Workboat Report: The U.S. Workboat ($33.8B) Market
The U.S. towing and tug business is 5,500 boats, more than 31,000 barges with an estimated total impact on U.S. GDP of $33.8 billion.“At a macro level, the bigger ships are causing downward pressure on the ship assist business because there are fewer ship calls given the increased capacity of these vessels. However, certain ports have seen tremendous growth, based on strategic location and infrastructure investments that have attracted these larger ships and been a net plus for these areas.”Kate Fuhrman…
Tidewater Attains First Sub M COI on the West Coast
Tidewater Transportation and Terminals of Vancouver, Wash., announced today that the Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance and the Coast Guard Sector Columbia River has issued a Certificate of Inspection (COI) to the towing vessel Crown Point for compliance under the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) Subchapter M safety regulations governing the inspection, standards and safety management systems of towing vessels.This COI is the first issued to a west coast (PACAREA) tugboat/towboat operator.The Crown Point is the first of three custom-built river towboats built for Tidewater in 2015.
Tidewater Christens 2 New Towboats
The two newest inland river towboats in Tidewater Transportation and Terminals’ fleet, Granite Point and Ryan Point, were christened during a late afternoon ceremony Saturday, June 11 at Vancouver Landing in Vancouver, Wash. After Deacon Tim Dooley from Portland’s Holy Family Parish delivered a blessing, Patty Reed, wife of Bruce Reed, Tidewater’s Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, and Diane Laya, wife of Marc Schwartz, Tidewater’s Maintenance and Engineering Manager…
Vigor Delivers New Towboat to Tidewater
Tidewater Transportation and Terminals today marked delivery of the second of a series of three towboats, the Granite Point. The vessel, built by Portland’s Vigor, follows towboat Crown Point, which began operations along the Columbia Snake River (CSR) in May 2015. Like the Crown Point, the Granite Point is a custom-built, environmentally-friendly towboat that was specifically designed by CT Marine, Naval Architects and Marine Engineers of Edgecomb, Maine, to serve Tidewater’s customers.
Towboat Delivered to Tidewater Transportation & Terminals
Tidewater Transportation and Terminals, headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, has taken delivery of Crown Point, a new custom-built towboat commissioned at Portland’s Vigor Industrial. Crown Point is the first of a series of three towboats being built at Vigor for Tidewater, and will join the company’s current fleet of 16 vessels and 160 barges. Marc Schwartz, Maintenance & Engineering Manager at Tidewater, expressed, “The launching of the Crown Point, and the forthcoming Granite Point and Ryan Point vessels, marks an important step for Tidewater.
Foss Spill Costs $5M
Foss Maritime Co., which was responsible for a December 2003 oil spill that fouled shorelines in Snohomish and Kitsap counties, will pay nearly $577,000 in state penalties, Jay Manning, director of the Department of Ecology (Ecology), announced. "This spill was miniscule compared to the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska and the cleanup effort was aggressive, but the effects were still serious," Manning said. A Foss barge spilled approximately 4,700 gallons of heavy fuel oil while being filled at the ChevronTexaco terminal at Point Wells in Snohomish County just after midnight on Dec. 30, 2003. Oil washed onto shore at the terminal and drifted across Puget Sound to coat beaches and the Doe-kag-wats marsh on the northern shore of Port Madison.
