Bay-class tugboat of the United States Coast Guard
![]() USCGC Thunder Bay
|
| History |
|---|
 United States |
|---|
| Name | Thunder Bay |
| Namesake | Thunder Bay |
| Builder | Bay City Marine Inc. |
| Launched | 31 July 1985 |
| Commissioned | 1986 |
| Homeport | Rockland |
| Identification | |
Honors and
awards | See Awards |
| Status | Active |
| General characteristics |
|---|
| Class and type | Bay-class tugboat |
| Displacement | 662 t (652 long tons) |
| Length | 42.7 m (140 ft) |
| Beam | 11.4 m (37 ft 5 in) |
| Draught | 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in) |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 14.7 knots (27.2 km/h; 16.9 mph) |
| Range |
- 1,500 nmi (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 14.7 knots
- 3,500 nmi (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
- 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
|
| Complement | 3 officers and 14 enlisted |
| Armament | 2 × M240 machine guns |
USCGC Thunder Bay (WTGB-108) is the eighth vessel of the Bay-class tugboat built in 1985 and operated by the United States Coast Guard.[1] The ship was named after a bay in the U.S. state of Michigan on Lake Huron. She is homeported in Rockland, Maine
Design
The 140-foot (43 m) Bay-class tugboats are operated primarily for domestic ice breaking duties. They are named after American Bays and are stationed mainly in the northeast United States and the Great Lakes.
WTGBs use a low pressure air hull lubrication or bubbler system that forces air and water between the hull and ice. This system improves icebreaking capabilities by reducing resistance against the hull, reducing horsepower requirements. They can break up to 30 inches of ice continuously.
Construction and career
Thunder Bay was built by the Bay City Marine Inc., in Tacoma, Washington in 1985. She was launched on 31 July 1985 and later commissioned in 1986.
Thunder Bay is homeported in Rockland, Maine. During icebreaking season, Thunder Bay frequently breaks the Penobscot River for ice clearing and flood prevention, but may also surge to the Hudson River in New York to assist when necessary.
On 4 February 2021, Thunder Bay conducted a icebreaking mission at the Penobscot River.[2] On 18 June, the ship finished the In-Service Vessel Sustainment program and departed Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, Maryland.[3]
Awards
References
External links
