Why Tugboats are Important in Harbors

Tugboats are such important water voyaging vessels that even Walt Disney drew Mickey Mouse driving one while whistling a happy tune in 1940’s Tugboat Mickey. Although Tugboat Mickey was the spinoff of 1920’s Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie, the scene depicting Mickey driving boats have been reused in various media forms including a cameo in Disney’s Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

Although tugboats played a major part in both World Wars, it’s production have slowed down since. However, tugboats still remain a popular vessel, and many builders continue to develop the technology used in tugboats as well as restores and upgrades older boats.

Unlike other vessels, tugboats aren’t used to explore the open seas. Instead, tugboats are used for assisting large ships or vessels in maneuvering in and out of harbors. Tugboats are also used to tow barges, which are powerless vessels that cannot move themselves.

Ships, even tugboats, don’t have technology that is strong enough to move them sideways, so the role of tugboats is to guide them when docking or leaving a port. Through ship assist, a tugboat can help maneuver them on all sides, or provide additional pull for brakes.

The uses of tugboats are quite diverse, and builders have continued to work on them to modernize and upgrade their towing capabilities. In fact, tugboats today are a lot bigger and powerful than they were years ago.

Safe Seamanship in a Nutshell

Seamanship refers to the skill, practice, and techniques involved in handling a boat or ship at sea. It encompasses line handling, anchoring, navigation, troubleshooting, and safety. The first order of good seamanship is to know everything there is to know about your boat, including its layout, construction, capabilities, carrying capacity, and limitations. You also need to learn about its propulsion, electric systems, and how to deal with its common problems.

Knowing what your boat can handle is important for safe seamanship, and may even help reduce operational costs. Look at your boat’s manual and take note of its maximum carrying and load capacity, maximum fuel range, maximum speed and range at certain speeds, maximum draft, and economical cruising speed. If you can, learn about your boat’s wind and sea limitations as well.

You will also need to know local, state, and federal safety regulations. Keep in mind, the US Coast Guard and local agencies can board your boat at any time to check if you’re complying with the set safety equipment rules and regulations. Depending on the size of your boat, you may be required to have navigation lights, emergency flares, a sound signaling device, and a specific number of life jackets. Of course, the larger the vessel, the greater the requirements.

The Little Boat that Could

A tugboat may lack the majesty of a sailing ship or the awesomeness of a warship, but it doesn’t mean that it’s any less useful. This little ship’s appeal lies in its compact power. If ships were basketball players, the tugboat would be the 5-foot-8 point guard that directs the play. Its small size may lead you to believe that it can’t do much, but nothing can equal the tugboat’s ability.

The tugboat may not have speed, but it pretty much makes up for it in terms of raw power—power it uses to push, pull, and maneuver to full effect. Its measly six to nine knot top speed makes riding on it seem like a trip solely made for pleasure, but no. Tugboats move large ships. They move full barges. In fact, they move just about any sea-faring mode of transport there is.

On the Delaware, the Hudson, the Mississippi, and other parts of America’s waterway system, tugboats move over 600 million tons of goods in a year. Just think—tugboats can pull a gasoline barge at capacity, which is 2,400,000 gallons of gas. If that much gas was transported by land, that would require a convoy of tanker trucks that stretch for nearly three miles, bumper to bumper.

Now that you know better, next time, never underestimate the tugboat again.

Basic Steps to Take When Maneuvering a Tugboat

There are many ways in which tugboats help with the daily operations in the maritime world, particularly in and around docks. Generally, though, these functions revolve around hooking on to and maneuvering large vessels. Here are some general tips on how to do just that:

Hook your tug to the vessel by anchoring anywhere from one to three lines in the rear of your tug to the front of the vessel. Run the line to the cleats of the boat you will be pulling and secure the knot. Be sure to leave enough room between your tugboat and the other ship to ensure that you won’t get run over as you pull on it.

Push your tugboat’s nose up against the area of the vessel that should be moved. Make sure to have buoys in between your boat and the other vessel so that you don’t directly push against each other. Such buoys or pads should be rated safe for tugboat maneuvering.

With the tugboat in the right place, start the engine. Then, increase the power slowly but steadily. Make sure that you calculate just how much the vessel should move and adjust your acceleration accordingly. Post watchers who can tell you when to stop as you push and reposition the larger vessel.

The Humble Tug Boat: Small but Incredible

If there is one type of vessel that a harbor simply can’t do without, it would be the tugboat. This small craft may look unremarkable compared to the large, ocean-going vessels that usually dominate the harbor, but a tugboat is the only thing that can help large ships reach the harbor in the first place. As the name implies, this boat tows or tugs larger vessels that are too large and cumbersome to make turns, yaws, or other maneuvers.

Tugboats are also quite powerful for their size; they have a power-to-tonnage ratio of at least 4.0 while most passenger liners only have about 0.35 to 1.20. This power is extremely helpful when performing towing services such as “tug assists” which involve moving oil tankers and container ships using more than one tugboat. Aside from towing, tugboats can also serve as a platform for ice-breaking, firefighting, and even salvaging disabled ships.

These other functions are most apparent in tugboats that are designed and cleared to operate in large oceans and rough seas. Azimuth stern drive boats, for instance, have much better maneuverability that allow them to take on huge, strong waves. These vessels are particularly adept at moving large, immobile objects in the water like weather instruments, oil platforms, and ships that are deemed “dead in the water.”

The Many Uses of Workboats

A workboat is just that: a boat that’s used for work. It may be for transporting freight or for commercial fishing; as long as it’s not for leisure or naval service, it is considered a workboat. Among the most widely used of these hardworking vessels is the tugboat.

