Volume 58

On the job

for Cunard

in New York— QM2 maiden arrival

Pier 92, April, 2004

2

The 13th tractor tug to join the MORANfleet was launched at a Maine shipyard

in June and went into service assisting LNGtankers on Chesapeake Bay in early July.This newest MORAN tug is a 92-foot z-drivevessel with 5,000 horsepower and anadvanced firefighting system engineeredspecifically for work with LNG tankers.

The James R. Moran was launched fromthe Washburn & Doughty Shipyard in EastBoothbay, Maine. After sea trials, the tugcruised south to join her sistership, Kaye E.Moran, working at the Dominion LNG impor-tation and storage terminal at Cove Point,Maryland.

James R. Moran is named for James R.Barker, vice chairman and a principalMORAN owner, while the sistership isnamed for Mr. Barker’s wife, Kaye. Thenewest tug is the tenth to be delivered forMORAN from the Washburn & Doughtyshipyard.

Like its sistership, the James R. is builtwith an American Bureau of Shipping FireFighting Class 1 (FiFi-1) firefighting system,which provides pumping capacity of morethan 10,000 gallons of water per minute. Thefirefighting system also includes a self-drenching deluge system and a number ofadditional features. Crews of all of MORAN’stugs working with LNG tankers have alsoreceived some of the most advanced fire-fighting training available to civilian tugcrews. The 92-foot tug is capable of producing approximately 70 tons of bollard pull, generated by a pairof 12-cylinder EMD diesels, each putting out 2,550 hp at 900 rpm.

MORAN’s work at the Dominion Cove Point LNG facility began in 2003. The Cove Point terminal isthe largest LNG import facility in the United States. MORAN also provides similar service at the LNGterminal at Elba Island on Georgia’s Savannah River, and the company provides exclusive ship-assistservice to arriving and departing LPG tankers on the Pisquataqua River in New Hampshire.

James R. and Kaye E. Barker at the June launching

of MORAN’s newest tug, James R. Moran,

at the Washburn & Doughty shipyard in Maine.

MORAN’s newest 5,000 hp tractor tug

assisting LNG tankers on Chesapeake Bay

Latest News…

See more on MORAN’s new tugs and LNG work at Cove Point on Page 8.

The Magazine of Moran Towing Corporation

FEATURES

4 Always there for Cunard – It was a bigevent for MORAN, as well as for Cunard, when theQueen Mary 2 sailed into New York.

8 Never a rush at Cove Point – MORANprofessionals who bring in tankers loaded withliquified natural gas at Cove Point say there is nevera rush in handling these ships.

12 The view from Norfolk – MORAN tugsare well positioned to keep ships and cargo moving in the expanding port of Norfolk, according to MarkVanty who took over this year as vice president andgeneral manager of MORAN’s operations there.

14 End of an era in Norfolk – PaulHorsboll, a fixture in the mid-Atlantic marine com-munity and a 40-year MORAN employee, retiresfrom service.

16 New approach to barge design –

MORAN’s long history of barge operation is enter-ing a new phase with introduction of the first oftwo new articulated tug-barge units. These two newpetroleum barges continue the expansion ofMORAN’s double-hulled barge fleet.

18 River route to Albany – MORAN’s container barge towing service to Albany, N.Y. for Columbia Coastal Transport passed its firstanniversary this spring with excellent prospects for continued growth.

20 Ned Moran’s AWO duties – MORAN senior vice president has been busier then ever sincehe took over as chairman of the board of AmericanWaterways Operators (AWO) in April, 2004.

22 Shifting berths – Bob Patten steps downas controller; other MORAN professionals are on themove. Employee news on pages 22-23.

Cov

er p

hoto

: AP

Wid

e W

orld

Pho

tos

Behind

EDITOR Capt. James B. Murray

MANAGING EDITOR Darlene Ferris

SENIOR WRITER Gregory Walsh

ART DIRECTION & DESIGN Laura Lee Dobson

CONTRIBUTORS Mary Cheek, Bill Muller, SeanPerreault, Aislinn Pitchford

PUBLISHER Moran Towing Corporation

For questions, letters, or contributions, please

contact Darlene Ferris at TowLine@morantug.com

On the cover…MORAN tugs assist Cunard’s newest liner into

her berth in New York, just as they have for

the better part of a century. Story page 4.

Volume 58 2004

3

4

On the job forCunard

Pho

to: D

on S

uthe

rland

for

Mor

an

MORAN tugs continue long tradition

with Queen Mary 2 arrival in New York

It was a big event for MORAN as well as forCunard. The maiden arrival of the QM2 andsubsequent simultaneous sailing of both the

QM2 and the QE2, highlighted a proud pinnaclein the long relationship between Moran TowingCorporation and Cunard Lines in New York harbor.

Passing by throngs of flag-waving, camera-click-

ing New Yorkers, protected by a small army ofcombat-ready New York policemen and a flotillaof Coast Guard patrol craft, two MORAN tugshelped the world’s largest passenger ship dockport-side-to against the south side of Pier 92 onthe morning of April 22. MORAN tugs have beenperforming the same loyal, unsung service for

5

countless other Cunard liners for the better partof a century. They executed the same maneu-vers once again during the QM2’s much celebrat-ed port call.

“We were docking on the last of the ebb tideand the current was still running out at a prettygood clip,” said Rich Murphy, Captain of the 92-foot 5,100 hp z-drive tractor tug Gramma Lee T.Moran, which was on the job for Cunard allweekend. “She mostly needed a little help onthe starboard bow. We had to hold the bow upinto the current as she worked her way into theslip. We had two tugs up there, and we wereboth hooked up pretty well for a while.”

Assisting the Gramma Lee T. Moran with theCunard dockings in April was the 3,300 twin-screw tug Margaret. Both tugs are well accus-tomed to docking the 963-footQE2 at the Hudson River cruiseship terminal.

