Great Lakes Towing Completes Ten-Tug Fleet Renewal With Puerto Rico
Damen Stan Tug 1907 ICE design built under licence in Cleveland since 2016
Nearly a decade after The Great Lakes Towing Company began replacing older boats with a new generation of harbour tugs, the Cleveland-based operator has reached the end of that build programme.
Puerto Rico, christened in Cleveland in May, is the tenth and final tug in the fleet renewal launched in 2016. It was built by sister company Great Lakes Shipyard to the Stan Tug 1907 ICE design from Damen Shipyards of Gorinchem in the Netherlands.
The company has no firm plans for another newbuild at present, but expects its relationship with Damen to continue as it evaluates the fleet for replacement needs and opportunities to expand.
The programme dates to August 2016, when Great Lakes Shipyard laid the first keels for the series at its Cleveland yard. The operator had entered a licensing agreement with Damen the previous year, allowing the US yard to build Damen designs with engineering and technical support from the Dutch shipbuilder. The first tug in the series, Cleveland, was delivered in 2017. That licensing structure is what made the programme possible under US build requirements, giving an American yard access to a proven European design without the vessels losing domestic status.
Puerto Rico was christened on 28 May along the Cuyahoga River, with Transportation Institute president Sara Fuentes serving as vessel sponsor. Built for harbour towing, cargo transportation and icebreaking, the tug measures 64 by 24 by 11 feet and carries a crew of two. Power comes from a pair of Cummins QSK38 Tier III engines rated at 1,000 hp each, driving three-bladed 71-inch Kaplan-style propellers in Kort nozzles through Twin Disc MGX-5321 gearboxes. The tug has a reported top speed of 11 knots and 30 tons of bollard pull. Two Kohler 65EOZCJ gensets, each rated at 65 kW, provide auxiliary power.
On deck the tug carries a DMT Marine Equipment CE-30KN3 capstan and Schuyler fendering, with an electronics package comprising Furuno radar, chart display, satellite compass and AIS, a Simrad AP70 autopilot and two Icom M506 radios. Tankage covers 7,000 gallons of fuel, 1,200 gallons of fresh water and 290 gallons of lube oil, and firefighting equipment includes two Griswold pumps and an Ansul Sapphire FM-200 suppression system. The design was selected with Great Lakes service in mind, including work in tight waterways and operations through the regional winter, and the vessels were built to ABS class and US Coast Guard Subchapter M requirements.
