Page 55: of Marine News Magazine (November 2022)

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Owner: Maryland Dept.

EDDIE of Natural Resources

Builder: Blount Boats

Designer: BMT Designers & Planners

SOMERS arren, R.I. shipbuilder Blount Boats this boom crane for buoy and debris removal applications.

year delivered a new buoy tender/ice- The boat built to ABS standards and is U.S. Coast breaker built for the Maryland Depart- Guard Subchapter T certi? ed. It will serve as the primary ment of Natural Resources (DNR). Eddie icebreaking asset for Cris? eld Harbor and Smith Island,

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Somers was handed over on May 19 at Somers Cove Ma- in addition to placing buoys and performing other func- rina in Cris? eld, Md. tions. As was the M/V Tawes, the M/V Somers will also

The 94- by 227-foot shallow draft vessel is named after be a lifeline to Smith Island when the waters surround- former DNR Capt. Eddie Somers, who retired in 2018 ing it freeze over, with the boat clearing a path for sup- after 25 years as captain of the long-serving boat the new ply and shuttle boats. By cooperative agreement with vessel is replacing, the J. Milliard Tawes, which has been in Virginia through the U.S. Coast Guard, the M/V Somers service for nearly 50 years. will also provide this service to Tangier Island in Virginia

The retiring vessel was built for the U.S. Coast Guard in when requested. During heavy ice seasons, all food, fuel, 1941, and operated as a buoy tender until the early 1970s, medicine, and emergency transport going to and from the when it was surplused by the federal government. The de- islands are supplied by the vessel.

partment acquired it for use on the Chesapeake Bay. “This is a great example of our efforts to modernize the

But unlike the retro? tted Tawes, the M/V Somers has assets of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources been designed and purpose-built by DNR for the services while also honoring our department’s 50-year legacy of ser- it will provide, with a hull and running gear forti? ed for vice,” said Secretary Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio. “It is also ice operations. Designed by BMT Designers and Planners, a DNR tradition to name vessels after employees with ex- the Eddie Somers is powered by Cummins QSK19, Tier emplary years of service, so it is very ? tting that it will be

III marine engines, each producing 750HP at 1,800RPM, named after Capt. Eddie Somers who has done so much for

Twin Disc MGX-5202SC gearboxes and two 42x27 ? ve- his community, Smith Island and the State of Maryland.” blade Michigan Wheel nibral propellers. A pair of Cum- The DNR’s Hydrographic Operations team, based on mins Onan gensets produce 55 kW of electrical power each the Eastern Shore, operates four large boats that perform for service power. The steering system is a Jastrom B2-76- various duties throughout the Chesapeake Bay. The de- 400-1-35 and the controls are Twin Disc EC300s. In ad- partment’s boats are shallow draft, meaning they can get dition, the vessel is equipped with a Melcal 5-ton knuckle into rivers and shallow areas of the Bay.

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