Most cruise ship dockings andundockings in New York arescheduled for advantageous load-ing and unloading of passengers,so tugboat services are seen asan important part of schedulingwhen tidal currents choose notto cooperate. MORAN typicallyassigns two tugs to a largecruise ship arrival but only one or

two to a sailing, according to Bill DeLap, one ofMoran’s senior dispatchers. “This was the largestship we’ve ever put in there, but even so, they’repretty maneuverable vessels, especially when itcomes to getting away from a pier.”

After docking, the stern of the 1,132-foot QM2extended out about 130 feet into the river beyondPier 92, which runs from 46th street to 54thStreet on Manhattan’s West Side. Extra mooringlines were deployed and the tug Miriam Moranstood by throughout the new Queen’s visit. Onhand for the maiden arrival and other activities,New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg said theCity would soon modernize its Hudson RiverCruise Terminal and establish its first passengership terminal in Brooklyn. New York City expectsto play host to 235 cruise ships carrying roughly

900,000 passengers. The QM2 herself is sched-uled to make 13 Atlantic crossings this yearbetween New York and Southampton, England.As it has for decades, the tugboats of MoranTowing Corp. will assist those vessels in and outof their berths.

MORAN’s long history with Cunard in New Yorkgoes back to the earliest years of steam-powered

Celebrating a big day for Cunard and MORAN recently were,

left to right, QM2 alternate captain Paul Wright, Cunard

president Pamela Conover, and recently retired MORAN

docking captain Grover Sanschagrin who piloted many

Cunard ships during his long career in New York.

MORAN’s tug Miriam Moran is shown in photo at left.

Pho

to: A

islin

n P

itchf

ord

for

Mor

an

76

ships and tugs. The famous steam paddle wheel-er Great Eastern first crossed the Atlantic toNew York in 1860, about the same year that theMORAN was founded in New York.

“I grew up hearing all the stories aboutMORAN tugs docking the latest ships of Cunardand the other great liner companies,” said NedMoran, senior vice president who began workingfor the company in the 1970s. “This has beenone of the keystone account relationships for thiscompany going back more than a century,” headded. “It has always been an importantMORAN account. There are special relationshipsthat are passed on from generation to genera-tion. I think MORAN has a name and a reputationthat is of such steadfast quality that today’s man-agers at Cunard don’t have to worry about it.They know that their ships will be well cared forhere, when it comes to tugboat services.”

In the early days of liner sailings in and out ofNew York, steam powered tugboats were less

MORAN’s top tractor tug in New York,

Gramma Lee T. Moran,

fits conveniently under the QM2 bow

flare during docking maneuvers in April.

powerful and maneuverable than today’s tugs.Docking pilots, including those working forMORAN, had to organize the efforts of eight toten tugs arrayed at bow and stern. When theoriginal Queen Mary arrived in New York on June1, 1936, it took the efforts of 10 steam-poweredMORAN tugs to ease the 1,019-foot ship into herberth. Fifteen years later, it required only five ofMORAN’s new 1,750-hp diesel-electric tugs todock the same liner. Today, not only areMORAN’s tugs vastly more powerful and maneu-verable but so is the Queen Mary 2. Four electricdrive units mounted on underwater pods maneu-ver the great ship. Two of the drive units arefixed for forward propulsion, while the other twocan be turned through 360 degrees for steeringand slow-speed maneuvering. In addition she hasthree powerful bow thrusters, which can gener-ate up to 13,000 hp worth of side thrust.

Capt. Jim Naughton, the docking pilot whomaneuvered the ship on her maiden docking,

said he was invited twice by Cunard to learnabout the ship and to practice maneuvering atthe Star simulation-training center in Ft.Lauderdale, Florida. “We worked out our bridgemanagement procedures and practiced some ofthe docking maneuvers,” explained Naughtonwho, in his 33-year career, has maneuvered theolder liner QE2 many times. “It worked out pret-ty well. We did one docking with maximum ebbcurrent and a northwest wind of 25 knots andshe still did pretty well.”

Both of the Cunard Queens have black hulls,which, in one small way, make life easier for

attending tugboats. Rich Murphy, Captain of theGramma Lee T. Moran said that his crew did nothave to put white canvas covers over the bowfendering as is often required for white-hulledcruise ships.

“Even so,” he said. “You better believe wewere careful not to put any marks on the bow.The azimuthing z-drives plus all that fendering,helps us to minimize sideways slippage along thehull, so we leave no marks. We’ll be back push-ing on that bow time after time, and we want toleave it nice and clean.”

Service has changed, but the job’s the same

In the early days of liner sailings in and out of New York, steam powered tugboats were less powerful and maneuverable than today’s tugs. Docking pilots, including those working for MORAN,had to organize the efforts of eight to ten tugs arrayed at the bow and the

stern. When the original Queen Mary arrived in New York on June 1, 1936, ittook the efforts of 10 steam-powered MORAN tugs to ease the 1,019-footship into her berth. By the time MORAN’s fleet of diesel-electric tugs were on the job, shownhere, the job required only five tugs working intandem. Tugs shown in these photos are all of theGrace Moran class of 1,750 diesel-electric tugsintroduced in 1949-1950. The 105-foot tugs can beseen fitted with white awnings on their boatdecks as they assist the Queen Mary in New York.

98

Point, located south of Baltimore on ChesapeakeBay. Tankers have been arriving at the rate of fiveto seven ships per month at the facility, whichwas reopened by Dominion Co. in 2003. Thatnumber is expected to increase after an expan-sion in shore-side tank storage is completedwithin the next year.

“There’s definitely a slower and more methodical pace in handling these ships,” saidMark Vanty, vice president and general managerof MORAN’s Norfolk operations, which oversees

the company’s work at Cove Point.“While safety is always the foremostconsideration in all our operations,with LNG ships we operate at thehighest levels. Even if a ship is running late there is never a rush toget into the dock to start unloading;that is never a factor with these gasships,” he added.

