New tugboat, the Pleon, headed to Eastport

EASTPORT — Dockside will be a lot busier when the port authority gets its $150,000, 94-foot, 229-ton tugboat, the Pleon.

Built in 1953, the Pleon was purchased from Boston Towing and Transportation. Once in port, it will serve as the work horse along with the 334-ton tugboat Ahoskie, which the port authority bought in 1996.

Jonathan Daniels, port director, said that in terms of tugboat life spans, the Pleon could be classified as young to middle-aged, and although it is 45 years old, it is in outstanding shape.

“She was actually taken out of the water this past October and given what is called a shave and a haircut. She was cleaned up and the hull was sandblasted … so she has been updated,” he said.

The two tugs will be busy when the $15 million port at Estes Head opens later this year. The new facility will accommodate ships up to 900 feet long at the outside berth, and vessels up to 550 feet long at the inside berth.

“This gives us a good complement of vessel assistance … to aid any of the vessels calling on Eastport. The pilots have made a request for more power and more assistance for vessels entering and departing Eastport,” he explained.

Daniels said that depending on the size of the ship, it takes two tugs — one tied to the stern the other to the bow — to move a ship in and out of the port. “This gives the pilots a better margin of comfort. Any time you have excess power at your beck and call you feel a little more comfortable in handling the currents and the tides,” he said. “You can have some currents that run pretty stiff here.”

Weather also plays a role in moving ships into and out of Eastport. “Instead of vessels having to drop anchor and await proper conditions, we now have the power to assist that vessel,” he said.

The port also uses the smaller tugboat the Johnny, which is owned and operated by Passamaquoddy Towing, and the Nora, a 150-horsepower boat that is used when a ship is tied up to the pier.

Daniels said the Pleon is at a boatyard in Gloucester where it is getting a face lift. “They will be doing the improvements before it leaves the harbor,” he said. He said he expected the tugboat to be in Eastport by the end of the month.