This picture, which was taken from Jamestown this morning, is of the Lincoln Sea. According to http://www.oceantugbarge.com, the 8,000 horsepower, 123-foot, Lincoln Sea is an 8,000 BHP ATB tug built for Mobil Oil Corp., US Fleets, then transferred to Sea River Maritime after the Exxon-Mobil merger. She operated the first years of her life in New England, and currently operates along the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf for K-Sea. She works with the CT Marine-designed 140,000 BBL double hull product barge, ex-S/R NEW YORK, which is 474 feet long. This AT/B is equipped with the INTERCON connection system, and her twin 5-bladed propellers are about 12 feet in diameter. The tug was built at J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding in Tacoma, WA, and the barge at Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, WI. Of note is that during the severe winter of 2000/2001 in the Northeast, the EVERETT/NEW YORK was not weatherbound even a single time. She took a solo delivery voyage of over 6,000 NM from Tacoma to New York to pick up her new barge.
SeaRiver Maritime is a privately held subsidiary wholly owned by ExxonMobil. The company is used by ExxonMobil as a legal shield to own oil tankers and take on all legal liability related to the shipping of crude oil, so that future tanker spills will not result in adverse economic consequences to the parent company. SeaRiver was created by ExxonMobil as a response to the Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster, which subjected the company to billions of dollars of liability claims. The existence, purpose, and legal structure of SeaRiver has been widely criticized by environmental and other anti-ExxonMobil activists.
While the creation of SeaRiver Maritime has led to controversy among some, they are still a highly regarded employer. Their safety vettings and procedures are among the most stringent in the industry.
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