[Ted Davisson]

Greetings From New Orleans ,
If I am not mistaken , very seldom if ever does the mention of the lpwly harbor tugs that physically man handle the ships in the river and for that matter in other harbors through out this country as well , has ever come up on this forum ! Affectionately known as , " The Bull Dogs Of The Harbor " , these tug boats have been around in the New Orleans harbor when the ships that once came here were " Square Rigged " and made of wood and canvas !
Since my tenure on the river , I have been fortunate enough to witness the evolution of the sea going ships that visit this harbor but also the evolution of the harbor tugs that assist these same ships with their maneuvers in this close quartered and congested river ! Almost , not a single assignment I go to does not require the assistance of at least one to five tugs depending on the nature of the maneuver , the size , tonnage and draft of the ship that is to be maneuvered ! Furthermore , due to force of the current high river conditions , many harbor tugs are required to assist with holding a ship alongside its berth while it is either loading or discharging its cargo ! There are four different major tug boat companies that work the river between Baton Rouge and the Sea Buoy and they are ; Crescent Salvage & Towing ( formally simply known as Smith Brothers ) E.N. Bisso , Willie Bisso , and now Moran ( formally known as RIVCO )
When I first became a " Ship Pilot " , in 1979 the harbor tugs that we used to maneuver the ships were ALL single right hand screws , maybe at best 1,800 to 2,000 horse power and some were still steam powered with a " Bell and Whistle " communication system between the Wheel House and the Engine Room ! Also , these tugs did not have all the amenities that the modern tugs of today have such as ; air conditioning , modern galley's , satellite television , no life saving or fire fighting equipment or even the basic vhf marine radios to communicate with ! The crew was dramatically over worked and under paid and the food was so poor you would have second thoughts of giving it to your dog ! To put it mildly , life on these old harbor tugs was primitive , spartan and down right dangerous !
Now , thirty-one years latter , WOW and where did all those years come and go , the modern day harbor tug is so much better in so many respects ! These modern day harbor tugs are now fully heated and air conditioned , the food still has something to be desired but it is also my understanding that now at least it is abundant and edible with an open galley 24/7 ! There is now satellite television , some with washing machines and life in general is so much more livable , safer and with a one week on and one week off work schedule !
From my perspective as a Ship Pilot , what has impressed me most during this thirty-one year time frame is not only how much stronger in horse power these tugs are now ( most are now in the 3,000 to 4,000 hp range ) but also how much more maneuverable they presently are ! Try to imagine going from a single , right hand screw maybe 1,800 to 2,000 hp to now a triple , screw 4,000 plus Tractor Tug with a full 360 degrees of ability and maneuverability ! Now , because of this additional horse poser and maneuverability we are able to place the modern Tractor Tug at locations are the ship that we were not able to before ! For example , at some docks and terminals we service , there may be eddies or other issues that make these same docks dangerous to go into or depart from but now we can place a Tractor Tug on the transom of the ship and thus control the stern of the ship by having the Tractor Tug pull the stern of the ship in the desired direction in order to safely arrive at the dock ! In fact , the importance of the harbor tug is so critical , some docks and terminals actually have requirements of the minimum number of tugs that a Pilot must use with his maneuvers at the dock !
I cannot speak for the other Pilots that work between Baton Rouge and the Sea Buoy , but the advent of these new and modern and highly maneuverable tugs has made my job so much safer and efficient and faster than any other single item that has made its presence known in the local marine industry !
In the first picture is a twin screw , Crescent Salvage & Towing tug , in the second picture is a twin screw RIVCO ( now Moran ) tug and in the third picture is a twin screw E.N Bisso tug .
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson