Page 36: of Marine News Magazine (October 2016)

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ARCTIC / COLD WEATHER OPERATIONS

Stellar Wind in Cook Inlet “Typically we do ice escorts for tankers and fuel barges and any container- ships that come into the upper Cook Inlet. Then we assist them into the dock.

It’s a pretty challenging environment because of the tidal difference.” – Ben Stevens, General Manager, CITB do ice escorts for tankers and fuel barges and any contain- any local business model because Alaska’s tug and barge erships that come into the upper Cook Inlet,” says Ben operators have encountered a fairly signi? cant downturn

Stevens, General Manager, CITB. “Then we assist them consistent with the falling price of crude oil. CITB vessels into the dock. It’s a pretty challenging environment be- deliver to remote regions of Western Alaska up through the cause of the tidal difference.” Bering Strait. It’s a challenging environment because most

CITB’s main ASD ice-class tugs servicing this mar- destinations have no port facility, so the barges are beached ket are the 85-foot Stellar Wind and the 65-foot Glacier and hoses are deployed or hoses will be ? oated from where

Wind. They also operate two conventional tugs, the shal- the barge is anchored.

low draft tug Captain Frank Moody, and a smaller vessel, In-river fuel deliveries are mainly for schools and power the Junior, a 60-foot twin-screw tug that services Seward, plants. “Once the ice pulls out in the spring, they’re wait-

Alaska. CITB also operates ? ve petroleum barges of vari- ing for the fuel to come in after the winter, so the rush is ous sizes and three tugs in support of their sister company’s on in the early spring to try to get the fuel into the com- fuel distribution business. munities as soon as we can,” says Stevens. “And then you

Fuel delivery is a necessity in rural Alaska, which keeps try to time it to get the fuel in there as late as you can in the regular work coming in. That’s especially important to season to top the tanks off before winter sets in.”

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