Page 36 - Port of Baltimore Magazine March/April 2011
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The Port of Baltimore
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March/April 2011
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TOWING
they don’t produce pollution and they
conserve energy,” said Paul Swensen, Vice
President and General Manager of Moran.
He added, “When overhauls are required on
generators and main engines, we use only
EPA-certified emission components.”
The company uses double-hulled barges
to safeguard against oil spills; in fact, its
entire fleet of petroleum tank barges is
double-hulled.
Furthermore, nothing in Moran bilges
goes overboard and into the water. “Our
bilges are pumped out by an environmental
company that removes the water from
the boat and then recycles it, so water
containing oil and fuel isn’t pumped back
into the harbor,” Swensen said. “Moran
has replaced all of the packing glands
with Kobelco waterless seals that almost
completely eliminate any water passing into
the bilges through
the shaft alley.”
Moran also
equips the boats
with double sets of
trash cans, one for trash and one for recy-
cling. And the crew uses green cleaning
products, such as biodegradable soaps.
“We are also replacing incandescent light
fixtures with florescent when and where
possible,” Swensen added.
He noted that “all of the management
and employees of Moran Towing share
in the commitment and responsibility to
conduct operations with the utmost regard
for the safety and health of personnel at
sea and ashore, and to protect and prevent
damage to the environment, and to protect
and prevent damage to property and
equipment.”
•
Moran Pulls Its Weight with
Environmental Efforts
M
oran
T
owing
C
orporation
boasts
a
150-
year
history
but
is
looking
to
the
future when
it comes to
protecting the environment
. T
he company
’
s
mission
statement even notes
: “I
n everything we do
,
we will first consider
the
safety of our
fellow
employees and
the marine
environment
.”
By Nancy Menefee Jackson
Moran, which grew from a small
company in New York harbor to one that
now operates in the Port of Baltimore and
15 other ports, focuses on ship docking,
LNG activities, general towing, marine
transportation of petroleum and dry bulk
products, and contract and specialty towing.
To accomplish all of its tasks, Moran
owns and operates 95 tugboats and 30
barges. In Baltimore, the company’s tugs
are fully crewed around the clock. Rather
than using the engines to provide electricity
for the crew’s needs — refrigeration, lights,
air conditioning, etc. — Moran has built
shore power plug-in ports at its new Clinton
Street dock. This allows the tugs to turn
their engines off, save fuel and dramatically
reduce emissions.
“They shut down all the engines and
plug the boat into an electrical outlet, so
