The Great Lakes Tow­ing Com­pa­ny has replaced the resilient Tugs NORTH DAKOTA and KENTUCKY with the recent­ly upgrad­ed and high­ly depend­able Tugs INDIANA and ARKANSAS in prepa­ra­tion of the upcom­ing 2014/2015 win­ter ice break­ing sea­son. This ensures the first-class har­bor assist, tow­ing, and ice break­ing ser­vices that lak­ers and sal­ties expect in the Port of Duluth will con­tin­ue for years to come.

Tug Cap­tain Dean Olson in the Port of Duluth explains that, “The lev­el of pro­fes­sion­al­ism at The Tow­ing Com­pa­ny is greater than that of com­peti­tors. We offer 24/7 ser­vice with expe­ri­enced full-time crews, so our cus­tomers always receive con­sis­tent and depend­able service.”

As an employ­ee of The Tow­ing Com­pa­ny, Tug Cap­tain Dean Olson has called the Port of Duluth home for over 42 years. Olson remem­bers start­ing his career in Duluth as a deck­hand on the Tug ARKANSAS. It’s a true home­com­ing for Olson to see the Tug ARKANSAS return to Duluth.

The stead­fast and com­mit­ted har­bor fleet in Duluth now includes the Tugs INDIANA and ARKANSAS, giv­ing it “fresh legs” for the upcom­ing ice break­ing bat­tle, after under­go­ing major repairs and upgrades over the past sev­er­al months. The Com­pa­ny also plans to replace the Tug MINNESOTA before win­ter sets in. The Tug NORTH CAROLINA is in great shape, and will remain the “first tug out” when ice break­ing ser­vices are called for.

Tugs NORTH DAKOTA and KENTUCKY were the 14^th and 15^th tugs upgrad­ed as part of The Company’s Major Fleet Over­haul Program.

Pho­tog­ra­phy: Ken­neth Newhams, Duluth Ship­ping News