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.
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