Sea Swift (tug)

The 136-foot, 7,000-horsepower Sea Swift, designed by Philip F. Spaulding and built at Morgan City, Louisiana, became the most powerful tug on the Pacific Coast when it arrived at Seattle late in the summer. Built for Crowley-Red Stack specifically to tow Puget Sound-Alaska Van Lines hydro train barges, it set impressive new records on its first voyage north. Towing the loaded 400-foot train barge Kenai from Seattle to Whittier, Sea Swift maintained an average speed of 12 knots, and for a considerable period logged 15 knots. The round trip was completed in nine days, three hours and 47 minutes. Late in the year a sister tug, Sea Flyer, arrived from the builder's yard to share power and speed honors with Sea Swift on the Alaska hydro train run. Gordon Newell, Maritime Events of 1968, H. W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest 1966 to 1975, p.39.

Citation: Tacoma Public Library