With the June delivery of its newest5,100 hp, advanced-firefighting tug,the James R. Moran, a sister to the

Those who help bring in tankers loaded withliquefied natural gas (LNG) to Cove Point,Maryland, say there is never a rush.

“The job takes as long as it needs to take,” saidTerry Briggs, senior skipper aboard the 5,100 hptractor tug Kaye E. Moran. “Everything is donevery cautiously.”

Briggs, along with his alternate skipper, DaveCulbertson, has made sure that the Kaye E.Moran has been performing exactly as she ismeant to be for arriving LNG tankers at Cove

Key wordat Cove Point:

CAUTION

Kaye E. Moran, the company has its twonewest and most advanced tugboats workingat the Cove Point facility.

Tug skipper Terry Briggs said that all thetugs involved with Cove Point have beenundergoing regular drills including those thatinvolved the FiFi-1 firefighting capability. “Werun all the machinery and equipment, and fireup those water pumps and monitors when-ever we do drills,” he said. “It’s prettyimpressive when both of those monitors andthe deluge system are working at the sametime. That’s when we’re pumping more than20 tons of water each minute through thesystem.”

The tug crews have also recently attendeda new firefighting course specifically

designed for those working with LNG tankers.Held at MORAN’s Norfolk training facility, thecourse was formatted and taught by MarineFirefighting Institute of New York. The coursewas designed to provide every crewmember withknowledge of the equipment, an understandingof the properties of LNG and to teach current firefighting tactics involving gas tankers. In addition to their powerful water projecting capabilities, FiFi-1 class boats also come withfour sets of protective firefighting clothing, foursets of self-contained breathing equipment andthe capability of refilling air bottles on board.

“The training has been a continuous processfor us,” said general manager Vanty. “We arefocused on crew training everywhere. Because ofour different tractor tug operations involving bothLNG tankers and Navy ship assist work, all of usspend a considerable amount of time on safetyand training considerations. At the same time weare learning from these operations, and we canapply those lessons to our other lines of business, including the commercial segment.”

As LNG tankers approach the Cove Point facility, they are typically met by tugs at a pilotstation south of the offshore loading platform.“The pilots can and do use the stern tug primari-ly to help slow or steer the ship, but we have not

Pho

tos:

Bria

n G

auvi

n fo

r M

oran

Terry Briggs, captain of Moran’s 5,000 hp trac-

tor tug Kaye E. Moran says there is never a

rush when docking LNG tankers at the Cove

Point terminal in Maryland. Photos at right

show MORAN tugs in action at Cove Point.

10

Special fire training for LNG crewsyet had a situation to show what we could reallydo by going into the so-called indirect modes oftowing,” said Briggs.

During the unloading period of an LNG tanker thetugs remain on standby, maintaining a constantwatch and are available at a moment’s notice ifneeded. In the event of a strong westerly wind,which would tend to blow the high-freeboard shipsaway from the platform, discharging of cargo can be

halted and tugs can quickly be called in to hold theship in place. Many of the dozen or so mooring lines deployed by arriving ships areequipped with strain gauges to monitor the effectof an offshore wind.

“At Cove Point it seems like they’ve thought ofevery eventuality to make sure that everythingworks as it is meant to,” said senior skipperBriggs.

MORAN contributed tugs andservices for two worthwhile

projects in the mid-Atlantic areathis past spring, one involving anassist for a Coast Guard trainingprogram and the other involvingcleanup of riverfront areas in thenation’s capital.

In Baltimore, MORAN madesome of its tugs, personnel andoffice space available to assist theU.S. Coast Guard with a strategictraining program for its boardingofficers.

MORAN’s Baltimore office madepart of its fleet of four tugs avail-able on a weekly basis so thatCoast Guard boarding officerscould practice boarding, inspectionand interrogation techniques in arealistic setting. The boarding offi-cers have been charged withenforcing security requirements indozens of U.S. ports.

“The people at Moran were atremendous help,“ said CoastGuard Lt. Chris Woodle, from theCoast Guard’s Marine Inspectionsand Investigations School inYorktown, Va. “We’ve gotten a lotof good feedback from everyoneinvolved with this program,” headded.

Paul P. Swensen, vice presidentand general manager of MORAN’sBaltimore office, said his ownemployees also benefited fromobserving and participating in the

program. Participating Coast Guard per-

sonnel were regular boarding offi-cers receiving supplemental train-ing on security issues while ontemporary assignment at theYorktown training school. Trainingon MORAN tugs typically involved

the use of actors playing the roleof tug captain and other crewmem-bers.

Much of the program involvedtechniques for ensuring that thevessel involved, and its crew,would be in compliance with thedictates of whatever maritimesecurity threat level might be inforce at any given time. A focus onMORAN’s Baltimore tugs involvedissues of access to vessels, crewidentification, facility compliance,

communication and on-board secu-rity, according to the Coast Guard’sLt. Woodle.

“When we reach a certain secu-rity level, the tradition of a tugboatlying at its dock with all of its entrypoints open to the breeze mightnot be appropriate,” he explained.In his view, that situation would besimilar to that of a ship lying atanchor in port with its pilot ladderhanging down to the water level.

Moran Towing of Maryland is thedominant tugboat company inBaltimore, a 300-year-old port onChesapeake Bay which handledmore than 25 million tons of cargoin 2003.

MORAN also participated in Aprilin an unprecedented cleanup efforton waterways of the nation’s capi-tal in support of the non-profitgroup Living Lands and Waters.

A MORAN tug was contributedto deliver a flat deck barge fromNorfolk to Washington D.C. andback. About 800 volunteers assist-ed in gathering approximately 50tons of trash from about 20 milesof shoreline along the Potomacand Anacostia rivers. The barge,used to haul away the tons of col-lected garbage, was provided byMcDonough Marine Service ofMetarie, Louisiana.

MORAN assists with Coast Guard training effort

MORAN crews in Norfolk havebenefited this year from

some of the finest marine firefight-ing training available. The trainingspecifically focused on situationswith liquid natural gas (LNG).

