Bay-class tugboat
 The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Thunder Bay clears a channel for vessels to navigate the frozen Hudson River
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bay class |
| Builders | Tacoma Boatbuilding Company, Tacoma, Washington and Bay City Marine Incorporated, National City, California |
| Operators | United States Coast Guard |
| Preceded by | WYTM-110 |
| Built | 1977-1987 |
| In commission | 1979-present |
| Planned | 10 |
| Completed | 9 |
| Active | 9 |
| Retired | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Icebreaking tugboat |
| Displacement | 662 tons |
| Length | 42.7 m (140 ft) |
| Beam | 11.4 m (37 ft 5 in) |
| Draught | 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in) |
| Propulsion | diesel electric: 2 Fairbanks Morse diesel engines with Westinghouse DC generators, 1 Westinghouse DC motor |
| Speed | 14.7 knots (27.2 km/h) |
| Range |
|
| Complement | 17 (3 officers) |
| Armament | 2 × M240 machine guns |
The Bay-class tugboat is a class of 140-foot (43 m) icebreaking tugboats of the United States Coast Guard, with hull numbers WTGB-101 through to WTGB-109.
They can proceed through fresh water ice up to 20 inches (51 cm) thick, and break ice up to 3 feet (0.91 m) thick, through ramming. It can also ram pressure ridges of up to eight feet in thickness. These vessels are equipped with a system to lubricate their progress through the ice, by bubbling air through the hull.
Service Life Extension Program[]
The WTGB SLEP project includes significant system upgrades and improvements to the propulsion plant; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems; installation of an engine-room fire-suppression system; boat launching davit replacement; Oily Water Separator replacement; stack exhaust configuration modifications; hull air-ice lubrication system; and crew habitability improvements to meet current standards (including removal of lead paint). The first WTGB SLEP is scheduled for 12 months; however, once the Yard achieves a satisfactory production labor learning curve (anticipated after Hull #3), the Yard will complete two 140-foot WTGB SLEPs per year, with an anticipated duration of 9 months each. The first of nine cutters (Morro Bay) entered production at the Coast Guard Yard on July 1, 2014.[1] Morro Bay returned to her homeport of Cleveland in September 2015 [2]
Ships[]
- (WTGB-101) Katmai Bay (Homeport - Sault Ste. Marie, MI / Builder: Tacoma Boatbuilding Company)
- (Homeport - Detroit, MI / Builder: Tacoma Boatbuilding Company)
- (WTGB-103) Mobile Bay (Homeport - Sturgeon Bay, WI / Builder: Tacoma Boatbuilding Company)
- (WTGB-104) Biscayne Bay (Homeport - St. Ignace, MI / Builder: Tacoma Boatbuilding Company)
- (Homeport - Cleveland, OH / Builder: Tacoma Boatbuilding Company)
- (Homeport - Cleveland, OH / Builder: Tacoma Boatbuilding Company]
- (WTGB-107) Penobscot Bay (Homeport - Bayonne, NJ / Builder: Bay City Marine Incorporated)
- (Homeport - Rockland, ME / Builder: Bay City Marine Incorporated)
- (WTGB-109) Sturgeon Bay (Homeport - Bayonne, NJ / Builder: Bay City Marine Incorporated)
- (Construction cancelled)
See also[]
- - three vessels with the Canadian Coast Guard
- Samuel Risley-class icebreaker and buoy tender with the Canadian Coast Guard
References[]
- ^ https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OCFO/United%20States%20Coast%20Guard%20(USCG)%20-%20Coast%20Guard%20Yard%20Dry-dock%20Facilities%20and%20Industrial%20Equipment.pdf.
- ^ http://www.uscgnews.com/go/doc/4007/2605666/Coast-Guard-Cutter-Morro-Bay-returns-to-Cleveland-following-14-month-overhaul[permanent dead link]
External links[]
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