Hulls 11 and 12 will con­tin­ue the company’s fleet renew­al and expan­sion pro­gram and its long-term invest­ment in Great Lakes shipping

CLEVELAND, OHIO — Sep­tem­ber 23, 2026 — The Great Lakes Tow­ing Com­pa­ny announced today that it has placed an order with Great Lakes Ship­yard for the con­struc­tion of two new Damen-designed har­bor tugs. The ves­sels will be Hulls 11 and 12 in the company’s Damen new­build series, con­tin­u­ing a fleet renew­al and expan­sion pro­gram that has already brought ten new Damen tugs into ser­vice. Con­struc­tion is expect­ed to begin lat­er this year at Great Lakes Ship­yard in Cleve­land. The first tug is sched­uled for deliv­ery in late 2027, fol­lowed by the sec­ond in ear­ly 2028. “The Great Lakes have been our home for more than a cen­tu­ry, and this order reflects our con­fi­dence in the future of com­mer­cial ship­ping through­out the region and our com­mit­ment to the cus­tomers who depend upon us,” said Great Lakes Tow­ing Com­pa­ny Pres­i­dent, Gregg Thau­vette. “Con­tin­u­ing to renew our fleet is essen­tial to main­tain­ing safe and reli­able har­bor tow­ing ser­vice and prepar­ing the Tow­ing Com­pa­ny to meet our cus­tomers’ needs for years to come.” Like the ten Damen tugs already in ser­vice, Hulls 11 and 12 will be con­struct­ed, out­fit­ted, and com­mis­sioned at Great Lakes Ship­yard in Cleve­land. “Build­ing the first ten Damen tugs gave our team valu­able expe­ri­ence that we will car­ry into the con­struc­tion of the next two ves­sels,” said Tom Rigo­lo, Pres­i­dent, Great Lakes Ship­yard. “We are proud that this work will con­tin­ue here in Cleve­land, and we look for­ward to see­ing Hulls 11 and 12 take shape.” The project rep­re­sents a con­tin­ued invest­ment in the Tow­ing Company’s fleet, the Ship­yard, the skilled employ­ees who build, main­tain, and oper­ate the company’s ves­sels, and the marine trans­porta­tion sys­tem that sup­ports indus­tries and com­mu­ni­ties across the region. About The Great Lakes Tow­ing Com­pa­ny The Great Lakes Tow­ing Com­pa­ny pro­vides har­bor tow­ing and marine ser­vices through­out the Great Lakes. Since 1899, the com­pa­ny has sup­port­ed com­mer­cial ship­ping through its net­work of ves­sels, crews, and shore­side oper­a­tions across the region. About Great Lakes Ship­yard Great Lakes Ship­yard is a full-ser­vice ship­yard locat­ed in Cleve­land, Ohio, pro­vid­ing new ves­sel con­struc­tion, repair, main­te­nance, and marine fab­ri­ca­tion services.