Alaska Marine Lines overhauls retired tugboat

The M/V Polar King. Credit: Alaska Marine Lines

The 120- by 34-foot Polar King, a Robin-class tug built at McDermott Shipyard in 1974, is being overhauled by Alaska Marine Lines. According to Kris Mullan, port engineer for Alaska Marine Lines, who said the project kicked off in April, around eight similar tugs were built at the yard, four of which are owned by Alaska Marine Lines.

“After almost 50 years of operating, it was decided to retire three of the four tugs,” said Mullan. “This Spring, management decided that it would be beneficial to bring one of the tugs out of retirement and do a complete overhaul. With that being said, we have stripped the entire tug down to bare steel and are rebuilding it.”

Mullan said that his team has pulled out the main engines and sent them away to Washington-headquartered NC Machinery to be rebuilt, while scrapping everything else outside of the reduction gears. The rebuilt engines will each be 2,500 hp.

This particular tug also has Kort Nozzles and Nautican triple rudders (per side).

“Other than that, this is a complete rebuild,” added Mullan. “We have redesigned the interior, updated the hydraulic system, valves, piping electronics, wheelhouse, new winches, etc. One other aspect of the redesign is the ability to remove and reinstall both main engines out of the top of the deck. The goal is a simplified tug that is easy to operate, good line of sight, minimize the safety concerns, and make it a comfortable platform to work off of.”

Once completed, the tug will support Alaska Marine Lines‘ operation of towing its barges across Alaska and Hawaii.

The company recently launched the Makani Loa, a 438- by 105-foot barge that the Polar King may tow at times.

“We have a fleet of 34 barges total that run throughout Alaska and Hawaii,” added Mullan. “Most of those barges are towed by Western Towboat or Dunlap Towing.”

The project is estimated to be completed by April 2025.