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More and More for the MorTracs® The latest upgrades to MORAN’s fleet of four 3,000 hp MorTrac® tugs – intended to enhance bollard pull, maneuverability and versatility in ship-assist work – are taking place in a year-long program beginning in early 2006. Sewells Point, a 98-foot tug with 640-hp retractable forward z-drive, is receiving a new Nautican high-performance propeller nozzle and propeller, as well as a triple-vane rudder system and a new hawser winch on its stern.  The new nozzle and propeller are expected to improve bollard pull by 35 to 40 percent, while the triple-vane rudder system will increase maneuverability dramatically, according to Jim Coyne, vice president of construction for MORAN's harbor tug operations. Sewells Point is one of four similar tugs which were converted to MORAN's proprietary Mortrac® design in the mid to late 1990s with installation of a retractable forward z-drive, a modernized wheelhouse and extensive additional refurbishment. There are five other so-called combi-tugs of this style in service in the United States, all having undergone similar upgrades in the 1990s. Original design work on MORAN's four conversions was done by naval architect Paul Gow. Sewells Point, assigned to ship-assist work in Baltimore, was in dry dock for improvements in a Norfolk shipyard for two to three months. Other Mortrac® tugs in MORAN’s fleet include the Town Point, Drum Point, and Harriet Moran. When the current improvement program is complete, all four of these tugs will have stern-mounted hawser winches provided by Jonrie Intertech of Manahawkin, New Jersey. The tugs do most of their shipassist work with the stern in to the ship, thus allowing the forward z-drive to contribute to maneuvering the tug while adding horsepower to any maneuver.  Oran Daniels, a Norfolk-based MORAN tug captain who has been skipper of all four Mortrac® tugs, said that in normal operations he uses the retractable bow thruster, which has its own diesel engine, as often as 75 percent of the time. "I like to keep it running on most jobs just in case the pilot might need it, or if it might come in handy in maneuvering around the ship," he said. "That thruster comes in real handy when the pilot calls for more power." |
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50 Locust Avenue | New Canaan, CT 06840-4737 USA | Tel: 203.442.2800 |
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