USCGC Thunder Bay

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

USCGC Thunder Bay
History
United States
NameThunder Bay
NamesakeThunder Bay
BuilderBay City Marine Inc.
Launched31 July 1985
Commissioned1986
HomeportRockland
Identification
Honors and
awards		See Awards
StatusActive
General characteristics
Class and typeBay-class tugboat
Displacement662 t (652 long tons)
Length42.7 m (140 ft)
Beam11.4 m (37 ft 5 in)
Draught3.8 m (12 ft 6 in)
Propulsion
Speed14.7 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)
Complement3 officers and 14 enlisted
Armament2 × M240 machine guns

Design
Main article: Bay-class tugboat

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
  1. "MORRO BAY Characteristics". www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  2. "US Coast Guard ships complete first ice-breaking mission on the Penobscot River". newscentermaine.com. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  3. "Coast Guard Cutter Thunder Bay completes HVAC upgrade". United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
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