In a series of training programsdeveloped by New York-basedMarine Firefighting Inc., tractortug crews and shore-side person-

nel from MORAN reviewed LNGfirefighting techniques and trainedon some of the most advancedfirefighting equipment availableon tugboats. MORAN and a jointventure partner offer ship-assistservice to LNG tankers calling atDominion Energy’s LNG facility atCove Point, Maryland. Tugsinvolved at Cove Point have acapability to spray 11,000 gallonsof water per minute.

“All of these boats have veryhigh firefighting capability, and ourjob was to make sure everyoneknows how it can be best put touse in the event of an emer-gency,” said Tom Guldner, presi-dent and founder of the fire train-

ing company. “This is a fairlyunique training program. I’m notsure if anything like it has beendeveloped for tugboat crews,” headded. Guldner, who retired as alieutenant with the New York FireDepartment, was the training offi-cer for its marine division foreight years.

In addition to training sessions

held at Moran’s base on theElizabeth River, live equipmentdrills are also being conducted atthe Cove Point terminal. Two keyfunctions for tugboat crews oper-ating in the vicinity of an LNGshipboard incident would be cool-ing of hot metallic structures dur-ing an actual fire, or dispersal of a

“plume” of escaping natural gas,said Guldner. The use of high-powered water monitors as a toolfor dispersing a plume of vapor-ized LNG is something quite newfor most tug crews, he said.

“The plume would typically bevisible because it tends to freezemoisture in surrounding air,” heexplained. “So using the monitorsthe crews would be able to moveit away from any possible sourceof ignition or disperse it, and tosee the results.”

Also, he said, applying water tothe plume tends to increase itstemperature, which makes it riseup and dissipate faster.

“This is a fairly unique trainingprogram,” said Guldner. “Crewsaboard LNG tankers have their

own fire training programs all thetime, but I’m not familiar withanything like this being developedfor tugboat personnel. This train-ing is a good example of how allcompanies involved in LNG worktake safety seriously and helpsexplain the industry’s enviablesafety record.”

Crewmembers aboard the Kaye E.

Moran demonstrate proficiency with

the full range of firefighting equipment

during recent drill.

Coast Guard Lt. Chris Woodle

presents commemorative plaque to

Paul Swensen, MORAN vice president

and general manager in Baltimore.

Pho

tos:

Bria

n G

auvi

n fo

r M

oran

11

1312

Business is picking up in the Port of Norfolk,Virginia, and MORAN tugs are well posi-tioned to keep ships and cargo moving in

coming years, according to Mark Vanty, who tookover as vice president and general manager ofMoran Towing of Virginia at the beginning of 2004.

With up to 20 tugs stationed at MORAN’s Norfolkbase, the company is busy servicing both commer-

cial and Navy vessels and providing ship-assist andescort duties at the Cove Point LNG terminal onChesapeake Bay. Vanty, a 1986 graduate of MaineMaritime Academy, manages the second busiest

New head of Norfolk operations sees mid-Atlanticbusiness growing

port of the 13 where MORAN offers its services.(New York is the busiest with more than 5,000 com-mercial ship calls annually). Involved with a dailychoreography of ship assists, barge movements,and independent operations are 130 MORANemployees, all but 16 of whom are tugboatcrewmembers. Norfolk, with a half dozen sizablemarine terminals, gets close to 3,000 commercial

ship and barge calls annually,in addition to some 3,000naval ship movements.

In Norfolk, MORAN has itspermanent dock and head-quarters on the East Branchof the Elizabeth River, justupstream from the Nauticusmaritime center and thedowntown Waterside sec-tion. MORAN has been theleading provider of tugboatservices in Norfolk for manyyears.

Recent good news for theNorfolk area, according toVanty, includes plans by APMTerminals North America tobuild a container terminal onthe Elizabeth River with thefirst new containership arrivals

expected in 2007. The amount of cargo movingthrough Hampton Roads is expected to at least dou-ble by 2020 due to this and other new developments,he said.

Also in Norfolk, developments involving ‘cleancoal blends’ for electric power generation has

Mark Vanty at MORAN’s Norfolk headquarters

resulted in new imports of Indonesian coal toNorfolk’s Lambert’s Point terminal, while the newNauticus berthing facility is promising to increasethe number of arriving cruise ships. General cargotonnage in the port has increased roughly 10 per-cent in each of the last two years.

Mark Vanty began his career at MORAN immedi-ately following graduation from Maine Maritime.After working in tug and barge operations, he was

sent south to develop the company’s new ship-assist operation in Miami, and then in 1995, hemoved to Philadelphia where he managedMORAN’s Philadelphia-based fleet. In 1997, hereturned to Connecticut to head up MORAN’s NewYork-based harbor and offshore fleets. During thistime Vanty held several positions and worked on avariety of corporate projects while also earning hisMBA from the University of Connecticut.

MORAN tugs of various styles available in the Port of

Norfolk include MorTrac® tugs such as those shown

above, and conventional twin screw tugs for coastwise and

ocean towing, including the Cape Charles, shown at left.

Pho

tos:

Gre

g W

alsh

for

Mor

an

1514

P aul Horsboll, a fixture in the mid-Atlanticmarine community and a 44-year MORANemployee, retired from service at the end

of 2003. Horsboll, 65, started as a mess steward on ocean

tows in 1960, and rose to become a vice presidentand general manager of Moran Towing of Virginia bythe 1990s. He was an active contributor to the mar-itime community in Virginia and elsewhere, and hewas a much-loved manager among his own

employees and associates in Norfolk. “It’s been a lot of fun, over all those years,” he

said. “I don’t know where the time has gone, but Iam happy to have made this community, includingthe MORAN community, my home.”

“He’s the best boss I’ve ever had,” said PatBailey, MORAN’s port captain in Norfolk. “Paulthinks a lot of his people, and he would always gothe extra mile to take care of his crews.”

