Cooper Group welcomes new escort tug to fleet

The Cooper Group of Companies recently took delivery of a new escort tug that will perform ship assist operations in the Port of Savannah in Georgia.

Built by Blakeley BoatWorks of Mobile, Alabama, the tug has been named Angus R. Cooper II in honour of the Cooper Group’s longtime Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. It will be operated by Cooper subsidiary Crescent Towing.

The vessel is the first in a series of ship assist tugs that Blakeley BoatWorks is building for Crescent Towing. Design work was completed by Crowley Engineering Services in compliance to ABS class rules.

Angus R. Cooper II has a length of 92 feet (28 metres), a beam of 38 feet (11.5 metres), a draught of only 19 inches (0.48 metre), and two Caterpillar 3516E US EPA Tier IV-compliant engines that each produce 3,004 hp (2,240 kW) and drive Kongsberg Maritime 255 fixed-pitch azimuthing drives.

The tug also has a main engine-driven firefighting pump and two monitors.