Tar Season

Some say there are two seasons in the Atlantic Canada - snow plowing season and paving season. The latter traditionally ends in late November when freezing temperatures make it difficult for asphalt to cure properly. So at this time of year there is usually a mad last minute rush to get all the planned work done.

Asphalt is a tricky commodity to handle as it must be kept heated at all times, and so it can only be carried in specialized tankers. There are never enough Canadian tankers (whether they be ships or barges) to meet the seasonal demand, and the region's major asphalt product Irving Oil, acquires a coasting license for the US flag tug barge combo Coho / Penn No.92 to operate between Canadian ports when the Canadian fleet is too busy. (This is the fourth coasting license trip the tug has made this year. Much of the rest of the time it is running from Saint John, NB to US ports.)

Coho and Penn No.92 arrived in Halifax today from Saint John, NB, carrying 80,000 bbls of hot asphalt (at 300 degrees Fahrenheit), some of which it will discharge at the McAsphalt depot in Eastern Passage. It will continue on with cargo for some or all of the ports of Stephenville, Holyrood, Come-by-Chance and Botwood, NL.

Built in 2008 by Thoma-Sea Boatbuilders of Lockport, LA, Coho is a Fin class ATB tug, with a 53 foot height of eye elevated wheelhouse. It is powered by a pair of Cummins engines giving 4,000 bhp through twin screws in nozzles and Nautican triple shutter rudders. It relies on a JAK-400 coupler system to connect with the 90,0000 bbl, 414 foot long barge, and stays in the notch in virtually any sea condition. It thus does not carry a towing winch, but has a capstan and H -bitts if required to tow the barge.

The tug was ordered by Penn Maritime of Philadelphia, and called here in their grey and black livery. In 2012 Kirby Corp acquired Penn and repainted the superstructure white, and applied the Kirby diamond to the stacks.

I have featured the tug here before where I posted some photos of the tug out of the notch.:

http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2017/07/return-of-coho.html

http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2016/06/eastern-tug-roundup.html

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Return of the Coho - AMENDED

A familiar sight in Saint John, NB, the articulated tug barge (ATB) combination Coho and Penn No.92 made one of its infrequent visits to Halifax today.

The US flag tug and its 7100 grt asphalt barge usually run from Saint John to US east coats ports, but due to a shortage of Canadian tanker space*, Irving Oil received a coasting license to use the pair to deliver asphalt to Halifax and the Newfoundland ports of  Stephenville, Holyrood and Botwood. They will be making a second trip later in the month or early in August, delivering asphalt to McAsphalt.

Coho was built in 2008 by Thomasea Shipbuilders LLC in Lockport, LA one of five tugs with 51.5 ft high pilot house, specifically for ATB work. The connection is made with a JAK coupler system, which has proven to be so successful at sea that the tug can remain in the notch at all time.

Original owner of the pair was Penn Maritime, originally of Philadelphia, but by then based in Stamford, CT, and the tug carried their distinctive grey colour scheme, with black hull and white trim.  It was in those colours that they visited Halifax in 2012. The same year Penn Maritime was acquired by Kirby Corp of Channelview, TX and although they retained the names of both tug and barge, the tug has been repainted in Kirby Colours.

Docked at McAsphalt's jetty in Eastern Passage in 2012, the tug had disconnected from the barge during the unloading process.

*   The new tanker Damia Desgagnés  was originally scheduled to make these trips, but it was late being delivered. It has since run aground and may require repairs, further delaying it.

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AMENDED

Monday July 3, 2017 

Less than 24 hours after arriving, Coho and Penn No.92 sailed from the McAsphalt dock in Eastern Passage. 

The barge is carrying 80,000 bbls of ashpalt to distrubute to the four ports it will visit, so it likely unloaded one quarter of  its cargo here.

On sailing it took the starboard side of the channel allowing a bit closer view of the tug.

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Penn Maritime Inc sells to Kirby

1. Penn's Eliza following a drydocking at Halifax Shipyard in 2003. She is an ATB tug - you can see the coupler - and is rarely detached from her barge.