“The thing about Paul that has always impressed

me most is the way he is fair to everyone in everysituation,” said Perrin Keane, captain aboard the4,000 hp tug Cape Charles. “I have a lot of respectfor him and I know he’ll be missed by everyonearound here.”

Horsboll said his retirement plans include spend-ing more time with his family locally and gettingmore involved contributing his time to maritimeorganizations in the region.

During his tenure in Norfolk, Horsboll keptMORAN’s fleet pulling together through a numberof business and economic difficulties and he hasoverseen several periods of technological change.

“The best parts for me,” he said. “Were the intro-duction of the new MorTrac® tugs with theirazimuthing bow z-drive thrusters, and working withthe Navy on introduction of our Marci-class twin z-drive tugs. It was a great opportunity to be thereputting all those new and innovative boats to work.It was very rewarding that they were so wellreceived by the Navy and by the entire maritimecommunity.”

Much of the success of MORAN’s current rela-tionship with the Navy in Norfolk is due to the goodmanagement and relationship-building abilities ofPaul Horsboll, said Paul Tregurtha, MORAN’s chair-man and CEO.

“Paul’s relationship with the operating people onthe navy base has been extraordinary. This was evi-dent at a large christening ceremony for the Marci-class tugs used for our Navy contract. With eightnew tugs lined up on a Navy pier it was an unusualand complex christening event. It could not havegone more smoothly because of Paul’s work and itwas obvious when we talked to the senior Navyofficers that they all knew Paul and really respectedhim.

“We want Paul to know,” said Tregurtha, “thatthere’s not a person in this company who was not

saddened on the day he left us and headed off innew directions.”

Paul Horsboll, until his retirement at the end of2003, was the longest serving employee on thepayroll of Moran Towing Corporation.

“He’s a true Moraner,” said Tregurtha. “We arecertainly going to miss his long experience and hisjudgment and loyalty. Here’s a tugboat man whostarted with single screw tugs on ocean tows andended up working with some of the most sophisti-cated tractor-style tugs in service in the U.S. He hastremendous knowledge of the industry and somany of its players.”

Horsboll, who joined the company at the age of21, never worked for another tugboat company,although he did work for a couple of MORAN sub-sidiaries that were still carrying their former names,primarily Curtis Bay Towing.

“There’s something about Norfolk that keeps call-ing me,” said Horsboll. “I started my career bystepping onto a tug here at Sewell’s Point, and Iended up here by turning over the reins as head ofthat same Norfolk operation.”

End of an erain Norfolk

Paul Horsboll was the image of the youthful sailor, above

left, as he was depicted in the 1967 book Tugs, Towboats

and Towing by Cornell Maritime Press. Horsboll paused at

the entrance to MORAN’s facility in Norfolk just before

his retirement at the end of 2003.

Paul Horsboll, left, as he handed over management of

MORAN’s Norfolk operations to Mark Vanty.

Paul Horsboll retires after 40 years with Moran

1716

MORAN enters new ageof barge technology

M ORAN is entering a new phase in its longhistory of barge operations whenSeaboard Barge Corporation, its tank

barge subsidiary, introduces the first of three newpetroleum barges. These barges will have articu-lated connection systems, and will represent a con-tinued expansion of MORAN’s fleet of double-hulled tank vessels.

Major oil transportation companies, particularlythose on the East Coast, are widely adopting theso-called articulated tug-barge (ATB) connectionsystem for barges of roughly 100,000 barrel capac-ity and larger, according to Bruce Richards, vicepresident of Seaboard Barge Corporation. Tugs inan ATB system are locked into the barge notch in away that still allows the tug to pitch on its ownmotion, independent of thebarge’s pitch.

“Looking into the future, it’sclear that most tugs andbarges being built for this pur-pose, at least those of largersize, will be integrated orarticulated in this man-

In less than a year, three large oil barges

will be handled with ‘articulated’ coupler systems

ner,” said Richards. Within a year, he noted, theMORAN fleet will have three operating ATBs, thefirst ones in its fleet of about 25 barges.

The introduction of the new 110,000-barrelbarge, New Hampshire, at the end of this year, willmark MORAN’s first use of articulated couplertechnology, with two other barges expected to fol-low within a few months. The 425-foot heated oilproduct barge will be connected to a reconfiguredMORAN tug, Scott Turecamo, with a pin systemdeveloped by Intercontinental Engineering thatallows the tug to operate efficiently and safelywithin the barge notch in virtually all weather con-ditions. The New Hampshire will be followed by asister barge, to be named Georgia, in Spring, 2005.

The New Hampshire and the Georgia will beworking under contract for ConocoPhillips, deliver-ing heated oil products on the Eastern Seaboard.“We worked with ConocoPhillips on the design ofthese barges for several years,” said DaveBeardsley, vice president of construction and engi-neering. “They represent much of the

latest thinking in barge design and equipment.” Each new barge can carry 17,000 tons of cargo in

10 compartments. The flush-deck, unmannedbarges have plumb-stem ship’s style bows, withanchors and the latest in closed-tank gauging andhigh-level monitoring systems developed byBergen Marine.

As part of its refit in preparation to be matchedwith the first new barge, the 5,100 hp tug ScottTurecamo is having both of her existing pilothous-es replaced with a single elevated pilothouse with50-foot height of eye. A massive trunk tower sup-porting the new pilothouse will contain a stairtower and additional stateroom.

“It will be a whole new look for that tug,” saidBeardsley. Scott Turecamo, constructed in 1998, is121 feet in length with raised focsle design. Hertwo 12-cylinder EMD-645-F7B diesels coupled to

Naval architect’s rendering of new MORAN petroleum

barge New Hampshire and the reconfigured tug Scott

Turecamo. The first of a pair of these 110,000 barrel barges

is under construction at a Wisconsin shipyard.

