Great Lakes Towing Buys Former Cleveland Fireboat
PRESS RELEASE, Cleveland, OH – The Great Lakes Towing Company (GLT) a leader in specializedmarine services, including harbor towing, ice breaking, emergency response, vessel repair andconstruction, and machine shop services, has announced the acquisition of the FireboatANTHONY J. CELEBREZZE, formerly owned by the city of Cleveland, OH.
The purchase is intended to provide GLT with a firefighting platform for response to ashipboard or shoreside fire, particularly in those ports where a high volume of winter shiprepair work is performed. The company can also utilize the fireboat to respond to shipboardfires while a vessel is underway.
The 61-foot CELEBREEZE is a twin screw, 600 HP tug, equipped with two (2) fire pumps and five(5) monitors, providing a total of 6,000 gallons per minute of off-ship firefighting capacity. GreatLakes Shipyard, a division of GLT, has provided drydocking, maintenance, and repair services tothe vessel for decades, and is very familiar with its systems and operation.
In early 2022, GLT signed an exclusive agreement with Resolve Marine to provide OPA 90Salvage and Marine Firefighting (SMFF) services in U.S. Coast Guard District 9. The jointarrangement ensures continuity of service for all Resolve Marine clients in Buffalo, Detroit, LakeMichigan, Sault Ste. Marie, and Duluth captains of the ports. Ships with vessel response plansfor the Great Lakes COTP zones, even if they are not Resolve Marine clients, can also be servedunder the agreement.
As part of GLT’s agreement with Resolve Marine, the company stores a 20-foot containerloaded with firefighting and dewatering pump systems at its Great Lakes Shipyard facilities inCleveland. The container can be loaded aboard any tug to mobilize the equipment, which canthen be put in service onsite to safely and efficiently mitigate damage from a fire or otherincidents.
The CELEBREZZE was constructed in 1961 by Paasch Marine in Erie, Pennsylvania and wasnamed after Cleveland’s 49th mayor. The fireboat has been a valuable resource for theCleveland Fire Department, serving as a base for the dive team and facilitating firefightingoperations along the river and on the Lakefront. It has also played a vital role in supplyingwater to companies working on the shoreline.
Great Lakes Towing Co. Press Release
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