St. Johns christens newest Vane Brothers tug

St. Johns Ship Building Human Resources Manager Carla Newkirk christened the tug with the traditional breaking of a bottle of champagne

JUNE 22, 2017 — The newest Vane Brothers tugboat, the New York, was christened during a brief ceremony June 12 at St. Johns Ship Building in Palatka, FL.

The New York is the sixth of eight 4,200-horsepower, model-bow tugs contracted at St. Johns by Vane Brothers.

Bobby Barfield, the shipbuilder’s Vice President of Operations and General Manager, kicked off the ceremony with a blessing of the tug prior to its launch. The traditional smashing of a champagne bottle on the New York’s hull was performed by Carla Newkirk, Human Resources Manager at St. Johns. Representing Vane Brothers was Captain Jim Demske, Senior Port Captain in charge of new vessel construction.

Scheduled for delivery by the shipyard later this summer, the tug New York is an Elizabeth Anne Class vessel. The tug Elizabeth Anne, delivered by St. Johns in January 2016, was the first in the series.

Headquartered in Baltimore, MD, Vane Brothers also conducts operations from a facility in Brooklyn, NY, and other locations along the U.S. East Coast. More than 50 Vane Brothers tugboats are primarily engaged in towing petroleum] in the North Atlantic coastwise trade.