By Bruce Buls, Technical Editor
To hear all the talk, you'd think that we're in the midst of
the biggest surge in the history of modern tug
construction.
We may well be.
Marcon International , Coupeville, Wash., published a market
assessment last spring from Jack Gaston, who described it as a
tug building "frenzy." In a recent Marcon newsletter, company
president Bob Beegle took issue with Gaston's choice of words
because it implies irrationality. "The newbuilding 'flurry' we
see," wrote Beegle, "is due to a number of factors that
normally do not all come into play at the same time" that
include congested ports with increasingly large ships and
tankers, new and expanding LNG and oil terminals, and large,
new OPA '90 double-skin barges that require high-horsepower
tugs to handle them. "If you mix all of this into a pot and
stir in an aged fleet and relatively inexpensive worldwide
financing, you can begin to see less 'madness' and more
rational reasons for the surge in [worldwide]
newbuildings."
CYCLES
Barry Griffin, a manufacturer's representative for Markey
Machinery , Seattle, and Puget Sound Rope , Anacortes, Wash.,
has been working with tug owners and builders for over 20
years. He agrees that the boom is unprecedented, and attributes
it to three factors - war, metal fatigue in the marine
environment, and technological improvements.
World War II, in particular, according to Griffin,
contributed greatly to the tug building cycle. After the war
ended, many ships and tugs built for the war entered the
commercial market. Then, 20 to 30 years later, the tugs had to
be replaced, which increased tug construction in the late
1960s. Now, many of those tugs have reached the end of their
useful lives and are being replaced in turn. Added to that are
the significant advances in technology that make new tugs so
attractive: powerful, compact engines, Z-drives, and
sophisticated equipment like render-recover winches.
There is also the growth factor referred to by Beegle. As
the country imports more manufactured products and crude oil,
the ports are jammed with ever-larger containerships and
tankers.
"It's a matter of energy," said Griffin. "You can't handle
these ships any other way [than with powerful, modern tugs].
They're very large, they're very 'windy' as they don't have
much draft versus their height, and they're often carrying
dangerous cargo."
Successfully competing for ship-handling business requires
the right equipment. "Everybody is positioning themselves,"
said Griffin. "Who's going to have a share of the market? You
can use these contracts to get the equipment. And if you build
good tugs, they're going to be making money for you for 30
years."
One company that is still profiting from equipment built 30
years ago is Wilmington Tug , Wilmington, Del. In 1977, company
president Hick Rowland built the first Z-drive tug in the
country, the Tina . Chris Rowland, Hick's son and company
treasurer, said they replaced the Z-drives and repowered the
Tina in 2005 and now "she's basically a brand new boat and is
still a fantastic boat for us. We're lucky that we're here on
the Delaware River in fresh water, so the hull is in perfect
shape."
Late last year, Wilmington took delivery of its latest
tractor tug, the Sonie , an 80 '× 32 SSSq Z-drive designed by
Robert Allan Ltd. and built by Washburn & Doughty .
Early next year, Wilmington Tug will get its sixth tractor
tug, another 80-footer designed by Robert Allan.
Rowland said his company handles about 50 percent of the
crude oil tankers that come up the Delaware to the area's seven
refineries. "The number of ships is down," he said, "but the
tonnage is up. The ships and tankers are bigger." With the
larger tankers, in particular, the need for more tugs has also
grown.
"Sunoco has four of the seven refineries here on the river,
and for their VLCCs that come in - which we handle - they
require an escort of three tugs for the last 15 miles of the
transit, and that's not something they were forced to do, it
SSRq s just something that they decided that they ought to do,
SDRq Rowland continued.
"For years, the oil industry said 'safety first,' but now
instead of just preaching safety, they really are looking to
improve safety across all areas, so we've had some benefit from
that."
ATB GROWTH
Another segment that's undergoing impressive growth is
articulated tug-barges for the Jones Act refined petroleum
transport market.
Crowley Maritime Corp., Jacksonville, Fla., has been
investing heavily in ATBs, which the company now operates on
all three coasts. In August, Crowley christened the Resolve and
Barge 650-3 , the seventh ATB combo in the company fleet. A
pair of Wärtsilä heavy-fuel engines producing 9,280 hp powers
the 135 '× 42 SSSq x24 SSSq tug. The barge measures 587 '× 74
'× 40 SSSq and has a capacity of 185,000 bbls. Intercon
connectors join the tug and barge.
Built by VT Halter Marine , the latest Crowley ATB will be
followed by seven more, which will give Crowley a total of 14
by late 2010.
