Great Lakes Towing has placed an order for two harbour tugs with its sister company, Great Lakes Shipyard in Cleveland, extending its newbuild series to 12 vessels.
Great Lakes Towing said deliveries are scheduled for late 2027 and early 2028. The vessels will be hulls 11 and 12 of its ice-capable tug series.
The 19.5-metre tugs will each have a beam of 7.3 meters. They are designed for harbour work in the Great Lakes’ narrow waterways and winter conditions.
Each tug will be powered by two Cummins QSK38 1,000hp (750kW) Tier III engines. The vessels will have a top speed of 11 knots and 30 tons of bollard pull.
The engines will drive 1.8-metre, Kaplan-style three-bladed propellers in Kort nozzles via Twin Disc MGX-5321 gearboxes. Two Kohler 65EOZCJ marine generator sets, each rated at 65 kW, will supply auxiliary power.
Deck equipment will include a DMT Marine Equipment CE-30KN 3 capstan and Schuyler fendering. The tugs will also be fitted with two Griswold HH 4X3 firefighting pumps and an Ansul Sapphire FM-200 suppression system.
Each tug will carry 7,000 gallons (26,000 litres) of fuel. Freshwater and lube oil capacities will be 1,200 gallons (4,500 litres) and 290 gallons (1,100 litres), respectively.
Specified electronics include Furuno DRS 6AX radar and a TZT16F chart display, a Simrad AP70 autopilot and two Icom M506 radios.