Yesterday, Great Lakes Towing Company and Great Lakes Shipyard christened two new tugs, the 2,000-hp Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, at the companies' Cleveland facilities. The christening event was live streamed.
“Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, it is remarkable that the towing company has persevered with the successful completion of these two new tugs, despite the adversity the pandemic brought to bear, not only on us, but the industry, not to mention the country, and the entire world. The towing company, as always, showed its resilience and its resolve to muscle through these difficult conditions,” said Joe Starck, Great Lakes Towing Company’s president.
The newly constructed tugs are the fourth and fifth tugs in a series of 10 64-foot Damen 1907 ICE design harbor tugs that Great Lakes Shipyard is building for Great Lakes Towing’s operations. The 64’x24’x11’ tugs are powered by two 1,000-hp MTU 8V4000 Tier 3 diesel engines, and generate over 30 tons of bollard pull. Their propulsion systems include the Canal Marine-designed Logan FlexaDrive Hybrid power system, allowing the tugs to operate on electric power while at idle, underway at low speeds, or when under low loads, without the need to utilize the main engines, thereby reducing emissions and the cost of engine maintenance. The tugs’ compact size and high maneuverability make them ideal for the narrow waterways and low bridges that characterize harbor towing on the Great Lakes.
The sixth tug, not yet named, is slated for a summer 2021 completion. Additional follow-on tugs of the same design are available for purchase by third-party buyers.
