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To support growing Arctic business, Seattle-based Foss Maritime Company is building three ocean-going tugs at its Rainier Shipyard in Oregon on the Columbia River. These 132 feet-long, Ice Class vessels will have strength- ened hulls designed to withstand the harsh, Arctic climate conditions into which they will eventually be deployed. Work on the tugs began in July, and the fi rst in the series will be delivered in December 2014. With roughly 1,000 employees, Foss now has 175 people working in Alaska and the Arctic, servicing oil and gas, mining and other sec- tors. The company has a positive, long-term view of the region’s business climate. Founded in 1889, Foss maintains one of the largest U.S. West Coast fl eets of tugs and barges, and has transporta- tion operations in all major ports there. The company runs two shipyards and offers maritime services and proj- ect management to customers in the Pacifi c Rim, Europe, South America and around the globe. Last month, MarineNews spoke to Mike Lauer, Foss’s director of marine transportation; and Dan Cole, project manager for Arctic tug construction, about the new vessels and the environment where they’ll work. Lauer said Foss decided to build the three boats as part of its ocean-tug- fl eet replacement and modernization program. “We chose this class of tugs based on our view of immediate demand and where they’ll fi t in our fl eet mix,” he said from Seattle. The Foss world fl eet contains over 150 vessels, including twelve vessels in the Arctic. Eight of those are Arctic tugs. Expanding Shipyard Capabilities Dan Cole said the company’s Rainier shipyard expand- ed to build the new tugs. “Through improvements to the yard, we increased our fabrication areas and have hired ad- ditional staff,” he said. “We started cutting steel in June of this year and laid all the keels in July. We’re proceeding with construction for deliveries in December 2014, Dec. 2015, and Dec. 2016.” As for customers, “we have oil and gas projects we’ve been awarded, and plan to use these three, new tugboats for those projects,” Lauer said. “Pri- mary, initial areas of deployment will be projects associated with Alaska and the Arctic.” Cole noted that the three tugs under construction are designed to work anywhere around the globe. State-of-the-Art, Built to Last The tugs have special environmental capabilities. “They are classed with the American Bureau of Shipping, includ- ing Ice Class and Green Passport,” Lauer said. “Ice Class means these tugs can operate in light ice conditions. They can negotiate through light, fi rst-year ice. But they aren’t designed to break ice. They’re able to operate in cold am- bient air and sea water temperatures.” The tugs will have Green Passports or inventories of hazardous materials. Those documents are intended to keep workers on board, or when a ship is decommissioned, free from exposure to asbestos, PCBs and other threats. “The tugs will be certifi ed for SOLAS, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea requirements,” Lauer said. SOLAS requirements include on-board rescue boats and maritime, electrical and fi re safety systems and devices. Beyond this, the new tugs will incorporate the lat- est technology for harsh Arctic conditions. “To reduce the exposure of employees who are working on deck, making or breaking tows or handling anchors, we’ve added shark jaws, tugger winches and tow wire hold-down hooks,” Lauer said. Notably, the three tugs will have Markey dou- ble drum TDSD-40 diesel towing winches and have a bol- lard pull of 100 metric tons. “These winches integrate safety features, like the slip- brake mechanism that accommodates momentary high loads in the tow wire, along with a back-up, electric come- home feature that allows us to always safely haul in the tow wire,” Lauer said. Cole said the vessels will be certifi ed by the U.S. Coast Guard in accordance with 46 Code of Federal Regulations, Subchapter C, for uninspected ves- ARCTIC OPERATIONS Upbeat on the Arcticpbeat on the Arctic Foss Maritime Builds New Ice-Class Tugs as it embarks on a new Arctic Challenge. By Susan Buchanan www.marinelink.com MN 31 MN JAN14 Layout 18-31.indd 31 12/20/2013 10:08:24 AM