115-inch, open-wheel propellers can generatemore than 70 tons of bollard pull. The tug will retainher existing towing winch and related gear, eventhough she will spend most of her time locked intothe 60-foot notch of the new barge, NewHampshire. Reconfiguration of the Scott Turecamois expected to be complete by November orDecember so that the tug will be able to extricateher new barge from the shipyard in Sturgeon Baybefore the onset of the Great Lakes ice season.

Even as the company’s first two 110,000 barrelATBs are under construction at Bay Shipbuilding inSturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, the 145,000 barrel barge,Massachusetts, is being double-hulled and con-verted to an articulated coupler system at GulfMarine Repair in Tampa, Fla. The Massachusetts isbeing converted to a connection system providedby Bludworth Cook Marine. Once out of the ship-yard in early 2005, she will be matched with theBludworth-equipped, 7,200 hp tug Paul T. Moran.

1918

More containersenroute

to Albany

by the Port of New York/NewJersey in conjunction with thePort of Albany. The partially pub-lic-funded program is part of aneffort to relieve heavy truck traf-fic on principal interstate high-ways on the Eastern Seaboard.

The goal of the PIDN programis to ship containers by barge toa number of inland ports. Albanyis just one of those locations,according to Frank Keane, gen-eral manager of the Port ofAlbany. Port officials estimatethat the service could transportas many as 8,000containers annuallyto Albany.

“Getting thetrucks off the roadis an issue that con-cerns everyone,and we’re glad tobe participating,”said Ted Tregurtha,president of MoranTowing Corporation“It’s part of the overall congestion problem that weface on the East Coast. Trucks cause a fair amount ofdamage to our road system. There’s also a great dif-ference between the exhaust emissions from onetugboat compared to the collective exhaust emissionsof 150 large trucks. So there are quite a few benefitsinvolved with a towing service like this.”

On a national level, the U.S. Maritime Administration(Marad) has also been promoting the use of water-borne transportation as part of its Short-Sea shippingprogram encouraging greater use of the nation’scoastal and inland waters for movement of cargo.Earlier this year, a Louisiana company launched aweekly container-on-barge service between NewOrleans and Baton Rouge, both on the MississippiRiver.

Although most of the established container bargeservices of Columbia Coastal are not related to

government programs to reduce truck traffic, they all tend to have that effect, saidDelaney. “We’ve been doing this for 15years on our own,” he explained. “That’slong before there were government concerns about trucks. But in the end, we

accomplish the exact same goals which help the envi-ronment and help make the highways safer.”

Towing services for Columbia are managed by PeterKeyes, Vice President of MORAN’S port of New Yorkand New Jersey and Offshore Operations. “We havetowed for Columbia for many years, in part becausewe understand the demands of their business,” saidKeyes. “The container business works on tight deadlines and thin margins, so reliability and costeffectiveness are both at a premium. As a result,Columbia can be a demanding customer at times butwe are always able to make it work somehow.”

Columbia’s Delaney agreed with Keyes. “Our longhistory with MORAN stems from how well we worktogether,” he said. “Over the years, the give and takeon both sides has allowed us to meet the exactingdemands of our real customers, the container ship-ping lines.”

MORAN tugs work with Columbia Coastal,

boosting container trade to Albany and other ports

MORAN’s container barge towing serviceto Albany, N.Y. for Columbia CoastalTransport passed its first anniversary this

spring with excellent prospects for continuedgrowth in coming years.

Since the inaugural run up the Hudson River inMarch, 2003, with one container on its barge, theservice has increased to two voyages per week. Thebarge that departed on the first anniversary of theservice carried 131 containers, according to Tom Delaney, senior vicepresident of New York-based Columbia Coastal.

“I think we’ve shownthat this business canwork, and a lot of the cred-it for that has to go to thePort of Albany,” saidDelaney. “Not only are webuilding a cargo business,but we are also keeping ahuge number of tractor-trailer trucks off our high-ways.” The twice-weeklyHudson River run up toAlbany – a voyage of 14 to16 hours each way – is onesmall part of a relationshipbetween MORAN and

Columbia Coastal that involves movements of con-tainer barges over much of the Eastern Seaboard, theGulf of Mexico and into the Bahamas.

Columbia Coastal Transport is a privately-ownedtransportation company that offers U.S. flag coast-wise intermodal shipping services for a variety of customers including some of the world’s largest container shipping companies. Columbia Coastal hasbeen in the container barge transportation business for 15 years and, in May, took delivery of its12th barge – the 343-foot Columbia Boston, with 912TEU capacity.

In addition to its estab-lished, scheduled servicesto the major ports ofMiami, Savannah,Charleston, Norfolk, NewYork (including Albany),and Boston, ColumbiaCoastal is also planning tobid soon for service toBridgeport, Conn., andrecently initiated service toPortland, Maine.

The year-old service toAlbany is part of the PortInland DistributionNetwork (PIDN) developed

MORAN tugs handle container barges

for Columbia Coastal on the Hudson River

to Albany and to other key ports

on the Eastern Seaboard.

Containers shipped by Columbia Coastal Transport on

barges handled by Moran Towing Corp. are stacked up

awaiting transshipment at the Port of Albany.

2120

N ed Moran has long beenknown to keep a hecticschedule. But now the

MORAN senior vice presidenthas been busier thenever since he took overas chairman of theboard of AmericanWaterways Operators(AWO) in April 2004.

“On some weeks, itseems that from morn-ing to night all I do isAWO business,” saidMoran who is serving aone-year term as chairman of theWashington-based maritimeindustry advocacy group.

In reality, it is more like 20 to 30percent of his time, he said.“There’s a lot of work and effortinvolved. The issues are very seri-ous and I think it’s a credit toMORAN and its leadership thatthe company is willing to makethis commitment.”

Moran, who took over fromIngram Barge Co. president CraigPhilip at the AWO spring conven-tion in Washington, delivered thekeynote speech to the conven-tion, pledging to advance pro-grams that encourage safety andaccountability throughout the tug-boat industry.

