Tugboat Roughneck

Photo by Cliff West

This tugboat was built by the Calumet Shipyard and Drydock Company of Chicago, Illinois, in 1944 as the United States Army’s LT-59. In 1947, it was acquired by Ocean Prince, Incorporated of Oakland, California, and renamed Ocean Prince. It retained that name as it moved to the Red Star Towing Company of New York, New York, in 1951, to the Smith Brothers Towing Company of New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1955 and to the Gulf and Caribbean Towing Company of Lafitte, Louisiana, in 1961. In 1963 it was renamed Dauphin, and in 1974 it was renamed Beaumont. Eventually it was acquired by the Sause Brothers Ocean Towing Company and renamed Roughneck. It is 114.2 feet long and 30 feet wide, with a draft of 17.2 feet. My dad, Cliff West, photographed it on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon, in April or May of 2007.

Tugboat Columbia

Photo by Cliff West

Shaver Transportation’s tugboat Columbia was built in 1968 by the Nichols Boat Works of Hood River, Oregon, and was repowered in 1983 with Stork Works engines rated at 2,750 horsepower. It is 87 feet long and 28 feet wide with a loaded draft of 11 feet. My dad, Cliff West, photographed it on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon, in late 2006 or early 2007.

Tugboat Joseph T.

Photo by Cliff West

My dad, Cliff West, photographed the Foss tugboat Joseph T. on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon, in August or September of 2006. This tugboat was built in 1975 by the Marine Power and Equipment Incorporated of Seattle, Washington, as the Georgeann for the Samson Tug and Barge Company Incorporated of Sitka, Alaska. In 1988, this tugboat was acquired by the Brix Maritime Company of Seattle, Washington, and was renamed Olympic. In 1993, the Brix Maritime Company was acquired by the Foss Maritime Company of Seattle, Washington, and this tugboat was renamed Joseph T. The Joseph T. is 73.5 feet long, with a hull 27.2 feet wide and 11.1 feet deep. Rated at 2,250 horsepower, it is powered by two Caterpillar D-399 engines with Caterpillar 7261 reduction gears driving two stainless steel, four-bladed 88-inch by 58-inch fixed pitch propellers. This was near the end of this tugboats career on the west coast, as later in 2006, the Joseph T. would be transferred to the Foss subsidiary Constellation Maritime Company of Manchester, Massachusetts, and was renamed Scorpius.

Tugboat Halle Foss

Photo by Cliff West

My dad, Cliff West, photographed the Foss tugboat Halle Foss on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon, in April 2006. This tugboat was built in 1970 by Quality Shipyard Incorporated of Houma, Louisiana, as the Gulf Stream for Gulf Mississippi Marine Incorporated of Houston, Texas. In 1976, it was acquired by Defelice Marine Towing Company of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and renamed the Demarco XII. In 1979 it was purchased by the Knappton Towboat Company of Astoria, Oregon, and was renamed the Astoria. It retained its name when the Knappton Towboat Company became the Brix Maritime Company of Seattle, Washington, in 1988. In 1993 Brix was acquired by the Foss Maritime Company of Seattle, Washington, and the tugboat was renamed the Halle Foss. The Halle Foss is 86 feet long with a hull 27.9 feet wide and 9.4 feet deep. Rated at 2,000 horsepower, it is powered by two Caterpillar D398 12-cylinder diesel engines turning two cast steel fixed pitch propellers.

Tugboat Dauby on the Columbia River near Maryhill, Washington, in Fall 2003

Photo by Cliff West

This is the tugboat Dauby pushing barges on the Columbia River near Maryhill, Washington, in the fall of 2003. These pictures were taken by my dad, Cliff West.

Photo by Cliff West

The 86-foot Dauby is owned by the SDS Lumber Company and was launched in 1984. It is named after Frank Daubenspeck, one of the founding partners of the company. 

Tugboat Stacey Foss at Rainier, Oregon in Summer 2002

Photo by Cliff West

The Stacey Foss is an ocean-going tugboat belonging to the Foss Maritime Company. It was built by the Fairhaven Shipyard in Massachusetts and was delivered on July 31, 1976. It is 111 feet, 6 inches long and 35 feet, 6 inches wide with a draft of 13 feet, 6 inches. It is powered by two General Motors Electro-Motive Division 8-cylinder 645-E7 diesel engines producing a combined 2,900 horsepower, with twin Kort nozzles with 98” diameter 4-bladed fixed pitch propellers. It can produce 46 tons of bollard pull and has a fuel capacity of 85,000 gallons. It is shown here on the Columbia River at Rainier, Oregon in the summer of 2002.