Many thanks to Trucker Tim Powell for sending along these photos taken in Superior WI back in May 2008. She was launched in 1944 as ST 7067, later transferred to the USACE. Given the timing, Forney had already changed owners and would soon be painted in Heritage Marine’s gold livery, and renamed Edward H.
She looked quite good in USACE livery.
She’s still ST 707 gray inside.
I believe Forney, now Edward H, has been repowered, so this Enterprise DMG-38 engine is likely no longer in the boat. Does anyone know what she currently has for power, and what became of the Enterprise engine?
It turns out I saw Edward H from the air back in June 2017, although I was unable to identify her (I believe from bottom to top here we have Edward, Helen, and Nels.)
Here’s a similar shot from the other direction. More of this flight I posted here. The pilot had all the skills.
From Ingrid Staats . . . the most famous tugboat, Theodore Two, at least the most famous tugboat that isn’t really a tug boat. Bowsprite caught this famous non-tug here in the sixth boro, a decade ago. Ingrid took these photos in Toronto very recently.
Theodore Two has made quite a few meet-greet stops along its month-long journey from Halifax to Hamilton, salt to fresh water. Notice the bark canoe as tender?
Photos I saw from various Canadian stops (The pandemic prevented her from calling at US stops along the way.) show as many folks coming to meet-greet as used to appear whenever Urger stopped at towns along the Erie Canal.
From eastriver, enter the The Black Belt along the lower Mississippi.
And finally . . . a research question from Eric Wiberg: where is 1945 Bushey tug Chaplain? See text below for more info. Eric has even more info.
Many thanks to Tim, Ingrid, eastriver, and Eric for these photos.
From Eric: “This tug was at the last U-boat attack ever and is believed afloat in US or Bahamas. In May of 1945 a tug named CHAPLAIN crewed by Louis Alfred Coley, Jr. and others was used by U-853 under Oberleutnant zur See Helmut Frömsdorf of Germany as a disguise to hide under and sink the US merchant ship BLACK POINT, off Point Judith, RI, with the loss of 12 US sailors and naval gunners. Because the tug crew carried on towards New York with a light scow, history missed her, until 2018 and Capt. Colley described the events days before his death. Now, a Bahamian / US maritime historian is seeking anyone has any information on this tugboat, completed in Brooklyn NY in early 1945 by Ira S. Bushey & Sons, steam-powered with a Fairbanks-Morse engine of 1,000 horsepower.
Owned by Red Star Companies and Spentonbush Fuel Transport Service; Bushey affiliates. Sold to Farrell Ocean Services, then McKie Marine Co., and Russell Tripp (Bay State Towing Co.), retaining name CHAPLAIN in all three sales. Russell Tripp sold her to Constellation Tug Co. of Beverly and Boston, MA, who renamed her CARINA. She was sold to a company in the Bahamas in 2005 as CARINA. Names: CARINA believed to be in Bahamas 2009-present, owned by Kermitt Waters, Liberty Oil & Gas exploration, Las Vegas, NV and West Palm Beach, FL, aggregate trades Arawak Cay Nassau. Ex-OCEAN KING, Jeffries Point East Boston, Jan. 1951 to July 2004, ex-MARGARET SHERIDAN (New York), Jan. 1946 to Jan. 1951, ex-CHAPLAIN (New York) early 1945- Jan. 1946. Specs: IMO: 5260382, GRT: 179, LOA: 95’ X beam of 25.25’. The author is from Bahamas and has been scouring the waterfronts there since c.2015 to no avail and have contacted Liberty Oil & aggregate traders there to no avail. It is possible she has changed names again. Believed to still be US-flagged, she is probably in northern Bahamas or Caribbean, east Florida or US Gulf.”
She may have been renamed.
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July 18, 2021 at 12:50 pm
tugster
Thx to JL, I’m updating my info: Forney became Edward H, but since 2017 has changed hands twice, first Jean C and then Bulldog, which is its current name. All the details are here, thanks to this great set: https://gltugs.wordpress.com/jean-c/
July 18, 2021 at 1:41 pm
William Lafferty
Bushey built three Chaplains, 1939-1952. The vessel in the photograph is the 1952 canal tug that moved Spentonbush’s tank barges on the barge canal and lakes in the ’50s and ’60s.. The first Chaplain became Providence. The vessel in question is the second Chaplain. Of course, it was not steam powered but has (had?) a Fairbanks, Morse 37F16 8-cylinder Diesel.
Equasis lists the Carina as active, but Equasis cannot provide updates for what Equasis doesn’t know. Everything from American tugs to retired Great Lakes tankers to North Sea coasters end up in the Caribbean, never to be heard from again.
July 18, 2021 at 2:18 pm
George Schneider
CHAMPLAIN / CARINA was discarded by Constellation and returned to the name OCEAN KING. She was classed as a recreational craft and was owned by Liberty Exploration Inc. of Las Vegas, Nevada. She remains listed as U.S. flag for lack of any reason to remove her, but her documents expired in 2011, so she could be most anywhere and under most any condition. I’d be delighted to see reports of her recent whereabouts.
July 18, 2021 at 6:04 pm
Fairlane
Just as a note, the tug pictured is the canaller CHAPLAIN (ON 263602), built by Bushey in 1952. She was scrapped at Fish Island in New Bedford in the later part of 2010, as seen here: http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=1198641
The 1945-built CHAPLAIN (ON 248921), was of a traditional tug layout, seen in a photo as the OCEAN KING here: http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2016/06/boston-tugs-part-2.html
July 19, 2021 at 9:17 am
Al Circeo
Chaplain was last owned by Joe Simpson of Boston. She was laid up in Cashman’s yard in the early 2000’s when she met her sad fate. Was damaged by a crane or dredge or something or other at the dock and subsequently scrapped