Olympic Tug News

On the way to Tier IV compliance, it turns out that experience counts. In late February, the nation’s first Tier IV, Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) tugboat was christened. That’s probably not earthshaking news all by itself – after all, SCR isn’t all that new – but the event likely ushers in a new era of powerful domestic workboats that also come with a greener environmental footprint. How all of that comes together is a bigger story, and one which will play out again and again in the coming year or two. At the heart of it all is Crowley subsidiary Jensen Maritime Consultants, who today lead the design field with no less than seven Tier IV, SCR versions in development. Digging deeper, it isn’t hard to see why. The new Tier IV hull comes with a silver lining.

Harley Marine Services christened its newest tractor tug Earl W Redd, officially welcoming her to the fleet on Friday, February 10. Built at Diversified Marine of Portland, Ore., the Earl W Redd features twin Cat 3516 Tier 4 Final main engines that will each produce 2,675 horsepower at 1,600 rpm. Each of the engines is paired with a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) after treatment system that uses a urea-based solution to reduce NOx contained in diesel exhaust down to nitrogen and water vapor.

The latest addition to the Harley Marine fleet is now completing sea trials and preparing to enter service. The “M/V Earl W. Redd” will be operated under the flag of the Olympic Tug & Barge unit of Harley. The 120 foot tractor tug, built by Diversified Marine Inc. in Portland, Oregon, and named after the father of Diversified President Kurt Redd, is slated to enter service providing unrestricted coastal towing along the West Coast of the United States. Tier IV-compliant CAT engines coupled to Rolls-Royce “Z-drives” power the tug, delivering an expected bollard pull capability of 75 tons. Harley Marine once again selected Markey Machinery to supply the deck equipment for this vessel.

U.S. Marine Inspectors from Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Portland conducted a field dry dock examination, Wednesday, to educate and train the towing vessel community on new regulatory standards that will come into force in the summer of 2018. Shaver Transportation Company suggested the field outreach event during a U.S. Coast Guard initiated information session the previous week. The information session held at MSU Portland was the second in a series of national outreach forums designed to educate towing vessel operators on the new regulations…

Marine services company Harley Marine Services (HMS) has expanded its management team, naming Don Martin as Vice President and General Counsel and Steve Carlson as Vice President of Engineering, the company announced today. Prior to joining Harley Marine, Martin was the Vice President and General Counsel for Delta Western and Hawaii Petroleum where he oversaw all aspects of safety, risk management and regulatory compliance for the fuel distribution companies. Prior to Delta Western, Martin served as the Director of U.S.

Ice Floe, LLC dba Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB) has been contracted by Vigor Industrial to construct the superstructure portion of the third Olympic Class 144-Car Washington State Ferry the M/V Chimacum. Nichols Brothers completed the superstructures for the first and second WSF 144-Car Ferry vessels delivered to Vigor for final assembly in March and December 2013. Nichols Brothers is responsible for construction of the grand block section of the vessel including the upper car decks, exhaust stacks and pilothouses. Additional work has been awarded to NBBB including all superstructure piping, windows, stairs, ladders, all exterior hand rails and completely painting the interior and exterior.

Olympic Tug and Barge, a Harley Marine Services Company, has selected four JK Fabrication emergency tow storage reels for new barges being built at Zidell Shipyard in Portland (the first two) and Vigor Shipyard there also (the last two units). Given earlier success at U.S. Coast Guard testing in southern California, earlier orders from Olympic, Smith Maritime, U.S. barge and HME Construction, and acclaim from ABS and marine surveyors, JK has applied for U.S. patent on the unit.

Along the way, ATBs gain speed, efficiency, safety – and popularity. Operators of articulated tugs and barges, or ATBs, say they like the maneuverability, weather reliability, stability, speed of these units, and the manner in which the tug pushes the barge. As a marine transportation concept, they can also simply be described as versatile. ATBs move petroleum, chemicals, coal, grain, containerized cargo and rail cars for customers on the U.S. coasts, rivers, the Great Lakes and overseas. As a result, demand for articulated units expanded in the last two decades with new technology.

Vigor Industrial has ballooned from a modest shipyard in Portland, Oregon, to the largest shipbuilder in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Vigor increasingly thinks big and builds big. The company’s new floating dry dock will be the largest in the United States. And Vigor wants to get even bigger. CEO and owner Frank Foti expresses an ambition to grow to twice the current size in the “next few years.” Foti, who is also chairman of the Shipbuilder’s Council of America, says he is, “striving for critical mass.

The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is fining Olympic Tug & Barge of Seattle $16,500 for spilling oil into Port Angeles Harbor last November. The spill occurred when a company-owned fuel barge was overfilled while being loaded with fuel oil. Ecology determined the Nov. 7, 2012, heavy fuel oil spill occurred because of an error by the barge operator. More than 1,700 gallons of fuel spilled to the deck of the barge with nearly 50 gallons entering Port Angeles Harbor. The oil transfer was being conducted at the Tesoro Port Angeles Terminal located at the foot of the spit Ediz Hook. Olympic Tug & Barge had oil containment boom placed around the barge prior to starting the fuel transfer which helped contain the spill.

C & K Marine of Anchorage, Alaska has leased the 75' x 27' x 11' steel, twin screw tug "Aries" from Olympic Tug & Barge, Inc. of Seattle, Wash. The lease was arranged through the auspices of Marcon International, Inc. of Coupeville, Wash. The "Aries" is a conventional Gulf Coast style tug, built in 1980 by LAD Companies in Gibson, Louisiana. The U.S. flag tug is powered by a pair of GM 16V92NA diesels producing a total of 1250 HP @ 1900 RPM, each turning a 60" x 56" 4-blade stainless steel prop through a Twin Disc 527 5.17:1 marine gear.

