Tractor Tug Begins Service

Boston’s newest and most powerful harbor tug has been christened, crewed up and has started serving customers of Constellation Maritime Co.

The tug Leo is a 78-foot, 5,000 horsepower Dolphin-Class vessel built at Foss Rainier Shipyard in Oregon. The brand new ASD-powered tug arrived in Boston on March 7 along with the Orion, a 3,000 horsepower, 95 foot Voith-powered tractor formerly in service for Foss Maritime on the Columbia River. Together, the two high-powered tugs give Constellation, a Foss subsidiary, a one-two punch that amounts to a significant competitive edge in handling ship assists, harbor work, and future tanker escorts.

Constellation deck and engine room personnel have been working with Foss trainers in Boston and Long Beach, Calif., to become familiar with operation and maintenance of the two vessels. Massachusetts State Commissioned Harbor Pilots also have joined training sessions to learn how to best use the tugs. The Leo was christened during a reception attended by about 150 people at the Boston Harbor Hotel on April 19. Among the guests were customers, local dignitaries, U.S. Coast Guard and Navy officials, pilots, and representatives of Foss and its parent company, Marine Resources Group. Constellation was acquired last year by Foss Maritime, one of the nation’s leading tug-barge companies, with harbor services and marine transportation bases in all major ports on the U.S. West Coast.