This US Army tug offers versatile utility with Cummins marine propulsion.

Built for an important task

Modern-day naval architects are accustomed to accommodating a number of design parameters. Tullio Celano, of Crescere Marine, recently took on an unusual set of design specs for a new tug. The US Army Corps of Engineers wanted a little 26-foot tug to handle the bulkhead stoplog at the Little Goose Dam. The dam, on the Snake River in the State of Washington, is a run of the river electrical facility and the stoplog is required to keep floating objects from entering the penstocks - an important task.

The specifications for the tug were complex: Firstly, the little tug would have an operating draft of only five feet. It was also required to have an elevated height of eye for the operator. In addition, it would have to be able to be legally transported on state highways by truck, so the beam was limited to 13.5 feet.

Cummins 6.7QSB provides power to the tug's utility

This is a tug, and it will be doing a tug’s work. As such, the vessel is designed for a bollard pull of 11.000 pounds. To achieve this, the 602-bhp tug is powered by a pair of 301-bhp Cummins 6.7 QSB keel cooled engines. Each engine turns an open, 4-blade, 32 by 20-inch, Workhorse propeller through a ZF 325-I gear with 2.957:1 reduction.

The tug is fitted with tankage for 350 US gallons of fuel. It complies with 2020 ABS Marine Vessel Rules for structures, and the USCG CFR rules for towing stability at full power. Launch and sea trials were carried out at the builder, Willie and Carol Toristoja’s WCT Marine’s Tongue Point facility. A launch ramp for the former Tongue Point seaplane base on the Columbia River near the Port of Astoria, Oregon was utilized for the launch at the end of January 2021.