| |
Patriot
The tug Patriot, originally named the Elfer Guidry, was built at the Bollinger Shipyard in Lockport, Louisiana, in 1967. She towed large oil rigs from shipyards located in shallow areas in south Louisiana to the Gulf of Mexico. After years of trans-gulf voyages, the Elfer Guidry was purchased by Captain Grady Furlough, owner of an East Coast towing company. During her career with Furlough, she towed oil and chemical barges on the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. Furlough then sold his interest in the tug to Allied Towing, which continued using her to call on the ports of Texas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, as well as her usual Mid-Atlantic ports. During this time, Allied Towing renamed her Sea Turn. Vane acquired the Sea Turn in 2001, and promptly renamed her the Patriot, a tribute of those affected and called to service since the tragedies of September 11, 2001.
Today, she tows petroleum barges from New England to Norfolk. She is 110’ long, 30’ wide, and 13’6’’ deep, with a distinctive upper wheelhouse and three main engines. The Patriot is the only triple-screw tug in Vane’s fleet.
|
|