James J. Versluis

The James J. Versluis is a tugboat operated by the Chicago Water Department.[1] She is 90 feet (27 m) long, and built in 1957.[2]

James J. Versluis with the Chicago Skyline on the horizon.

She was named after a former director of the Water Department.[3] Although she was built to service the Water Department's facilities she mounted a water cannon capable of pumping a modest 800 gallons of water a minute.

One of her primary tasks is helping service five water intake structures, called "cribs", several miles off-shore.[4][5] The cribs are equipped with barracks, for maintenance workers, and were once staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The James J. Versluis was the worker's main link to the shore, and would have to make its way to the cribs even when the lake was frozen over.

While both the tug and the Fire Department's much newer fireboat Christopher Wheatley were designed to be capable of breaking the ice on Chicago's rivers, this task falls mainly to the James J. Versluis.[6] Keeping the river's navigable is important for fire services, so fireboats can arrive quickly at waterfront fires.[7] In addition other city departments have maintenance vessels that travel the rivers to maintain bridges and other infrastructure—even in winter.

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to James J. Versluis.
  1. John Fecile (2017-01-08). "Icebreakers of the Chicago River: How bubblers, boats and brawn keep the city safe each winter". WJCT. Archived from the original on 2017-01-09. Retrieved 2017-01-09. The Fire Department's icebreaker, the Christopher Wheatley, was built in 2011 at a cost of $9 million. She's able to handle up to a foot of ice, and she serves as the Fire Department's "heavy response" boat. Essentially a floating ambulance-slash-fire truck, The Wheatley has a triage room, a diving platform, and four water cannons that, together, can pump 15,000 gallons of water per minute.
  2. Justin Breen (2017-01-07). "Chicago Has A 60-Year-Old, Ice-Breaking Tugboat That's Still In Use". dnainfo. Archived from the original on 2017-01-09. Retrieved 2017-01-09. According to the Chicago Maritime Museum, the 90-foot-long vessel was built in 1957 and is operated by the Chicago Department of Water Management. The museum said the tugboat breaks ice to "allow fire department boats to access the river in an emergency."
  3. Edward Schrieber (1957-09-18). "New city tug, Lakes' finest, arrives today;". Chicago Tribune. p. 5. Archived from the original on 2017-01-09. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  4. "Water intake cribs one of city's best-kept secrets: Stone structures in Lake Michigan mystify visitors, but are rich in Chicago history". Chicago: The Times of Northwest Indiana. 2000-08-20. Archived from the original on 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  5. Tom McNamee (2007-02-12). "Capt. Billy's tugboat keeps Chicago water running". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2017-01-09. Billy Schmidt is captain of the James J. Versluis, a Chicago Water Management Department tugboat that ferries maintenance crews miles out into the lake to six water-intake cribs.
  6. Stephen Gossett (2017-01-11). "Watch The City's Icebreaker Tugboat Smash A Frozen Chicago River". Chicagoist. Archived from the original on 2017-01-15. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  7. Pat Nabong (2021-02-12). "All aboard Chicago Fire Department's ice-breaking vessel". Chicago Suntimes. Archived from the original on 2021-02-13. Retrieved 2021-02-14. Although designed to break ice, the Wheatley is used year-round as a mobile command center for water rescues on the river and Lake Michigan. This winter, the James J. Versluis, operated by the Chicago Department of Water Management, is the boat in charge of breaking ice on the lake.
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