USCGC Morro Bay [WTGB-106]
1980-Present
Icebreaker Tugboat
Cleveland, OH
Specs
Build Information
Year Built: 1980
Builder: Tacoma Boatbuilding, Tacoma, WA
Hull #–
Registry: US —
IMO # —
Laid Down: 1980
Launch Date: 1980
Delivered: January 25, 1981
Commissioned: March 28, 1981
Construction
Morro Bay was the sixth ship of the Bay Class USCG Icebreaking tugboats. The Bay class vessels were designed to replace the Coast Guard’s aging class of 110′ harbor tugs. The Bay Class tugs feature a strengthened icebreaking hull, and is capable of breaking 20 inches at continuous speed and 6-9 feet while backing and ramming. The Bay Class tugs are also equipped with a unique “bubbler” hull air lubrication system. The bubbler pushes air through ports on the cutters hull, allowing for an upward flow of air and water along the hull, reducing friction and increasing efficiency.
There were 9 Bay Class tugboats constructed for U.S. Coast Guard service, and 6 of them are stationed on the Great Lakes. Those are the Katmai Bay, Bristol Bay, Mobile Bay, Biscayne Bay, Neah Bay, and Morro Bay.
Modifications
- Service Life Extension Program, U.S. Coast Guard Shipyard, Baltimore, MD, 2014-2015.
General Stats
Length Overall: 140′
Breadth: 37’06”
Depth: 12′
Vessel Type: Icebreaker Tugboat
Icebreaking Capability: 20” freshwater ice at continuous speed, 6-9′ freshwater ice backing and ramming
Propellers: 1
Rudders: 1
Crew Compliment: 17 [3 Officers / 14 Enlisted]
Engineering Equipment
Original
Engine
Engine Type: Diesel Engines
Engine Manufacturer: Fairbanks Morse, Beloit, WI
Engine Model: 10-38D8-1/8
Number of Engines: 2
Motor
Motor Type: Diesel-Electric
Motor Manufacturer: Westinghouse Electric, Pittsburgh, PA
Rated HP: 2500 BHP
History
Lineage
USCGC Morro Bay [WTGB-106] – 1981-1998
Owner: United States Coast Guard, Washington D.C.
Operator: United States Coast Guard Reserve Training Center, Yorktown, VA
Flag: United States
Home Port: Yorktown, VA
Morro Bay – 1998-2001
Owner: United States Coast Guard, Washington D.C.
Operator: — [Decommissioned]
Flag: United States
Home Port: —
Morro Bay – 2001-2014
Owner: United States Coast Guard, Washington D.C.
Operator: United States Coast Guard, 1st District, Boston, MA
Flag: United States
Home Port: New London, CT
USCGC Morro Bay [WTGB-106] – 1980-Present
Owner: United States Coast Guard, Washington D.C.
Operator: United States Coast Guard, 9th District, Cleveland, OH
Flag: United States
Home Port: Cleveland, OH
Station History
- U.S. Coast Guard Reserve Training Center, Yorktown, VA, 1981-1998
- Decommissioned – 1998-2001
- New London, CT – 2001-2014
- Cleveland, OH – 2014-Present
Her Story
USCGC Morro Bay was constructed in 1980 by Tacoma Boatbuilding of Tacoma, WA, as an icebreaking tugboat for the U.S. Coast Guard. Mobile Bay was commissioned on March 28, 1981, at the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve Training Center in Yorktown, VA. She remained stationed there until 1998 when she was decommissioned. In 2001, she was recommissioned and stationed at New London, CT.
The Morro Bay was restationed at Cleveland, OH, in early 2014, to strengthen the Coast Guard’s Great Lakes icebreaking fleet.
In 2014, Morro Bay went to the U.S. Coast Guard’s shipyard in Baltimore, MD, where she underwent her Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) refit. She returned to the Great Lakes in mid-2015.
USCGC Morro Bay remains an important asset to the Coast Guard’s Great Lakes icebreaking fleet, and assists in keeping marine traffic moving during the winter months.
Compiled By Brendan Falkowski
Updated on December 17, 2021.
Gallery
Sources
“CGC Morro Bay”. United States Coast Guard, N.d. Accessed 17 December 2021. <https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/District-9/Ninth-District-Staff/Prevention-Division/Cutters/MORRO-BAY/>
LeLievre, Roger. Know Your Ships 2021. Marine Publishing Co., 2021. Pp. 86
U.S. Coast Guard. (2015). Welcome Aboard: USCGC Biscayne Bay (WTGB 104). [Brochure].
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