U.S. Shipping Partners LP, Edison, N.J., a relatively new
player in the oil transport business, took delivery recently of
its first ATB, the Freeport/Chemical Transporter . Designed by
Guarino & Cox , Covington, La., the 12,000-hp, 150 '× 46
SSSq tug pushes the loaded, 521 '× 72 '× 41 SSSq , 140,000-bbl.
barge at 14 knots. (See page 34.) U.S. Shipping Partners plans
on adding four more ATBs, with the tugs being built at Eastern
Shipbuilding Group , Panama City, Fla., and the barges at Bay
Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wis.
Overseas Shipbuilding Group Inc., New York, is also
expanding its ATB fleet in a big way after purchasing Maritrans
' fleet of 21 ATBs and handysize product tankers last year.
Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co. Inc., Mobile, Ala., and
its affiliated company, Tampa Bay Shipbuilding and Repair , are
in the process of building six 12,000-hp tugs and six barges
that will each carry up to 342,000 bbls. of petroleum
products.
Other companies that have recently added new ATBs or have
ATB newbuilding projects in the works include Bouchard
Coastwise Management Corp., Penn Maritime , Vane Brothers ,
Moran Towing Corp., and Reinauer Transportation .
"The ATB market still looks pretty darn good," said Sal
Guarino, a partner at Guarino & Cox. "We still get lots in
inquiries. And it appears that people are talking about bigger
and better ones. They're several projects floating around for
large tugs and barges. We've already done one that's 240,000
barrels, and I think it's OSG that's doing 350,000.
"I think this will be a good market until all single-skin
barges are eliminated."
Bob Hill of Ocean Tug & Barge Engineering , Milford,
Mass., is also busy designing ATBs for a variety of clients,
mostly oil transporters. He would like to extend the concept,
however, to other industries, including the offshore oil and
gas business. He envisions one tug working several barges that
get shuttled between land and the offshore platforms.
"Having multiple barges for each tug was the original idea
for ATBs that were going to make them the cat's meow," said
Guarino. "You could drop a barge off and pick up a load while
the light one is being loaded. Originally that's what ATBs were
supposed to be for, but really they're just rule-beaters
now."
SHIP ASSIST
While ATB activity is certainly eating up plenty of shipyard
slots, it's ship-assist and tanker-escort tugs that comprise
most of the current boom in tug construction. For example,
Nichols Brothers Boat Builders , Freeland, Wash., just
delivered the Valor , the first of five 6,800-hp, 100 '× 40
SSSq Z-drive harbor/escort tugs. Originally constructed for
BayDelta Maritime , San Francisco, the tug has been painted
red-and-white after being chartered by Crowley Maritime.
BayDelta originally ordered two of the 100-footers, and Crowley
will be chartering both. The second will be delivered in
December.
Minette Bay Shipdocking Ltd. in Prince Rupert, British
Columbia, is purchasing the third of the 100-footers. The final
pair will be taken by BayDelta to replace the two chartered by
Crowley.
The new tugs were designed by Jensen Maritime Consultants .
In addition to the five boats at Nichols, Seattle-based JMC has
designed a 96 '× 34 SSSq ship-assist tug for McAllister Towing
, New York, six of which have been built at Eastern
Shipbuilding. Two more are on the way.
Jonathan Parrott, president of JMC, said that McAllister is
also looking at something similar to the tugs currently being
built at Nichols, only a little larger (104 SSSq × 42 SSSq )
and slightly more powerful (7,000 hp).
Four of JMC's 96-footers have also been built at Eastern for
E.N. Bisso & Son and four for Seabulk Towing .
Moran Towing has also jumped on the bandwagon and is having
a JMC-designed 86 '× 36 SSSq Z-drive built at C&G Boat
Works , Mobile, Ala. Moran is also continuing its newbuild
program with more ship-assist/escort tugs designed and built at
Washburn & Doughty, which is also building a pair of ATB
tugs for Moran, a first for both companies.
Another JMC project that demonstrates the current strength
of the tug market is the development of a 3,000-hp, 74 '× 30
SSSq tug being built by Great Lakes Towing , Cleveland. Known
more as a tug operator, Great Lakes will build the tugs both
for themselves and for other operators. The design can be built
with either Z-drives or conventional twin-screws.
Regarding the future of the tug market, Parrott said, "I
think the frenzy will die out, but I think it will be a pretty
solid market probably for another four to five years. Then
we'll see. We've got lots of tractor and harbor tugs being
built, but the industry still needs some line-haul boats.
SDRq
Griffin agrees with the prospect of more conventional ocean
tugs. "I think we're going to see the rebirth of the
traditional oceangoing tug. All the major companies are talking
about big ocean-class towing vessels and have a boat or two on
the drawing boards."
No matter what the region or the application, tug companies
all across the U.S. are prospering and investing in a new
generation of boats and gear in order to stay competitive. As
Chris Rowland at Wilmington Tug put it, "We're always looking
to grow. You've got to always keep growing. As soon as you
don't, that's when the other guys catch up to you."