A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, such as in crowded harbors or narrow canals, or cannot move at all, such as barges, disabled ships, log rafts, or oil platforms. Some are ocean-going, and some are icebreakers or salvage tugs. Early models were powered by steam engines, which were later superseded by diesel engines. Many have deluge gun water jets, which help in firefighting, especially in harbours.
The Voith Schneider Propeller (VSP) is a specialized marine propulsion system (MPS) manufactured by the Voith Group based on a cyclorotor design. It is highly maneuverable, being able to change the direction of its thrust almost instantaneously. It is widely used on tugs and ferries.
William Lyon Mackenzie, is a fireboat operated by Toronto Fire Services (TFS) which provides marine fire fighting and icebreaking capabilities within the Toronto Harbour. Built by Russel Brothers in 1964, it is named after William Lyon Mackenzie, the first mayor of Toronto. In 2004 the fireboat was refurbished and it is expected to be in service until 2037.
The Royal Canadian Navy uses hull classification symbols to identify the types of its ships, which are similar to the United States Navy's hull classification symbol system. The Royal Navy and some European and Commonwealth navies use a somewhat analogous system of pennant numbers.
Bollard pull is a conventional measure of the pulling power of a watercraft. It is defined as the force exerted by a vessel under full power, on a shore-mounted bollard through a tow-line, commonly measured in a practical test under test conditions that include calm water, no tide, level trim, and sufficient depth and side clearance for a free propeller stream. Like the horsepower or mileage rating of a car, it is a convenient but idealized number that must be adjusted for operating conditions that differ from the test. The bollard pull of a vessel may be reported as two numbers, the static or maximum bollard pull – the highest force measured – and the steady or continuous bollard pull, the average of measurements over an interval of, for example, 10 minutes. An equivalent measurement on land is known as drawbar pull, or tractive force, which is used to measure the total horizontal force generated by a locomotive, a piece of heavy machinery such as a tractor, or a truck,, which is utilized to move a load.
CFAV Tillicum is a harbour tug of the King's Harbour Master. She is stationed at CFB Esquimalt, on Vancouver Island.
The Glen-class tug is a class of naval tugboat operated by the Royal Canadian Navy. Constructed in Canada, the class entered service between 1975 and 1977. The five vessels that comprise the class are split between the two major naval bases of the Royal Canadian Navy. The Royal Canadian Navy operated a fleet of tugboats during the Second World War which were also named the Glen class. The vessels of the current Glen class are each named after one of the vessels of the earlier class.
CFAV Firebrand is a Fire-class fireboat in the Royal Canadian Navy designed by Robert Allan Ltd. Firebrand is based in CFB Esquimalt, on Vancouver Island. Her sister ship CFAV Firebird was based in CFB Halifax and decommissioned in 2014.
CFAV Firebird was a Fire-class fireboat in the Royal Canadian Navy designed by Robert Allan Ltd. Firebird was based in CFB Halifax, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her sister ship CFAV Firebrand is based in CFB Esquimalt.
The Fire-class fireboats/yard tractor tugs were two fireboats operated by the Royal Canadian Navy. The two vessels are CFAV Firebrand and CFAV Firebird.
An emergency tow vessel, also called emergency towing vessel, (ETV) is a multi purpose boat used by state authorities to tow disabled vessels on high seas in order to prevent dangers to man and environment. The disabled vessel is either towed to a safe haven or kept in place against wind and current until commercial assistance by tug boats has arrived on site or until it has been repaired to the extent of being able to manoeuvre on its own. The need for ETVs as a preventive measure has arisen since the number of available commercial salvage tugs was reduced while potential dangers from individual vessels have increased. E.g. Spain has fourteen, Turkey has eleven, Germany operates eight, Norway has seven, France has five, Sweden three and the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Iceland and Finland each have one official emergency tug boat. Australia also operates emergency response vessels. The United Kingdom's four strong ETV fleet was to be disbanded in September 2011 due to budget cuts but the two vessels operating in Scottish waters received an extension of contract until the end of 2011.
USNS Sioux (T-ATF-171) was a United States Navy Powhatan-class tugboat operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC). She was in service from 1981 to 2021 and spent the bulk of this time supporting the Pacific Fleet.
The Powhatan class of fleet ocean tugs consists of seven ships built for the United States Navy, and operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC). The lead ship of the class was launched in 1978 and the last ship in MSC service will be deactivated in 2023. During their service life, the Powhatan's were the most powerful tugs owned by the Navy.
The Bandicoot class was a ship class of two minesweeper tugboats operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). MSA Bandicoot and MSA Wallaroo were built in 1982 for Maritime (PTE) Ltd. as the tugboats Grenville VII and Grenville V. In 1990, the RAN purchased the vessels for conversion into auxiliary minesweepers under the Craft of Opportunity Program (COOP). The vessels could be equipped with a sidescan sonar and various towed minesweeping arrays, and also functioned as berthing tugs. Both vessels were placed in reserve in 2010, but were deployed on several occasions since to provide berthing support to nuclear-powered warships. They were removed from naval service in 2014.
The Bhim class of tugboats is a class of service watercraft built by Tebma Shipyard Limited, a subsidiary of Bharati Shipyard Ltd, for the Indian Navy.
The Type V ship is a United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) designation for World War II tugboats. Type V was used in World War II, Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Type V ships were used to move ships and barges. Type V tugboats were made of either steel or wood hulls. There were four types of tugboats ordered for World War II. The largest type V design was the sea worthy 186-foot (57 m) long steel hull, V4-M-A1. The V4-M-A1 design was used by a number of manufacturers; a total of 49 were built. A smaller steel hull tugboat was the 94-foot (29 m) V2-ME-A1; 26 were built. The largest wooden hull was the 148-foot (45 m) V3-S-AH2, of which 14 were built. The smaller wooden hull was the 58-foot (18 m) V2-M-AL1, which 35 were built. Most V2-M-AL1 tugboats were sent to the United Kingdom for the war efforts under the lend-lease act. The Type V tugs served across the globe during World War II including: Pacific War, European theatre, and in the United States. SS Farallon, and other Type V tugs, were used to help built Normandy ports, including Mulberry harbour, on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and made nine round trips to Normandy to deliver Phoenix breakwaters.
The IRS class of tugboats are a series of Bollard pull tugboats built by Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam, for the Indian Navy.
Splinter fleet or Splinter navy was a nickname given to the United States wooden boats used in World War II. The boats served in many different roles during the war. These boats were built in small boatyards on the West coast and East coast, Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. They could be built quickly, in just 60 to 120 days. Most of the boats were built by boatyards that already had the tools and knowledge from building yachts, sailboats and motor boats. Many were built by craftsmen in family-owned small businesses. Under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program and War Shipping Administration contracts went out to over fifty boatyards across the country. The boats were built for the US Navy, the United States Army Air Forces, United States Coast Guard, and US Army. Some of the wooden boats went to Allied nations on the Lend-Lease program.
The Naval Large Tugboat is a class of naval tugboat operated by the Royal Canadian Navy. Four Naval Large Tugboats (NLT) are being built by Ocean Industries Inc. of L'Isle-aux-Coudres under the National Shipbuilding Strategy. The first two tugboats will be based at CFB Esquimalt, and last two will be based at CFB Halifax. The steel cutting for the first NLT commenced in September 2020 and the lead ship, CFAV Haro, was launched on 15 July 2022.
Royal Canadian Navy