A few months ago, Telstar Logistics received a priority call on our top-secret red phone: "Rendez-vous with your contact in the parking lot on the corner of Third and 22nd Street!" We did as instructed, connected with our man at the designated location, and together proceeded to a gritty industrial pier on San Francisco's southern waterfront, where a high-tech tugboat was waiting at idle. We climbed aboard, and as the boat prepared to depart, took a look around.
Operated by the Seattle-based Foss Maritime Company, the Marshall Foss was a modern tractor tug, built by Halter Marine in 2001. It was a far cry from the toot-toot look of Scuffy the Tugboat.
The Marshall Foss was equipped with twin diesel motors that delivered power to two Rolls-Royce Z-drive thrusters. (What's a Z-drive? They're propeller pods, basically, that can each rotate independently on a 360-degree axis. We've got a good photo of a Z-drive thruster here.) On the bow, a huge, self-tensioning winch enabled the Marshall Foss to maintain constant tension on its tow rope without active management from the tug's captain. The attractive galley kitchen was more Martha Stewart than Jack Sparrow, From the outside, the bridge of the Marshall Foss looked like an air traffic control tower. From the inside, it looked like a wood-trimmed Apollo space capsule:
Once we were settled in, it was time to go to work. Our mission: Collaborate with our sister tug, the Arthur Foss, to pull the bulk freighter Sophie Oldendorff off the pier and into the deeper waters of San Francisco Bay. And so we got to it. Ropes were secured, the diesels were brought up to speed. First we pushed, and then we pulled. Hard. We delivered 33 tons worth of tugging force, according to the captain's computer display:
From there it wasn't long until our work was done. The ropes were released, and as the Sophie Oldendorff got underway, we got a big thumbs-up from her departing crew.
Mission Accomplished! Or Miller Time, depending on your leanings. Either way, we had a great time watching the crew of the Marshall Foss at work, and they were kind enough to indulge all of our silly questions. We also took lots of photos, so check the link below to see more images from our tugboat day on the San Francisco Bay.
LINK:
Tugboat Marshall Foss (Flickr photoset by Telstar Logistics)
PREVIOUSLY:
Our Day on the Bay Aboard a US Coast Guard Cutter
Great pictures! Lucky you, I say.
Posted by: Tim Flanagan | 09 June 2008 at 11:20 AM
What are the horsepower and torque ratings for those motors?
Posted by: Diego | 09 June 2008 at 09:38 PM
Don't know about the torque, but each motor is a 16 cylinder plant with twin turbochargers, and I was told each puts out around 3125 HP.
They go about 20,000 hours between overhauls, and they average around 350 hours per month.
Fuel burn for the Marshall Foss is around 500 gallons of diesel per day.
Posted by: Telstar Logistics | 09 June 2008 at 09:48 PM
A friend of mine Gavin, with Peter as crew were sailing "Dolphin" from Dassen Island to Hout Bay when they were hit by a ship called the "Magdelena Oldendorff" north of Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela spent 20 of his 27 years in jail. Dolphin nearly sank, but they managed to pump her and make Cape Town harbour. I wonder if the "Magdelena Oldendorff" is a sistership?
Posted by: Nolwandle | 10 June 2008 at 01:01 PM
The horsepower of the boat is 6350HP. THats total HP. THere are no torque specs that i can find. Oh Im the engineer of the marshall.
Posted by: Tim M. | 10 October 2008 at 09:53 AM