Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio throughout
its corporate
history, The Great Lakes Towing Company is the largest U.S.-flag
tugboat company engaged in towing
on the Great Lakes. The Company is
widely referred to as “the Towing Company.”
The Towing Company also operates a full service shipyard located on the
Cuyahoga River known as “The
Great Lakes Towing Company Shipyard” which specializes in all types of
marine repairs services for vessels, tugs, supply boats, ferries, barges, excursion
vessels, large yachts, and topside work of every kind.
The Towing Company owns and operates 50
tugboats, all red-cabined, green hulled and bearing the squared-off white
"G" on their stacks. Nearly
all tugboats are named for U.S. states. All tugs are registered under the U.S.
flag and meet or exceed U.S. Government and Local Regulations, and the
standards of the American
Waterway Operators’ (AWO) Responsible Carrier Program; the highest
standards in the tug and barge industry.
U.S. flag tugs are required to perform vessel assistance in U.S. ports
and in the approaches to the Government locks at Sault
Ste. Marie, Michigan. U.S. flag
tugs are also permitted to perform vessel assistance in Canadian ports only
with prior permission of the Canadian Government under Canada’s Coastwise Laws,
except vessels “wrecked, disabled, or in distress” in which case U.S.
tugs may render aid and assistance including all necessary towing incident
thereto in Canadian waters.
The Towing Company is the primary provider
of commercial tugboat services in more than 40 U.S. ports located on all 5
Great Lakes (Lake Ontario, Lake
Erie, Lake Huron, Lake
Superior, and Lake Michigan), in all 8 U.S. Great Lakes states
(including Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, New York) and the St. Lawrence Seaway.
The Towing Company offers a Full-Service
Lakes-Wide Contract for vessel assistance and towing
services in all ports served with discounted rates and other operational benefits
to vessel and fleet operators who agree to exclusively place all towing
requirements with the Towing Company.
Fleet Towing Contracts for one (1) to five (5) years are available.
Puerto Rico Towing & Barge Co.SM
Puerto Rico Towing & Barge
Co. is located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and provides vessel assistance and
towing services to commercial vessels and barges in San Juan Harbor, other
Inland Ports, and ports throughout the Caribbean. The Company is known in Puerto Rico and in the Caribbean as
"PRT."
PRT operates a fleet of
ocean-going and docking tugboats all with green hulls with white
superstructures and red stacks. All
tugs are registered under the U.S. flag and meet or exceed U.S. Government and
Local Regulations, and the highest industry standards of the American Bureau of
Shipping (ABS) and those of the American Waterway Operators’ (AWO) Responsible
Carrier Program.
From its base in San Juan, the Company
provides services to other ports in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, other
islands of the Caribbean, and other Caribbean ports, as well as between Puerto
Rico and the other islands and the U.S. mainland.
The Company offers a Full-Service Fleet Towing Contract for
vessel assistance and towing services in all ports served with discounted rates
and other operational benefits to vessel and fleet operators who agree to
exclusively place all towing requirements with the Company. Fleet Towing Contracts from one (1) to five
(5) years are available.
Tugz International L.L.C.SM
Tugz International designs, constructs and
owns new state-of-the-art tractor and tractor-type tugs for charter and
operation by affiliated companies, and for charter to third parties for use
throughout the United States.
Our internationally known fleet of ocean-going
tractor tugs, called "Z-Tugs" were among the first accepted
tractor tug designs in the United States.
These 4,000 horsepower (H.P.), high bollard-pull tugs of 112,000 to
139,000 lbs. were to become the standard design for the U.S. Navy requirements
and the commercial tug industry as well.
A modified Z-Class tug design includes a third forward, retractable
Z-Drive (known as the "Tri-Z" Design) for special use in docking
large vessels in narrow confines.
Jensen Maritime Consultants, Inc. (JMC) designed the Z-Class tugs for
Tugz International.
The Z-Class tugs are designed to be
multi-purpose tugs that can accommodate an entire array of towing services
including ship handling duties, salvage, fire fighting, oil recovery, tanker
escort, and coastal towing of vessels and barges.
The towing business today requires tugboats
to perform comprehensive towing services in the port areas they serve. The flexibility of the new Tugz design can
accommodate the broadest range of job opportunities making the tugs ideal for
use in almost any port maximizing their utilization and lowering costs. The utilitarian design can easily be adapted
for any specialized need. Tugz
International developed this unique multi-role design in order to accommodate
an entire range of services performed by its affiliates and charterers. The Tugz design is capable of carrying out
an entire array of ship handling duties, as well as salvage, rescue and
assistance to grounded or damaged vessels, firefighting, oil response,
icebreaking, escort; and ocean and coastal towing of vessels and barges.
Reverse tractor tugs are technically advanced
towing vessels in which the conventional propeller and rudder is replaced by an
integrated unit which performs both propulsion and steering enabling the tug to
push or pull in any direction. Tug
maneuverability is greatly improved allowing the tug to turn on its own axis,
stop within its own length when running at full speed, and hold its position
and maneuver into dock in adverse conditions.
In response to the most demanding harbor tug requirements, Tugz
developed its "TRI-Z" design, which is a revolutionary new design
that takes harbor towing to the next level.
The TRI--Z's triple z-drive propulsion provides maximum maneuverability,
over 100,000 lbs. of thrust in all directions and maintains the multi-purpose
capability of Tugz' traditional and successful Z-class design.
Soo Linehandling Services, Inc., provides
professional linehandling assistance to vessels transiting the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers administered and operated Soo
Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on the St. Mary's River, the only
water connection between Lake
Superior and the other Great Lakes.
Vessels must transit the Soo Locks enroute to the principle ports of
Duluth, Minnesota and Thunder Bay, Ontario and outbound to the sea.
The Company employs fully-trained
linehandlers and supervisory personnel to meet Lockmaster requirements for a
vessel's safe transit though the Locks.
Linehandling services are ordered and coordinated with requirements for
tugboat assistance provided by the Group’s affiliate, The Great Lakes Towing
Company.
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The Army Corps of Engineers' and Government regulations require
tugboat assistance for transiting vessels under certain conditions due to close
quarters, slow speed maneuvering, and for vessels not equipped with bow and stern
thrusters.
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For vessels equipped with bow thrusters and friction winches,
two linehandlers on the piers are required under normal weather conditions and
three under severe weather conditions.
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If a vessel is experiencing mechanical problems or in extreme
severe weather situations, the Lockmaster may require four linehandlers on the
pier for a vessel's transit.
Rates for
linehandling services are based on a fixed charge per upbound and downbound
transit.