Foss transfers powerful hybrid tug to Cook Inlet Tug & Barge in Alaska

Now repainted in Cook Inlet Tug and Barge colors, the Bering Wind was, as Campbell Foss, the first-ever tugboat converted to hybrid operation

OCTOBER 29, 2018 – The Bering Wind, a powerful Dolphin Class tugboat, is being transferred from the Foss fleet in Long Beach, CA, to Cook Inlet Tug & Barge in Anchorage, AK.

The tug, formerly named the Campbell Foss, was built by Foss in 2005. In 2011, she was converted to hybrid power, the first-ever tugboat converted to become a hybrid. She and her sister vessel, the Carolyn Dorothy were the first two hybrid tugs in the industry. Renamed this month, she is scheduled to enter service in Alaska by approximately November 15, 2018.

“The addition of the Bering Wind to our Anchorage based fleet of tugs will improve our current level of service in the port,” said Ben Stevens, president of Cook Inlet Tug and Barge. “It will also ensure safe port operations can be conducted during the anticipated port revitalization project which will commence in spring of 2019.”

“We are extremely proud of the role that this ground-breaking vessel has had in our fleet — it has been one of the gems of our operations,” said John Parrott, CEO of Cook Inlet Tug and Barge parent company Foss Maritime. “We are very excited to see her becoming a vital part of the Alaska maritime economy.”

The Bering Wind is one of the most powerful harbor tugs in the industry. Powered by two Series II Caterpillar engines and twin Rolls Royce US 205 FP Z drives, the Campbell Foss is rated at 5,080 horsepower and has more than 135 tons of pulling power. Her diesel-electric hybrid service is provided on one 125 kilowatt Marathon generator set.