Tugboats are mainly used to tow larger ships and help them dock in harbors. They are comparatively smaller than ocean-going vessels and yet are able to move efficiently. These small workboats operate on heavy duty machinery which gives them enough power to carry on their tasks. 

Tugboats are usually built in three categories: seagoing tugs, escort tugs, and harbor tugs. Seagoing tugboats are primarily used for pulling structures for relocation like oil rigs and similarly huge objects. Escort tugs, on the other hand, are used to escort bigger vessels navigate canals, while harbor tugs are used to assist ships in and out of ports safely and securely.

These workboats are also used for rescuing disabled ships and towing them to the nearest harbor where they can be repaired. Hence, tugboats are a must in all of the world’s oceans, rivers, lakes and many other water basins. Without these ubiquitous small seacrafts, many bigger ships may not be able to navigate or reach their destination safely. Indeed, workboats like tugs do work hard for whatever purpose they are used.

Everything You Need to Know About Tugboats

While cars may have large tow trucks to lug them around if they break down on the road, ships have tugboats. Unlike tow trucks, though, tugboats are comparatively smaller than the ships they tow. Tugs go to show that size doesn’t matter since they are powerful enough to haul large disabled ships, barges, and even oil platforms.

There are three types of tug boats: ocean or seagoing tugboats, river tugboats, and harbor tugboats. Ocean or seagoing tugs, as their name suggests, are used in the ocean and thus are especially made more durable so they can handle the occasionally difficult conditions of the waters. River tugboats are much like seagoing tugs, only they’re designed to be used in freshwater.

On the other hand, harbor tugboats provide assistance to large ships. Although large ships don’t have any trouble moving forward or backwards, they generally have trouble maneuvering sideways, hence the need for a “tug assist.” One or two harbor tug boats usually guide the ship in maneuvering sideways.

Aside from being tow trucks of the river or sea, some tugboats also function as rescue boats or icebreakers. Most also have firefighting monitors which allow them to help in fighting harbor fires.

Choosing the Right Tugboats for Your Business

A tugboat business can be a highly profitable venture. Tugboats are very important in the maritime industry and are necessary to the operation of other vessels, such as large ships and barges. Tugs supply the added power and maneuverability other vessels need, especially through difficult and narrow waterways, or during malfunctions and operational problems.

In starting a tugboat business, one of the things you need to do is to find the right tugs; there are several kinds of tugboats to serve different functions. You have to determine the type of tugboat operation that you want, then build your tugboat fleet accordingly. The construction and the power of the tugs needed for river operations are very different from those needed for the ocean. Likewise, harbor tugs, or those used to tow ships around harbors, have features designed specifically for maneuvering in crowded ports.

The recent thrust in environment-friendly tugs gives you additional options on tugboat engine designs. In addition to tugs run by traditional diesel engines, you may also consider those which run through hybrid engines. A hybrid-engine tug is powered by a battery that is charged by the tug’s diesel engine. Once the battery is fully charged, the diesel engine automatically shuts off, thus decreasing the tug’s consumption of diesel. Furthermore, new tugboats being built for sale in the future are designed to run on more environmentally-friendly fuel such as liquefied natural gas or LNG.

ASD Tugboats: Power, Maneuverability, and Efficiency in One

Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) tugboats are known for their power and maneuverability. This is why they are used for towing other large sea-faring vessels. An ASD tug has enough power to either drag or push another vehicle easily, and without making too much noise. Compared to other tugs, an ASD is more electrically efficient and costs less to maintain.

As mentioned earlier, ASD tugs have exceptional maneuverability. They are able to move in any direction and boast a propulsion system that allows the tug to maneuver in potentially tricky situations. An ASD is designed to move with the much-needed flexibility needed when towing very large objects. Efficiency is not sacrificed, and neither is control: ASD tugs are easy to operate, are very responsive for their size, and can be easily controlled.

These are the reasons why ASDs are often used to do escort towing. An ASD is a powerful machine that is capable of dragging an object that weighs up to 65 tons. Another important thing to note is that ASDs remain stable, even when conditions are less than ideal, i.e. when the ocean is choppy. ASDs are tough tugboats that are designed to endure all kinds of weather conditions.

 

Tugboats as Workboats: Know these Workhorses

Workboats, as the name suggests, are used for work, and not for military, transportation or recreational purposes. Tugboats, which are essentially workboats, are small yet very powerful boats  that can maneuver vessels by pushing or towing them. They move ships that either cannot move by themselves, such as oil platforms, log rafts and disabled ships that need rescue; or should not move by themselves, since they are in narrow channels or a crowded harbor. There are three kinds of tugboats: harbor tugs, escort tugs and seagoing tugs.

Harbor tugs, or lunch bucket boats, are multiple-utility boats. They tow and assist vessels in and out of ports. They can pull barges or dead ships along ports or inside waterways like rivers and canals. Escort tugs are used to accompany large vessels along narrow, dangerous passages. They can either attach themselves to the bow to pull the other boat forward or at the stern to slow it down. Seagoing tugs can perform a variety of tasks from towing or salvaging a grounded vessel to pulling offshore drilling platforms.

If you’re in the marine industry, a tugboat is a valuable investment you should have. Modern tugboat manufacturers now follow quality construction methods, use high-tech equipment and have an experienced team of tugboat manufacturing experts in their shipyards. This assures you that you get only tugboats that are sturdy, highly manueverable and reliable.