Green Tugboats for Greener Seas

Source: Greenpacks

The shipping arena gets greener with the introduction of an energy efficient hybrid tugboat. Tugboats are usually diesel powered, and have long been a major source of pollution at many of the world’s ports where they are widely used to tug lines and tankers.


The hybrid tugboats come from the Foss Maritime Company, for whom this is the second hybrid tugboat they are adding to their Southern California fleet. In 2009, the company had introduced the Carolyn Dorothy, which at the time was the only one of its kind in the world.

The company has announced that the new hybrid tugboat, called the Campbell Foss, will be retrofitted with hybrid technology – including generators, batteries, and control systems- at Foss’ shipyard in Rainier, Oregon.

The boat will be in service in the San Pedro Bay. This has been made possible with a $1 million grant from CARB – the California Air Resources Board.

The project will be a joint partnership between Foss, the Port of Long Beach, and the Port of Los Angeles. The new boat is a conventional dolphin tug that is currently assisting oceangoing vessels in the San Pedro Bay.

Seen as a big step in maritime evolution, this move will help to curtail the increase in sea pollution. Although emissions from shipping are terribly high, Foss Maritime believes that with hybrid tugs, almost 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year can be saved.