It was Ned Moran who initiatedMORAN’s involvement withAWO, first getting involved withthe organization in the early

1990s when he took over as headof the company’s operations inBaltimore. He was asked to jointhe organization’s board of direc-

tors two years ago.AWO, founded in 1944,is an industry advocacygroup that representsthe large majority of tug-boat, barging and inlandtowboat companies inthe U.S.

Addressing an audi-ence of several hundredindustry leaders at the

convention, Moran said he would“continue the journey” begun byhis predecessors at AWO toensure greater industry safetyand enhance its value to thenation’s economy.

“I will consider it a hallmark ofmy tenure as chairman to securelegislative passage of the towingvessel safety, security andinspection program proposal, andto help the Coast Guard launch aregulatory process to implementit,” he said during openingremarks at the organization’sannual event.

Specifically, Moran said that heand the AWO leadership team isin full support of the U.S. CoastGuard’s request for an inspectionprogram for the entire tugboatindustry.

“We think this would be ahuge leap forward,” said Moran

in separate comments. “It willhelp us to shed that label ofbeing ‘uninspected’ which boththe public and many people inour own industry equate withbeing unregulated and unsafe.We will become a better industryafter we are all inspected,” headded.

AWO is already the centralorganizer of the U.S. ResponsibleCarrier Program that requiresmember companies to meet cer-tain standards of equipment andsafety for each vessel enrolled inthe program. In his remarks inApril, Moran also suggested thatgovernment agencies as well asprivate businesses should givepreference in assigning contractsto tugboat companies that areinvolved in safety managementsystems such as the ResponsibleCarrier Program.

Moran said he would also focusduring the coming year on helpingto close what he descried as loop-holes in Jones Act regulations,and in working against a currentproposal to extend the financialprivileges of the CapitalConstruction Fund to shippingcompanies intending to partici-pate in coastwise trade routes.

Ned Moran is the great grand-son of Michael Moran, the com-pany’s founder and the son ofAdmiral Edmond Moran, a longtime chairman of MORAN.

Ned Moran busier than ever as 2004/05 AWO chairman

Bob Pattensteps down as controller

Although he continues to work withMORAN’s accounting office on a part timebasis, Robert J. Patten has stepped down

from his long-time position as the company’sController. Patten, who first came to work forMORAN in 1976, turned over the controller’s posi-tion to Gus Flink at the beginning of 2004.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to work forboth the late Tom Moran and for CEO PaulTregurtha for the past 27 years,” he said at hisretirement. “The growth and success of MORANis testament to their leadership skills and to thoseof many other people involved with this company.When you work for MORAN, you work for family.Dedication and loyalty come easily.”

Patten, who resides in Bethel, Connecticut, withhis wife, Mary, first came to MORAN as anaccounting manager after working with the nation-al accounting firm Peat Marwick. He worked at theWorld Trade Center for his first 10 years with thecompany and has since moved ever closer to hishome as the company has occupied two differentConnecticut offices.

Aside from the changes in MORAN’s ownership,and strong growth culminating in MORAN’s acqui-sition of Turecamo Maritime Corp., the most dra-matic changes that Patten has seen over the yearsare those brought about by computers, he said.

Patten, who first learned how to use a computerduring his time at MORAN, said there were hardlyany computers in use when he first started withthe company, and it was not until the early 1990sthat there was a computer on everyone’s desk atheadquarters.

“The computer changed everything for theaccounting department. The PC explosion has

allowed us to have individual accountants do dou-ble and triple the workload that they used to per-form in the ‘old’ days,” he said. As a result theaccounting department has actually decreased insize to its present level of about seven staff mem-bers.

“The new generation of professional that wehave here now, they are the ones who really start-ed us with computers,” he added. “Particularlywhen Ted Tregurtha came here and took over aspresident. He was kind of a flashpoint in getting allthe staff and all ofour systems up tospeed with comput-ers. Everyone kindof recognized thathe was one ofthose whizzeswhen it comes tothe newest tech-nologies.”

Looking backover the past cou-ple of decades,Patten said he wasespecially cognizantof the way Moranhas invested in expanding its barging operationsand in developing tractor tug technology. “Thegrowth is incredible and it just seem to go on andon.” he noted. “There’s been some very impres-sive investments in new equipment, and in tech-nology and in a more efficient and safer means ofoperation.”

Since his shift into the world of semi-retirement,Patten has been working two to three days perweek in the accounting department at MORAN’snew headquarters in New Canaan. “I’ve beendoing my best to make some kind of contributionwhile keeping my mouth shut,” he explained. “Thebest part about being retired is the extra time tospend with my grandchildren, while my wife saysthe best part about being semi-retired is that it getsme out of the house for a few days each week. Forme, it’s great to still have the active associationwith MORAN.”

22

RETIREMENTS

Raymond Carrano Moran Towing Corporation June 27, 2003Robert Patten Moran Towing Corporation December 31, 2003ClareBailey Moran Towing of Maryland March 29, 2004Paul Horsboll Moran Towing of Virginia December 31, 2003

PROMOTIONS

Sean Perreault Moran Towing Corporation Engineering ManagerGustave Flink Moran Towing Corporation ControllerVirginia Johnson Moran Towing Corporation Cash Receipts CoordinatorRobert Barry Moran Towing of Charleston General ManagerThomas Craighead Moran Towing of Florida Vice President, General ManagerGregory Jammes Moran Towing of Florida Assistant Port EngineerLarry Diehl Moran Towing of Florida Chief DispatcherJohn Archer Moran Towing of Maryland Manager of Engineering Admin. Kevin Crowder Moran Towing of Maryland DispatcherManuel Sampedro Moran Towing of Maryland Port EngineerNathan Hauser Moran Towing of Pennsylvania Operations AssistantRonald Droop Moran Towing of Savannah Vice President, General ManagerMark Vanty Moran Towing of Virginia Vice President, General ManagerGary Newell Seaboard Barge Corporation Port CaptainAkia Shangai Seaboard Barge Corporation Administrative Assistant

