Boatnerd Discussion Forum

I would be interested to see statistics on how often ATB Tug/Barge combos seek shelter vs. powered vessels on the Great Lakes. Great Lakes vessels only, not salties. And please exclude the stats from the ITB Presque Isle. I don't think that vessel count since it isn't an ATB.

[quote="johnfrombrighton"]Amazing story about the sinking & lifting of the Stewart.

I have always wondered how the tugs (with their high wheelhouses, short hulls & small freeboards) from the Great Lakes ATB combos would handle 20' Lakes seas if they ever had to separate from their barges in the middle of a Great Lakes storm.

The Great Lakes ATB tugs seem too high, short & low to survive by themselves in the middle of a Great lakes storm

Has there been any experience with a situation like this?[/quote]

As Tug Guy mentioned, the tugs must meet the stability requirements of their class society. So they can handle weather on their own. That said, the ride might not be very smooth.

In January 2013, the Victory broke out of the notch of the James L. Kuber in 10 to 12 foot seas on Lake Superior. Here is the news story posted on BoatNerd at the time:

[i]
[b]Tug/barge headed for Soo for repairs after connection breaks on Lake Superior[/b]

1/6/2013 - After a near-escape from disaster early Saturday, the tug Victory and her barge, James L. Kuber, were headed for safe harbor at Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., on Sunday.

Late Friday night the Victory became separated from the 703-foot Kuber while transiting Lake Superior in the vicinity of Manitou Island in heavy weather off the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, possibly due to a failure of the its connection system.

At approximately 1:45 a.m. Saturday, Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. received a mayday call from the tug Victory reporting that the Kuber had broken loose. The barge was carrying a load of iron ore and had 8,500 gallons of diesel fuel aboard.

The tug Victory had 15 crewmembers aboard and all were accounted for. At the time of the breakaway the weather and sea conditions were 31 degrees with 10-12 foot seas and winds of over 20 mph.

The Coast Guard directed the launch of a helicopter from Air Station Traverse City and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Thunder Bay, a 140-foot ice breaking tug homeported in Rockland, Maine, temporarily assigned to the 9th Coast Guard District to assist with ice breaking.

While the Victory was waiting for the weather to subside before attempting to reestablish the tow, the tug lost sight of the barge. Meanwhile the Saginaw, which had departed Marquette Friday evening, arrived on scene and provided a lee to the tug Victory to minimize the effects of the weather on the tug. The two vessels then search for and located the adrift James L. Kuber. The Saginaw rafted the barge alongside and headed back south.

The Coast Guard aircrew arrived on scene at approximately 12:30 p.m. and reported no damage to the tug and no pollution and the cutter Thunder Bay was stood down.

The James L. Kuber’s owner, Grand River Navigation, arranged for tug Anglian Lady to assist the tug Victory. The Anglian Lady arrived on scene at approximately 1:30 p.m. about 45 nautical miles north of Marquette. The tug Victory does not have a towing winch and would make the towing the barge back to the Soo difficult. The Anglian Lady began towing the barge to Essar Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario for repairs to the connection system.

Coast Guard marine inspectors will investigate the cause of the breakaway and will conduct an initial damage assessment with a comprehensive exam to follow.

The incident was likely the result of a failure in the Hydraconn connection system. Experts on the operation of articulated tug barge combinations report that disconnecting in in this type of weather is not something that would be done by choice.

The tug uses hydraulic pins with a toothed head that locks into a toothed rack on the barge. This system allows the tug to pitch independently of the barge but rolls with the barge. The connection system is good for up to 18-foot seas and is also used on the tugs Joseph H. Thompson, Dorothy Ann, Jane Ann IV, Joyce L. VanEnkevort, Olive L. Moore, Undaunted and Ken Boothe Sr.

The Kuber is the former powered vessel Reserve, which was converted to a barge in 2007.

Click here for pictures and video of the tug: [u][url]http://www.boatnerd.com/news/newsthumbsb/html2/newsthumbs_1658.htm[/url][/u]

U.S. Coast Guard, BoatNerd staff [/i]


Here is a link to the Coast Guard incident report. Apparently human error: [u][url]https://cgmix.uscg.mil/IIR/IIRSearchResults.aspx[/url][/u]

The tug(Canadian) must meet all stability requirements for the service intended set by Class Societys and Transport Canada.I worked on a Budeworth system,not sure of the correct spelling,but it had a built in pressure point ,if exceeded the pads would back off and the bow pins would let go,It was said the tug would be ejected out of the notch.do not know what the pressure point was but we had a wave and wind restriction put on by Class(Lloyds) and Transport Canadain which we could not exceed.

Maybe there is a quick release on the M/V Presque Isle, but when I helped disconnect the tug from the barge a couple times, it took quite awhile turning a lot of nuts...

Amazing story about the sinking & lifting of the Stewart.

I have always wondered how the tugs (with their high wheelhouses, short hulls & small freeboards) from the Great Lakes ATB combos would handle 20' Lakes seas if they ever had to separate from their barges in the middle of a Great Lakes storm.

The Great Lakes ATB tugs seem too high, short & low to survive by themselves in the middle of a Great lakes storm

Has there been any experience with a situation like this?

In theory, ATB tugs can disconnect rather quickly. But in actual sea conditions it can be more difficult.

In 2000 the [b]Undaunted/PM41[/b] were in heavy seas on the south end of Lake Michigan when the cargo shifted on the barge. Eventually 5000 tons of pig iron and 4 pieces of heavy equipment went over the side. The tug tried to disconnect but its hull was punctured in the process. The crew had to beach the tug to keep it from sinking. There is a detailed description of the incident and photos of the damage at the bottom of this page: [u] [url]http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/peremarquette41.htm[/url][/u]

I believe there have been other incidents where tugs had difficulty disconnecting in heavy seas.

And sometimes the connection is used to try and save the tug from completely sinking. Last October the ATB [b]Nathan E. Stewart/ DBL 55[/b] went aground near Bella Bella, British Columbia. Both the tug and the barge were holed, but only the outer hull of the empty barge was breached, so the barge had minimal flooding. In this case it appears that the crew intentionally stayed connected to the barge in an attempt to keep the tug above water. But the location was a rocky shore unprotected from the waves and the wreck took enough pounding that the connection pins eventually sheared off and the the tug sank. The first photo at this site shows the tug still connected. [u][url]https://blueoceanmariner.wordpress.com/2016/11/24/the-wreck-of-the-nathan-e-stewart/[/url][/u]

[quote="Guest"]Let's say that the barge on an ATB Starts to take on water in high seas and is in danger of sinking. Does the Tug have the ability of quickly seperating itself from the barge and save itself or does it just go down with the barge? 1GES8[/quote]

Yes. The pins can be pulled in seconds.

Let's say that the barge on an ATB Starts to take on water in high seas and is in danger of sinking. Does the Tug have the ability of quickly seperating itself from the barge and save itself or does it just go down with the barge? 1GES8