A Night on the Tugboat Lynne Moran May 24, 2019
I had the great fortune to be invited to be aboard a Moran tugboat to photograph as the largest container ship to visit Baltimore, Maryland, the Evergreen Triton, arrived. Because of the variables of maritime shipping it was not known exactly when she would arrive until hours before. Once it was known, I was instructed to be at the Moran Towing office at midnight to do some necessary paperwork and then be taken aboard the tugboat Lynne Moran.
The Lynne Moran is a 5,100hp tractor tug with a pair of Z-drive thrusters which can turn 360 degrees and eliminates the need for rudders. She was built in 2005 by Washburn & Doughty of East Boothbay, Maine, USA. She measures 92’ x 32’ and is powered by a pair of EMD 12-645F7B diesel engines. The April Moran is nearly identical.
At every step during the process everyone I was in touch with clearly made sure I was informed as to what to expect and what was expected of me. They also went out of their way to accommodate me. I could see that safety is the number one priority for Moran. After completing the paperwork I was driven to the pier where the tugboats are kept which also happens to be where the Liberty Ship John W. Brown lives.
I put on a provided life jacket in order to board the tugboat and then was given a tour of the tugboat while also being shown what I can expect while aboard, what is expected of me, and more safety information. From the outside these tugs don’t look very big and part of that may be due to the fact that their purpose in life is to work with much larger ships. However, there is a kitchen large enough for the entire crew of four to comfortably move about. There is a smallish crew cabin for each member and two bathrooms, one of which has a washer/dryer. This provides plenty of space for the crew during their two weeks off and two weeks on rotations.
The bridge is also surprisingly spacious and provides a 360 degree view and has a command chair that looks more like that of a fictional starship than one would expect. There’s no wheel but rather controls on either side of the chair to control each of the Z-drive azipods. There are screens in various positions in line of sight providing various needed information. When underway at night the bridge is kept dark with the exception of a blue light that could be turned on if needed for paperwork.
I was next given a tour of the engine room which like the rest of the tugboat is surprisingly roomy but no space was wasted. I was shown how the power is transferred from the two big diesel engines to the two Z drives by big blue machines in the aft section of the tugboat. It should not surprise anyone that this is a noisy and hot area.
Right on cue at the end of my tour at about 12:40am the first call came in. The Lynne Moran was to assist a tug and barge combo move from one location to another. After some paperwork was completed we undocked and headed for Curtis Bay. It was a clear and calm night and mostly cloudless. City lights glimmered from all directions during our quiet cruise. After a time the moon made its appearance. We encountered no other traffic on the Patapsco river but several ships were in town, some were silhouettes outlined by their lights and those beyond and some were illuminated.
We found the ATB (Articulated Tug and Barge) Skipjack with barge Penn No. 91 owned by Kirby Maritime. The Lynne Moran was attached by line to the starboard bow of the barge and assisted in the process of undocking and turning. The ATB swung around stern first and once facing its intended direction the Lynne Moran was detached and then escorted to Locust Point just past Fort McHenry. Just prior to turning to her intended destination the tug was re-attached, this time on the port bow of the barge, and began again the maneuvering process to assist the Skipjack and barge to dock. I found it utterly fascinating how much of a slow dance the entire process is with alternating between pushing and pulling as needed.
It was now about 2:30am when the Skipjack and Penn No. 91 were safely tucked in for the night. It hardly seemed like that much time had passed! We turned and headed outbound on the Patapsco river and passed under the Key bridge to await the arrival of the Evergreen Triton. Please click here to read about that part of the night!
The crew aboard the tug, Captain Wesley “Wes” Southworth, Mate Eddie Lucas, Engineer Eric Hardison and Deckhand Blake Hadel made the extraordinary look easy and routine as experienced professionals will. Some information provided by Tugboat Information.com. Click here to see more photos I took during this night.