OBITUARIES

Earl Allen Moran Towing & Transportation Retiree April 2004James Bryson Moran Towing & Transportation Retiree April 2003Elly Freiman Moran Towing & Transportation Retiree November 2003Robert Loftus Moran Towing & Transportation Retiree June 2004 Stuart Mortensen Moran Towing & Transportation Retiree August 2003Helen Parks Moran Towing & Transportation Retiree May 2002Thomas Rasmussen Moran Towing & Transportation Retiree October 2003Margaret Siner Moran Towing & Transportation Retiree November 2003Peter Rocha Moran Towing & Transportation May 2004James Rushing Seaboard Barge Corp. September 2003

NEW HIRES

Toriano Fredericks Moran Towing & Transportation 4/26/04 Night DispatcherRobert Beighau Moran Towing & Transportation 2/16/04 Night DispatcherTimothy Purdy Moran Towing & Transportation 2/23/04 Night DispatcherRobert Feliciano Moran Towing Corporation 3/02/04 Mail/MessengerLeslie Smith-Harrison Moran Towing Corporation 6/14/04 Sr. Benefits Admin.Emily Sporn Moran Towing Corporation 6/30/03 Quality/SafetyAdmin.Virginia Banks Moran Towing of Charleston 4/14/04 DispatcherKathleen Hoyt Moran Towing of Florida 11/10/03 DispatcherKenneth Beckett Moran Towing of Savannah 12/03/03 DispatcherJames Phillips Moran Towing of Savannah 5/04/04 DispatcherRyan McHaney Moran Towing of Texas Inc. 7/22/03 DispatcherRobert Clarkson Seaboard Barge Corporation 2/02/04 OperationsCoordin.Kevin Collins Seaboard Barge Corporation 8/11/03 OperationsCoordin.George Friant Seaboard Barge Corporation 4/01/04 Sr. Barge Super.Kari Lillemoen Seaboard Barge Corporation 8/04/03 Contract Admin.

MORAN PERSONNEL NEWSMilestones in the lives of members of the Moran family, past and present

23

SERVICE AWARDS 2004

Kjell-Arrne LiadalVincent ArroyoJohn AustinThomas Bell Harry Bogan Casey BoswellRosalind BronnerCalvin CheethamJohn Colella Harry L. DennisMichael DonohueVincent Ellul Billy EppsDaniel Fitzmartin

Anthony FosterRobert Garner Kevin GarrityKenneth GaskinsJohn Gazzola James Gerg Brian Gerring Robert Gipson Paul Grainger Fred Grimm Lonnie Hendrix John HollandKenneth L. Hurd Jose Izquierdo

Steven JacksonDarren Kerney Kevin Kirchner Jane Klaben Harry LecesneDanny S. LopezAlbert Mann Mihai ManoliMichael MastramicoDon McGradyRobert McGuireKevin NeareyEvdoxia PapahristouPaul Paszkiewicz

Sean PerraultWilliam PierceLazaro ReyesSherry RhodesMadelyn RomanCharles RomanoJames SanislowFrank Schauer Jamie Scott Cory Sheridan Glenn TaltonJoseph ThomasKevin ThompsonStephen Thompson

Kenneth ThuestadJose TorresTimothy Trout Cecil WilliamsGregory Williams

5 Years of Service ✰

David BeanKevin BlackRichard BohaczekSteven CarmineDonald Cheetham

Douglas CrockettRomolo DicesareCharles EllisJudith EnrightChris Guy

Fred E. HamiltonJerome HoustonHoward JamesJohn MalmgrenJames Morgan

Andrew MorrisCarlos MouldsGary NewellAlan SelfDonald Southworth

Allen SwaffordEugene TouseullSteve E. Wells

10 Years of Service ✰ ✰

Richard BatemanGary BiggsJoaquin CalixWilliam Davis

Ronald DroopThomas DundonGustave FlinkFred Frabel

Elbert FussellWilliam GaillardJohn GarveyVirginia Johnson

Thomas LauderDrewry LittleDuane PrestonCharles Pugh

Theone SaltisWilliam ShieldsDonald Waldeck

15 Years of Service ✰ ✰ ✰

Alan Bischoff Robert Johnson John E. Sparks

20 Years of Service ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

Louis BarraLawrence Bencivenga

Gary D. DavisRonald Demello

Robert FlanneryMichael Gallo

Donald HowcroftFredrick Johnson

Ronald Rohn

25 Years of Service ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

Clifford Champagne John Zents Stephen Tilloston Theresa Piner Victor W. Earle

Patricia Boncoraglio Richard Murphy

Donald J. Peck

30 Years of Service ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

35 Years of Service ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

40 Years of Service ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

Moran Towing Corporation

50 Locust AveNew Canaan, CT 06840-4743

Tel. 203.442-2800Fax 203.442-2857

www.morantug.com

To request a subscription to Towline, or

to notify us of an address change, please

send notification to the address below or

send an e-mail to: Towline@MoranTug.com

W ords contained on this decal, conspicuously displayed just below

the pilothouse on the MORAN tug CapeCod in Norfolk, Virginia, did not appearthere by whim. They are key excerpts fromthe official mission statement of MoranTowing Corp. Every MORAN tug now car-ries these words displayed in a prominentlocation.

MORAN’s complete mission statement is as follows:

‘Our mission is to provide a marine transportation service that is valued by our customer.

In pursuit of our goals, we will be hardworking, honest, efficientand loyal. In everything we do, we will first consider the safetyof our fellow employees and the marine environment.

We will strive to continually improve. We will be creative and innovative in business. We will be vigilant and careful at sea.We will listen to our customers, to each other, and to our suppliers.

We will gauge our success by the success of our customers.’

Phot

os:

Gre

gory

Wal

sh fo

r M

oran