Seattle tugboats
Encyclopedia
Seattle has a long marine tradition. It goes back,
with steamships, to the SS Beaver in 1836.
The complex inlets of Puget Sound
needed tugs to move
sailing vessels against contrary winds. One early tug
was the Goliah of 1849. Tugs would wait in the open
Pacific off Cape Flattery
to greet the sailing ships
entering the sound to move lumber.
Additionally, Seattle is a trading centre with commerce to ports at Oregon, B.C., and Alaska. The early lumbering and logging industry needed tugs to move log booms from the
hillsides to the sawmills.
Thea Foss
established Foss tug in Tacoma in 1889.
Foss tugboats have the longest and most expansive history in the area. See Foss Launch and Tug Company
Many of the small logging firms
had tugboats for mills at Port Gamble, Bellingham
, Everett
, Port Ludlow and Olympia.
The Klondike Gold Rush
spurred the need for seagoing
vessels. Every floating vessel was put to use and more
were built. With it came explosion of Alaskan canneries and copper mines. Sea trade became important, as it is to this day, to a distant, disconnected northern state.
At the same time the U.S. Navy established a naval base
at Bremerton, and more tugs were needed. Shipyards were established in Seattle and built battleships. Industry
set up at tidewater (viz Boeing) on the Duwamish River
estuary. Marine building expanded at Anacortes.
West coast tugs were built of coastal Douglas Fir, with
cedar upper decks. Condensing triple expansion steam engines and coal fired boilers were common. Hundreds of tugs worked the coastal waters of Washington state
.
The entry of America into the First World War expanded the need for shipping. Aircraft spruce production expanded on the remote Olympic Pennisula, and Alaska.
The United States Shipping Board
built Ferris ships.United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation
See List of Puget Sound steamboats (and a big thank you to MT Smallwood)
the gravel pit at Steilacom moved barges of aggregate. The isolated railroads of Port Townsend, Victoria, Squamish, Skagway, Cordova
,
−and Alaska required barge traffic to connect with the Lower 48 states.
. Tugs were needed in the logging industry, a vital war commodity. Tugs were needed to build bases, move ships, build ships around the Sound as the State geared up for total war. More tugs were built in the emergency program and these became available after the war.
were built, as were highways and bridges which all needed cement and stone revettment. The Korean and Vietnam Wars put demands on Pacific shipping, including tugs.
There was the ongoing sea-lift to Alaska, with the food, fuel, industrial parts, machinery, and construction supplies needed to
be embarked and hauled to the northern state. The Alaska North Slope
oil boom at Prudhoe Bay Oil Field
, Tongass Logging and Cold War
brought more barge traffic.
http://retiredtugs.org/oldsite/roster.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/imlsdcc/
American Tugboat Co. and tug Edison
with steamships, to the SS Beaver in 1836.
The complex inlets of Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
needed tugs to move
sailing vessels against contrary winds. One early tug
was the Goliah of 1849. Tugs would wait in the open
Pacific off Cape Flattery
Cape Flattery
Cape Flattery may refer to:* Cape Flattery * Cape Flattery , between North Direction Island, South Direction Island and Three Islands...
to greet the sailing ships
entering the sound to move lumber.
Additionally, Seattle is a trading centre with commerce to ports at Oregon, B.C., and Alaska. The early lumbering and logging industry needed tugs to move log booms from the
hillsides to the sawmills.
Thea Foss
Thea Christiansen Foss was the founder of Foss Maritime, the largest tugboat company in the western United States...
established Foss tug in Tacoma in 1889.
Foss tugboats have the longest and most expansive history in the area. See Foss Launch and Tug Company
Foss Launch and Tug Company
Foss Launch and Tug Company was founded in 1889 by Thea Foss and her husband Andrew Foss. The company, now known as Foss Maritime, is now the largest tug and towing concern on the west coast of the United States.-Course of business:...
Many of the small logging firms
had tugboats for mills at Port Gamble, Bellingham
Bellingham
- Places :Australia:* Bellingham, Tasmania, coastal hamlet in Northern TasmaniaEngland:* Bellingham, London, neighbourhood and electoral ward in the London Borough of Lewisham* Bellingham, Northumberland, villageUnited States:* Bellingham, Washington...
, Everett
Everett
- Places :* Everett, Washington, the county seat and largest city in Washington state's Snohomish County*Naval Station Everett* Everett, Massachusetts, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts north of Boston* Everett, Pennsylvania, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania...
, Port Ludlow and Olympia.
The Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
spurred the need for seagoing
vessels. Every floating vessel was put to use and more
were built. With it came explosion of Alaskan canneries and copper mines. Sea trade became important, as it is to this day, to a distant, disconnected northern state.
At the same time the U.S. Navy established a naval base
at Bremerton, and more tugs were needed. Shipyards were established in Seattle and built battleships. Industry
set up at tidewater (viz Boeing) on the Duwamish River
Duwamish River
The Duwamish River is the name of the lower of Washington state's Green River. Its industrialized estuary is known as the Duwamish Waterway.- History :...
estuary. Marine building expanded at Anacortes.
cedar upper decks. Condensing triple expansion steam engines and coal fired boilers were common. Hundreds of tugs worked the coastal waters of Washington state
Washington State
Washington State may refer to:* Washington , often referred to as "Washington state" to differentiate it from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States* Washington State University, a land-grant college in that state- See also :...
.
The entry of America into the First World War expanded the need for shipping. Aircraft spruce production expanded on the remote Olympic Pennisula, and Alaska.