Marcon International, Inc. of Coupeville, Washington reported the purchase by a private East Coast operator of the U.S. flag utility boat Sarina (ex-Tern) from Olympic Tug and Barge, Inc. of Seattle, Wash. The vessel was originally built as a U.S. Coast Guard WLI class inland buoy tender in 1969 at CG shipyard in Curtis Bay, Baltimore, Md. and rebuilt in 1994 and 1996 to her present configuration. She is currently fitted out as a small general utility and supply vessel and has performed oil spill cleanup duties upon the waters of the lower Columbia River and its tributaries.

Harley Marine continues to implement its “Harley Marine Goes Green” program, including: company-wide ISO 14001 and ABS SQE Certification; exceeding compliance with local, state and federal environmental regulations and requirements; harbor tug fleet conversion to eco-tugs using ultra low emissions technology; and, their own patented self-contained Vapor Recovery Unit used during petroleum loading operations to reduce hydrocarbon emissions from oil and tank barges. The “Harley Marine Goes Green” campaign was launched in April of 2008 with a contest for the best “green” idea. In addition, a Harley Marine “Go Green Team” was formed with representation from each location and operating area…

The newest tractor tug to come out of MARCO Shipyard Seattle is the 105-ft. Millennium Dawn, the third boat in its class designed and built for Harley Marine Services of Seattle, and the twelfth tractor tug from MARCO. It will join her sister ships operating in Long Beach, Calif., part of Harley’s West Coast and Alaska operations that in clued Olympic Tug & Barge, Millenium maritime, Pacific Coast Maritime, Public Service marine and Westoil Marine Services. Like her predecessors, the new tug is a powerful, multipurpose vessel, capable of providing ship assist, inland and ocean towing, and escort services. Her rugged design has evolved from MARCO’s first tractor tug, the Gyrfalcon, operated by Pacific Coast Maritime.

The newest tractor tug to come out of MARCO Shipyard Seattle is the 105-ft. Millennium Dawn, the third boat in its class designed and built for Harley Marine Services of Seattle, and the 12th tractor tug from MARCO. It will join her sister ships operating in Long Beach, Calif., part of Harley's West Coast and Alaska operations that in clued Olympic Tug & Barge, Millenium maritime, Pacific Coast Maritime, Public Service marine and Westoil Marine Services. The new tug is a powerful, multipurpose vessel, capable of providing ship assist, inland and ocean towing, and escort services. Her rugged design has evolved from MARCO's first tractor tug, the Gyrfalcon, operated by Pacific Coast Maritime.

When Olympic Tug & Barge was founded in 1987, owner Harley Franco had environmental responsibility on his mind. Early major oil tanker disasters southeast of Nantucket, Mass., near Galveston, Texas, and off the coasts of England and Mexico were influencing the future of the oil transportation industry. So Franco committed himself to growing his business by assembling a "fleet of the future" built around the most environmentally friendly technology he could afford. Today, parent company Harley Marine Services oversees a combined fleet of more than 40 vessels. Olympic Tug & Barge began as a vessel bunkering operation, leasing a tugboat and barge to transport the bunker barges from ship to ship.

MARCO Shipyard Seattle signed a contract to build a new tug for Harley Marine Services Inc., of Seattle, the parent company of Olympic Tug & Barge. Recently, MARCO completed a series of nine tractor tugs operating in Alaska, California, and Hawaii. Measuring 105 ft., the new tug will be used by Harley Marine as a ship assist and towing service for the West Coast. Except for some pilothouse modifications and the addition of barge fendering, the tug will be similar to Gyrfalcon, owned and operated by Harley Marine in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Scheduled for a February 2000 delivery, the tug will be powered by twin Caterpillar 3516B diesels, providing a combined 4,400-hp driving Ulstein 1650H Z-drive units, each fitted with Ulstein's nozzle and skewed Kaplan-style propellers.

Harley Marine Services will reorganize its leadership team in order to accommodate customers and field personnel. Jim Lowe has been named general manager for Harley Marine Services, Southern California. In his role, Lowe will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Harley Marine Services family of companies in Southern California including: Millennium Maritime, West Oil Marine Services, Public Service Marine, and Pacific Coast Maritime. He is specifically responsible fore leading the various companies to improve customer service while optimizing operational efficiency. Troy Goodman has been named VP of Corporate Services for Harley Marine Services.

Response teams continue to clean up an oil spill around and underneath Pier 91 at Smith Cove in Elliott Bay today. The main area of impact of the oil appears to be contained underneath Pier 91 of the Port of Seattle. The cleanup is being coordinated with the Port of Seattle. The assessment and labor intensive cleanup of the impacted shoreline is to continue into Friday and possibly the weekend. Cleanup crews are aggressively working to remove all the spilled oil on the deck and hull of the Songa Hua, and have recovered approximately one gallon of the spilled intermediate fuel oil from Elliott Bay, while oil stains and some recoverable oil are visible on the cement pilings underneath pier 91 and along the rocky "rip-rap" on the shore.

As of January 2007 all new-built vessels for service in US waters are required to be powered with engines that meet the US Environmental Protection Agency's Tier 2 emission standards. It has been a significant engineering and logistics challenge for the nation?s engine manufacturers to meet these deadlines. Cummins Marine was able to meet the deadline and is shipping Tier 2 engines in the full horsepower range. Although Tier 2 is a requirement for all new vessels, at Olympic Tug and Barge the owners, Harley Marine Services, have shown leadership by installing a pair of Tier 2 compliant engines in their 1970-built tug Lela Joy. This will make her one of the most environmentally progressive vessels on the Pacific coast.