2012-11-30 Seward Alaska--The Tugboat Siku Arrives

Captain Greg Pavellas is in charge of Alaska-based tugboats owned by his employer, Crowley Marine, which operates through the USA. As the winter season approaches the tugs and their barges put into different ports, from South Central Alaska to Washington State (sometimes further down the West Coast) for cleanup, maintenance, and storage. These tugs pull barges filled with fuel oil of various grades in a number of separate tanks, serving Alaska Native Villages situated throughout the vast coastline of Alaska, including the Alaska Peninsula, through into the Arctic Ocean to within 60 miles of the Canadian border. Tugboat Siku, pictured here, entered Resurrection Bay from the Gulf of Alaska on 30 November, at the end of this year's season, to the port of Seward, Alaska. Because the fuel tanks were nearly empty, the barge was riding high and so presented a lot of surface to the usual strong Northeast winds out of the Chugach Mountains overlooking the Bay. Winds were between 25 and 30 knots, with gusts up to 40. The temperature was well below freezing, so the salt spray from the white-capped waters froze on all the exposed surfaces of the boat and barge. This presents difficult and dangerous working conditions. With the help of a smaller assist tug, owned by a local entrepreneur, Tug Siku slowly, safely and properly guided the barge to the pier awaiting it. Greg was on the pier to assist securing the barge to the pier, and the crew of six including the captain, immediately began cleaning up and securing the barge for the winter. The local office of another fuel supply company sent two empty fuel trucks to the pier to receive the last remaining fuel in the barge's tanks, so they could be cleaned before final storage for the season. They must have no residue of fuel; it is another difficult and exacting job. At the end of daylight, somewhat before 5PM when no more work could safely be done, Greg presented the crew with a Chinese meal he had purchased from a local restaurant. It was an adventure for me to watch, but an ordinary day of work for these skilled seafarers. It was, in addition, a happy day for the crew because, after everything is clean and secure, they will go to their various homes throughout the region for a winter vacation of several months with loved ones and friends. Some will have been at sea for around 200 days; most will have had a few weeks off during the active season. Greg and I warmed up in the 2-1/2 hour drive back to his Anchorage home.