Lakes Towing Company, Cleveland, OH to create a state-of-the-art marine service center to improve and grow their respective vessel repair and overhaul businesses in the Great Lakes Region. The long-term agreement, effective June 1, 2011 is the latest stage in the development of a global Marine Service Center network, which brings the expertise of Rolls-Royce engineers to customers around the

Port Everglades Names New Chief Harbormaster

Conrad Strong, an 18-year veteran at Broward County’s Port Everglades, has been named Chief Harbormaster beginning May 23, said Port Director Ken Krauter. The Harbormaster Office includes approximately 40 professional and technical staff that oversees all vessel movements and berth assignments at the South Florida seaport. At Port Everglades, the Harbormaster Office serves as a one-stop shop that coordinates vessel agents, harbor pilots, towing companies

$23m Contracts Awarded to Great Lakes Shipyard

Caribbean Tugz, LLC, an affiliate of SEACOR Holdings, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Florida has awarded Great Lakes Shipyard, Cleveland, Ohio vessel construction contracts to simultaneously build two new state-of-the-art 50-ton bollard pull ASD tugboats to be used for ship docking and escort operations at the Hovensa Oil Refinery in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.   The contracts’ total price of the new tugs is $23 million

Interview: Jim McCarville, Executive Director, Port of Pittsburgh

Jim McCarville, Executive Director, Port of Pittsburgh shares with readers of MarineLink.com his insights on key market drivers for the coming year. If you could change or improve one policy in the federal government that affects your business's bottom line, what would it be? JM: The federal government, unfortunately, looks at transportation projects as stovepipes, failing to grasp that a decision to make or not make waterway improvements will impact other modes of transportation

Tugz Florida Franchise Is Pending

Following months of intense scrutiny, financial due diligence, background checks and equipment review, Ronald C. Rasmus, president of TUGZ International, LLC, is confident his firm meets or exceeds all requirements for securing a franchise permit to provide tugboat and towing services at Port Everglades, Fla. If the franchise is awarded, TUGZ will be the first tug company to compete against Hvide Marine at the Fort Lauderdale port, one of the busiest ports on the eastern seaboard.

Quick Action of Towing Company Averts Threat

On January 3, the Tug Pacific Avenger, while towing an oil barge loaded with diesel fuel, experienced a reduction in steering while approximately 20 miles west of Cape Alava, Washington. As per established procedure, Tofino Traffic, Canada, who, as part of the Cooperative Vessel Traffic Service manages vessel traffic of the northern Washington Coast, notified the U.S. Coast Guard of the incident. Sea Coast Towing, the owner of the tug