Boatnerd Discussion Forum

The Presque Isle left Erie yesterday.

Thanks for the updates on the Presque Isle. Been curious and wondering just what her status has been and when and if she will be returning to service?

As of yesterday (12-8) the tug section was taken out of dry dock by the tugs ST 911 and MADISON R. and moved into position to be reattached to the nearby barge section. Currently there has been no other activity on AIS but I'm sure they will want to try out the new prop soon.

Ironically, if you go to Google Maps and zoom in on the Ontario Shipyards at Port Weller, it shows the tug Presque Isle in the deep drydock. No idea when the photo was taken, though.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.2160663, ... QAw%3D%3D

The Presque Isle tug is in dry dock at Erie now. They attached floats and a barge to raise her high enough

Thanks Jerry for the update. It will seem good to see the Presque Isle return to service and get a few loads in before the end of the season. I’ll bet GLF can’t wait to get her fixed, repaired and back into service. I’m sure with the Presque Isle sidelined for repairs it has to be costing GLF big time dollars yet they seem to be keeping the Speer busy to Gary and at times the Gott as well. Even the ASC footers have been busy moving ore to Gary at times with many of those loads going to Conneaut as well.

DENNY. as far as I know, all of the will be done in the coffer dam at Eire. they have both the rudder and the rudder shaft that way inT the recent past. JERRY

Will the tug go to Port Weller for any drydocking, work or inspections then? The barge portion just had their inspection and survey done but too long ago as I recall but, not sure when it’s been for the tug portion? Thanks for any information anyone may have on this.

RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE SAILING LATE NOVEMBER OR EARLY DECEMBER

The loss of the rudder

Anyone know what caused the grounding?

Tug and barge arrived Erie this morning.

From Marine Traffic, the Presque Isle departed from Toledo on September 18 at 12:38 p.m. and they are now headed for Erie, Pennsylvania. They are expected to arrive in Erie on September 19 at about 0800 or 8:00 A.M. then. Is the tug portion only headed to Erie or are both the tug and barge headed there?

I have read about how the tug Presque Isle needs to go to Port Weller for drydocking due to its draft/depth many times before. Was this design feature shortsighted or were there plans to build a drydock capable of handling the tug when it was built during the early 1970s. It seems strange that Litton would have based their design around specifications that precluded it from being drydocked at their Erie shipyard. What would the alternatives be if the drydock at Port Weller was taken out of service?

Presque Isla has her AIS up and tug Madison R is on scene.

She lost a rudder.

It was said in the original post that when the presque isle ran aground at Johnson’s point that they had sustained prop and rudder damage. Not sure what caused the hydraulic fluid leakage.

There are a lot of assumptions being made that the Presque Isle needs to be drydocked. Yet the only publicly-reported damage is that the vessel leaked 20 or 30 gallons of hydraulic fluid. Fixing a leak doesn't always require drydocking. Some work can be done from inside the hull. Some work can be done by divers. The vessel can be ballasted to raise portions out of the water. And, unique to the tug Presque Isle, they have a custom built cofferdam, normally kept in Erie, that allows workers dry access around the propellers.

The tug portion of the Presque Isle has a depth of 31 feet, 3 inches and has a draft of 25 feet. Due to her deep draft, she can't get over the sill of the majority of drydocks for inspection and/or repairs. For example, DonJon Shipyard's drydock in Erie, PA has a depth over the sill of 22 feet. Bay Shipbuilding's drydock has a draft of over the sill of 17 feet. Toledo's Ironhead Marine's drydock has a depth over the sill of 14 feet. Only Heddle Shipyard's number two graving dock at Port Weller has a depth over the sill of 26 feet, meaning it's the only drydock that can take the tug-portion of the Presque Isle.

The Presque Isle is not like the Van Enkenvort Articulated Tug-Barge combos we have seen for a number of years. The Presque Isle when it was planned and built was at a time when the Integrated Tug-Barge combination was popular. The tug is basically a separate engine room. and in fact the US Coast Guard doesn't consider it a true tug because of it's stability issues when out of the notch of the barge in rough weather.

Would someone explain the draft issue with the tug? What is the draft/depth of the tug? Is the depth of the Bay Ship, Erie, Toledo dry docks less than the light tug? Why is Port Weller the only dry dock the PI Tug can fit? Thanks in advance.