A third new hybrid tug for the Great Lakes Towing Company

The Great Lakes Towing Company celebrated its 120th anniversary by welcoming its newest vessel, Tug Michigan, on July 23.

Carolyn Watkins, who is in charge of the Office of Environmental Education at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA), officiated the naming the new tugboat. Watkins helped Great Lakes Towing to obtain funding assistance through the Ohio EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant Program.

The newly constructed Tug Michigan is the third in a series of five harbour tugs that the Great Lakes Shipyard is building for Great Lakes Towing. Powered by highly efficient Tier III diesel engines with a hybrid propulsion system, the tug can operate exclusively on electric power while idling, traveling at low speeds, or transporting minimal loads. The lack of need for the main engines under these circumstances reduces fuel use, the related air emissions as well as engine  maintenance costs.

The Tug Cleveland and Tug Ohio were the first vessels built in this new series as part of the company’s fleet renewal program. The fourth,  Tug Pennsylvania, will be completed late this fall. The fifth tug, still unnamed, is slated for a spring 2020 completion.