From what I have heard if you just leave the barge alone it will lighten itself by quite a bit!
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I haven’t seen anything that officially says that they were, but I know that they operate that way as a matter of course.
Unless there’s something in the waiver about not putting bottom paint on rocks.
Although that is contrary to what I have heard on the street I hope it is true because I don’t have any animosity towards Dunlap. I know they’re a good company already facing heavy scrutiny and I don’t want what is already a system heavily weighted against American mariners to become even more difficult for us.
My animosity is towards the Heiltsuk’s who ever since the NATHAN E. STEWART grounding using all their political power (which is far too much imo) to deny the US their treaty bound rights to transit their waters. I certainly believe they will kick, yell and scream now to ensure that even more draconian regulations are crammed down our throats. Might soon become a shakedown where they collect a toll for each transit.
It was one of the Marine Power and Equipment subsidiaries, I cannot recall the name of that particular company. As I recall they were running between Seattle and Seward. The tugs were the big former Therio tugs from Louisiana.
If I recall correctly, after a couple of incidents in BC they were required to go outside or take Canadian pilots.
So the theory is that they holed the barge on the Parry Patch?
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Those are the barges and the tugs I am referring to…but what did they call that operation? Anyhow, it didn’t last very long before bankrupt.
I had worked for them myself in 84 & 85 but not on that run
No just speculation on my part but we know it is the greatest single danger that a tug and barge would need to pass before where the damage was discovered. Anywhere else requires being miles away from the usual track.
It wasn’t just that operation that went bankrupt. It was the entire Marine Power & Equipment - Peter Wick, Richard Wick (sp) family of companies, including the primary tug company Marine Leasing / Marine Logistics, Alaska Marine Towing, and the two Marine Power shipyards that went bankrupt.
The 550 triple deck barges running to Seward were instantly problematic and that service failed within a year. They had the wrong shoreside managers and the wrong crew with no Alaska experience on the boats. Those barges may have been simply too big with too much windage for that route, at least in the winter.
Also, Tote, Sealand, AML and Northland were tough well established competitors.
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Being run too hard to stay on schedule according to the engineers that I talked to on one of those big tugs
I was aboard one of them for about half a day. There were three engineers in the E/R doing some engine work, IIRC replacing pistons etc. They told me major engine work was required after each trip.
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The Boat Bluff / Parry Patch route is certainly tight, especially at Parry Patch, and it’s where just above everyone transits.
The Hiekish Narrows route is less often used. Boyer is one of the few American companies that I have seen using it.
The first incarnation of Northland went bankrupt after hitting the rock in the center of Heikish Narrows in the late 1970s or early 80s. I think the tug was the old Polar Star. I cannot remember the name of the captain (it was before Ernie). The barge took on water and rolled over.
Jim Haugen (principal owner of Northland) didn’t think the Canadian salvors were “can do” enough. He had the barge towed upside down back to Bellingham Bay where he could lead his own team to right it. They were surprised to discover that the lashings held and all the containers were still onboard when they reached Bellingham Bay. (Northland knew how to lash).
Not many guys left that remember that incident.
At the new post-bankruptcy Northland (owned by Haugen, Dunlap and Campbell) it was forbidden to transit Heikish Narrows.
Northland was bought by Alaska Marine Lines a few years ago. The end of an era.
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Yes. That was true. When the Cajun captains were told by the shoreside managers to make the schedule, they said “rog-oh boss man” and kept the throttles full ahead all the time. There were some parted tow wires, at least one in the Inside Passage. A rescue tug was required; those guys didn’t know how to pick a barge on the emergency wire.
It wasn’t just a lack of Alaska experience. It was also Gulf oil patch culture; you can’t use good judgment and say no to the boss man.
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The view from Canada:
I remember all of that but was the end of that trailer barge service which killed Marine Power outright because I recall them continuing to operate after that happened? Also do you recall if their barge hit Vancouver or Susan Rocks?
No idea which rock they hit. I wasn’t around when it happened and that was the pre-internet era
Bankrupt companies tend to keep operating for months or years until the money runs out completely.
I remember some of the tugs on the Seward run. The Martha, Joshua, & Janet W come to mind. They were big powerfull tugs but in the wrong hands they were not adequate with those barges.
Sometimes while towing logs and log barges in SE Alaska we would see them ducking inside due to weather.
Jeez– I was a few years later, but didn’t get the memo. I did it with a friendly barge and just filed the info away for possible future use.
It was also the old Northland who tried to use the old Sea Trader for Southeast, then stretched it and used it for places farther west. Didn’t work out I suspect because it couldn’t haul enough containers to make it worthwhile.
Well, a previous poster wordlessly put up a picture of the un-named rock at the top of Jane Island. If a guy were to relax too much after getting past all of the famous rocks and not hug Boat Bluff like you’re supposed to, it could be a problem. They did appear to damage the starboard side of the barge.
So that’s the location of that image then? Now where did it come from? Perhaps some AIS tracking site I would image but it certainly shows a very late turn with the barge swinging over to the south and the stern of it clipping Hazard Rock. Even if the mate on watch was qualified to pilot the tug it still is pretty clear human error which may end wire towing through any of the passages.
(Note: when back to look at that image again but see it is gone so likely BS)
Anyway, I believe the barge was made ready to tow to Seattle if they haven’t departed already. Not following it very closely at the moment.
I had thought all that happened at Parry Patch and not in Heikish Narrows. I didn’t know anyone ever towed through there?