Snow & Co., Seattle, has launched the first diesel-electric hybrid ship-assist tug in an eight-vessel series being built for Curtin Maritime, Long Beach, Calif., with Los Angeles-based Arc providing the battery and battery management system integration.
WorkBoat visited the shipyard in April as two 2,000-hp Schottel L-drive propulsion units were being installed aboard the 80’9”x42’3” tug Tuuli C, and crews prepared the vessel for launch. The tugs are too heavy for the shipyard’s traditional 1942 steam-powered crane launch system, leading Snow & Co. to develop an alternative approach to move the vessel out of the building using eight air casters.
“So that sits flat on the floor and the air blows in there. This is the manifold for the eight air casters,” said shipyard founder and president Brett Snow, pointing to the contraption in his office…