The United States Shipping Board
United States Shipping Board
The United States Shipping Board was established as an emergency agency by the Shipping Act , 7 September 1916. It was formally organized 30 January 1917. It was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board.http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N....
built Ferris ships.United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation
United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation
The Emergency Fleet Corporation was established by the United States Shipping Board, sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board,http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N. Hurley, Wartime Chairman of the U. S. Shipping Board 16 April 1917 pursuant to...
Companies
Dunlap, Puget Sound Tug and Barge, Alaska Marine, Washington Tug and Barge, American Tug Co., Boyer, Bellingham Tug and Barge, Shiveley. Freemont tug. Tacoma Tug and Barge. tugs irene, Neptune, Foss 18, Triumph, Tyee.See List of Puget Sound steamboats (and a big thank you to MT Smallwood)
Inter-war Years
The large sawmill at Shelton needed to move lumber and logs, whilethe gravel pit at Steilacom moved barges of aggregate. The isolated railroads of Port Townsend, Victoria, Squamish, Skagway, Cordova
Cordova
-Places:*Cordova, Alabama, USA*Cordova, Alaska, USA*Cordova, Cebu, Philippines*Cordova, Illinois, USA*Cordova, Maryland, USA*Cordova, Nebraska, USA*Cordova, New Mexico, USA*Cordova, South Carolina, USA*Cordova, Tennessee, USA*Córdoba, Argentina...
,
−and Alaska required barge traffic to connect with the Lower 48 states.
Second World War
During the Second World War, tugs were seconded to the US Navy to fight in the Pacific. Tugs were needed to help the Navy in the South Pacific; in the North Pacific with the Aleutian Campaign; in Alaska with the Alaska HighwayAlaska Highway
The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon...
. Tugs were needed in the logging industry, a vital war commodity. Tugs were needed to build bases, move ships, build ships around the Sound as the State geared up for total war. More tugs were built in the emergency program and these became available after the war.
Post War Work
After the Second World War, the steam fleet was retired and replaced with war built tugs from the navy. New welded steel tugs came online, complete with high speed diesel engines. Pulp millPulp mill
A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fibre source into a thick fibre board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical or fully chemical methods...
were built, as were highways and bridges which all needed cement and stone revettment. The Korean and Vietnam Wars put demands on Pacific shipping, including tugs.
There was the ongoing sea-lift to Alaska, with the food, fuel, industrial parts, machinery, and construction supplies needed to
be embarked and hauled to the northern state. The Alaska North Slope
Alaska North Slope
The Alaska North Slope is the region of the U.S. state of Alaska located on the northern slope of the Brooks Range along the coast of two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, the Chukchi Sea being on the western side of Point Barrow, and the Beaufort Sea on the eastern.The region contains the...
oil boom at Prudhoe Bay Oil Field
Prudhoe Bay oil field
Prudhoe Bay Oil Field is a large oil field on Alaska's North Slope. It is the largest oil field in both the United States and in North America, covering and originally containing approximately of oil.. BP. August 2006...
, Tongass Logging and Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
brought more barge traffic.
- Goliah (steam tug 1849)Goliah (steam tug 1849)The steamer Goliah was the second tug boat ever built in the United States. The long service life of this vessel caused it to become known as the “everlasting” Goliah. This vessel was readily recognizable by its large size and sidewheels...
- Lake UnionLake UnionLake Union is a freshwater lake entirely within the Seattle, Washington city limits.-Origins:A glacial lake, its basin was dug 12,000 years ago by the Vashon glacier, which also created Lake Washington and Seattle's Green, Bitter, and Haller Lakes.-Name:...
- Richard Holyoke (steam tug)Richard Holyoke (steam tug)Richard Holyoke was a sea-going steam tug boat built in 1877 in Seattle, Washington and which was in service on Puget Sound and other areas of the northwest Pacific coast until 1935. The vessel was considered to be one of the most powerful tugs of its time.-Career:Richard Holyoke was among the...
- Aleutian Islands
- Alaskan Panhandle
- Audrey (tugboat)Audrey (tugboat)Audrey was a small steam vessel that operated on Puget Sound in the early part of the 1900s. The vessel was converted to a diesel tug and operated as such for many years on Puget Sound.-Career:...
- Arthur FossArthur FossThe Arthur Foss, built in 1889, is one of the oldest wooden-hulled tugboats afloat in the United States. In 1898, in response to the Alaskan gold rush, she transported barges full of gold seeking miners and supplies up the Inside Passage. There are no other Alaskan Gold Rush vessels still...
- Port of SeattlePort of SeattleThe Port of Seattle is a port district that runs Seattle's seaport and airport. Its creation was approved by the voters of King County, Washington, on September 5, 1911, authorized by the Port District Act. It is run by a five-member commission. The commissioners' terms run four years...
- Port of TacomaPort of TacomaThe Port of Tacoma is an independent seaport located in Tacoma, Washington. The port was created by a vote of Pierce County citizens on November 5, 1918...
- Politkofsky (steam tug)Politkofsky (steam tug)This was a small Russian-built sidewheel gunboat which patrolled the Alaskan Panhandle in the 1850s. When the Czar sold Russia to the U.S. in 1867, the steamer was included in the deal.The paddler was then sold into civilian service as a tugboat....
http://retiredtugs.org/oldsite/roster.htm
- www.oldtacomamarine.com
- puget sound maritime historical society
- List of modern harbor tugs http://www.oilspilltaskforce.org/docs/vessel_traffic/AppendixH.pdf
- Great photos from the fine folks at Fremont Tug, http://fremonttugboat.com/blog/?paged=2
- historic photos from Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society
http://www.flickr.com/photos/imlsdcc/
American Tugboat Co. and tug Edison