As mentioned the large US tug and barge operator Kirby Corp (a publicly traded company)  has purchased the family owned Penn Maritime in a deal that is expected to close in mid-December. Penn's corporate headquarters are in Stamford, CT, but they operate from Staten Island, NY and Slidell, LA..
Kirby has been on a bit of a buying spree, expanding beyond its inland roots to coastal operations. It is now the only US operator working the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific (including Alaska) coasts and the inland rivers. Latest figures indicate that is fleet consists of 853 inland barges, 246 inland towboats, 63 coastal barges, 63 coastal tugs and 3 offshore drybulk barges.

In July 2011 it acquired K-Sea Transportation (itself an amalgam of Eklof, Roehrig and others) and in 2012 already bought Allied Transportation Co, a small southern operator.
With the Penn Purchase it gets 18 double hull barges and 16 tugs (of theses 12 are ATBs, the others are wire boats).

Penn tug/barges have been regular callers in our waters for many years, most often in Saint John, but also from time to time in Halifax and as far as Newfoundland. They specialize in liquid asphalt, fuel oil and feed stocks, and have been chartered by Irving Oil to carry asphalt in our region and to the US.
Penn Maritime was founded in 1985, but is an offshoot of the Morania Oil Tanker Corp, which dates from 1947 (it also ran small tankers). The two companies had common ownership and shared offices and management, but there was some complication due to family ownership that kept them apart, at least nominally, until 2000. In that year Morania was merged into Penn and thus disappeared. I always liked the fire engine red Morania tugs, but Penn's are a less exciting grey. However many other tug operators have red as their colour, and Penn was virtually unique in their choice. That will likely disappear now when the tugs are repainted and renamed.

2. Penn No.2 was typical of the smaller wire boats operated by Penn, but previously run by Morania. It had been Morania No.2  at that time. It has since been sold and operates as Coral Coast.

For one of Penn's larger wire boats see:

http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.ca/2011/10/penn-no6.html

In its prior life with Morania, it was Morania No.6 when I saw it in  Saint John, glistening in wet weather with its spotless red paint and silver funnel.band :

3. Morania No.6 in the notch of its barge.

The most frequent Penn Maritime tug to be seen in these parts lately has been Coho. It was in Eastern Passage in June, but did not make it easy for the photographer:

http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.ca/2012/06/coho-visits-eastern-passage.html

It also made a trip to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland during August/September.

After the nmerger it is likely that the same tugs will continue in the same trades, but under new names.

Coho visits Eastern Passage

Penn Maritime's articulated tug/barge Coho/Penn 92 put in at the McAsaphalt dock (formerly known as Dook's dock) in Eastern Passage today to off load asphalt.
The tug/barge are constant visitors in Saint John, running from Irving Oil to US east coast ports. Penn Maritime (formerly Morania) are specialists in carrying asphalt and have built up a sizable fleet of tugs and double hulled, heated barges.
This trip to Halifax is under a coasting license, granted by the Minister of Public Safety, since no Canadian vessels were available. It allows the tug/barge to deliver 80,000 bbls of asphalt to various (unnamed) eastern ports for Irving Oil, between June 14 and July 14.
The tug Coho, built in 2008 is powered by two 2,000 bhp Cummins engines  driving twin screws in Nautican nozzles and is fitted with a JAK 400 coupling system to connect to the barge. The barge measures 15,225 deadweight tons (US measure).
Coho is built to work form the notch at all times but is fitted with an emergency towing system. It has an elevated wheelhouse, with height of eye 51.5 feet above the water line. Unlike early articulated tugs, it does not have a lower wheelhouse.
Once alongside at McAspahlt, the tug uncoupled from the barge and lay alongside. It is fairly rare for the tug to do this, but the dock is relatively short and would present challenges to secure the tug while in the notch.
I was therefore disappointed not to get a better photo.

McAsphalt's two articulated tug/barge combinations are busy running on the Great Lakes/ St.Lawrence. They generally run from the Detroit area to Montreal, but do work farther afield as well.