''Albert'' is a U.S.-flagged

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

owned by U.S. Oil and operated by Andrie. ''Albert'' is paired with the tank barge ''Margaret'' and transports

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

products to ports along the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

and

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

History

This tug now known as ''Albert'' was originally built and named ''Hercules'' by American Gulf Shipyard in Larose, Louisiana in 1979. Before construction of the vessel was completed, ''Hercules'' was acquired in 1981 by Tidewater Marine of

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. There she was renamed ''El Bronco Grande'' and operated for the company until she was taken out of service in 1999. In 2006, the vessel was acquired by Reinauer Transportation of

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

and renamed ''Craig Eric Reinauer''. Under the ownership of Reinauer, she underwent a major refit including the replacement of her engines and generators, and the addition of a secondary, upper wheelhouse. In 2017, after sister tug ''Meredith C. Reinauer'' and barge ''RTC 150'' ran aground in the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

at Catskill, New York, ''Craig Eric Reinauer'' and barge ''RTC 103'' were dispatched to transfer 60,000 barrels of

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

off from ''RTC 150'' to help free the tug and barge. In 2018, she was acquired by U.S. Oil of

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

and renamed ''Albert''. Along with the tug, U.S. Oil also acquired tank barge ''RTC 101'' which they renamed to ''Margaret''.

References

Tugboats of the United States 1979 ships Ships built in New Orleans {{Merchantship-stub