Tugboat name prefix

[Figment]

The easy ones are easy...

S/V sailing vessel
M/V motor vessel
F/V fishing vessel
T/T tender to...

what's the proper prefix for a tugboat?

[paladin]

How about a name like "Pushy Galore"...... :D :D

[mmd]

In the American magazine "Tug & Work Boat" they are referred to as M.V. "Name".

Works for me. Further refinement would be a nightmare - how do you differentially initialize "Steam Screw Tug", "Motor Screw Tug", "Motor Cycloidal Tug", "Motor Twin Azimuthing Screw Tug", etc.? ;)

[Bruce Hooke]

Originally posted by mmd:
In the American magazine "Tug & Work Boat" they are referred to as M.V. "Name".

Works for me. Further refinement would be a nightmare - how do you differentially initialize "Steam Screw Tug", "Motor Screw Tug", "Motor Cycloidal Tug", "Motor Twin Azimuthing Screw Tug", etc.? ;) The image of "S.S.T. Name" is good for a laugh though! :D That would be one HIGH-SPEED tugboat!

[NormMessinger]

Pushy Galore is an airplane.
http://142.26.194.131/aerodynamics1/Appendix/Aircraft/Graphics/pushy_walkhi.jpg

[TimH]

A plane with nitrous...now I have seen everything... :confused:

[paladin]

Yes...I know Norm.....at one time I wanted to build a near copy....but with a 650 HP turbine....what do you think the climb rate would be? tongue.gif

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

We used to use S/T.... for salvage tugs, back in the days when there still were real salvage tugs.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Yes, they were real, and Mowat's story is true AFAIK, but by the time I knew them, in the 70's, they were a Smit subsidiary and called Eastern Canada Towing.

Martin has a thread somewhere about tugs with some pictures of the big Bugsier tugs on it.

The old WW2 Bustler class tug TURMOIL which tried to salve the FLYING ENTERPRISE spent her later years down in Greece as the NISSOS ZAKINTHOS of Matsas.

The business was completely slaughtered by the improvement in safety of ships and the competition from offshore oil anchor handling tugs, which have a day job and did not need the salvage awards.

I could witter on, but had better stop.

"S/T" was available because a steam tanker was always "T/T" (turbine tanker)

[ 06-11-2004, 09:17 PM: Message edited by: Andrew Craig-Bennett ]

[Meerkat]

I thought there was at least one big tug outfit in operation - some Dutch company?

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

That would be Smit Internationale, who are still very active as a salvage company - they raised the KURSK and they are just finishing the car carrier in the Southern North Sea - but what I was trying to say is that there are no station keeping salvage tugs now - its unprofitable. There is just not enough work for them, and when there is a casualty it gets picked up by an anchor handler. Another factor is that the long ocean tows, which were bread and butter for the big salvage tugs, have pretty much been replaced by the use of the very big semi-submersible heavy lift ships.

So, there is probably some "heavy salvage" work (wreck removal, etc) and there are still a few salvageable casualties (there is a big bulker off South Africa at this moment with a big hole in her side...) there are not enough "floaters" - cases of engine failure, fire on board, dangerous list, etc - to justify traditional salvage tugs today.

[Meerkat]

Thank you for your, as always, prompt, curtious, intelligent, refined and gentlemanly answer, Andrew (and I think you know why I'm saying it this way ;) . smile.gif

[mmd]

A series of pictures and stories about Foundation Maritime is at http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/canada/fm/ . Foundation Maritime became Eastern Canada Towing Inc., or ECTUG. A picture of a couple of their boats on the Halifax waterfront in less-than-toasty weather is found at http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/canada/gallery/gallery1/ (scroll down to the sixth photo).

[Meerkat]

You have a way with understatement mmd. Less than toasty indeed! ;)

http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/canada/gallery/gallery1/05_june_16_2003.jpg

[Paul Scheuer]

Is there a name for when the acronym is longer than the word ? Tug

Additional info - US Navy tugs are named afer American Indian tribes and notables. At least they were as explained in the 1961 BJM.

[Dan McCosh]

My boat was once owned by Jim Reed, of Sarnia, Ont., who owned some lake freighters and whose father was supposed to have done some memorable salvage work. Does anybody know anything about this? I once heard there was a book about him, but don't know anything more.