C-Tractor
C-Tractor 3 escorts the U.S. Navy ballistic-missile submarine USS Rhode Island (SSBN-740). | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | North American Shipbuilding Company |
| Operators | Bay-Houston Towing Company |
| Built | 1989–1993 |
| In service | 1989–present |
| Completed | 14 |
| Active | 14 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Z-drive tug |
| Tonnage | 189 GT |
| Length | 109 ft (33 m) |
| Beam | 37 ft (11 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
| Installed power | 4,000 shp (3,000 kW) |
| Propulsion | Z-drive |
| Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Bollard pull | 110,000 lb (50,000 kg) |
| Water cannons | fore and aft, 3,500 US gal/min (790 m3/h) |
C-Tractor is a class of fourteen tractor tugs built by North American Shipbuilding Company between 1989 and 1993 for Alpha Marine Services, a subsidiary of Edison Chouest Offshore. The lead ship of the class was William M , also known as C-Tractor 1
C-Tractors measure 189 GT. They are propelled by Z-drive pods, powered by twin EMD 16-645 engines rated at 4,000 shaft horsepower (3,000 kW). The tugs mount fore and aft fire-fighting monitors, capable of pumping a total of 3,500 US gallons per minute (790 m3/h).
In 2005, C-Tractor 1 was sold to Bay-Houston Towing Company and based in Corpus Christi, Texas. Her sister ships continue to be owned by Alpha Marine; six – C-Tractor 2, C-Tractor 3, C-Tractor 4, C-Tractor 5, C-Tractor 12, C-Tractor 13 – were at one point chartered to the United States Navy.