Apalachicola (YTB-767)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Apalachicola.

Apalachicola (YTB-767) was a United States Navy Natick-class large harbor tug named for Apalachicola, Florida.

Apalachicola (YTB-767)

History
United States
Awarded	18 January 1963
Builder	Mobile Ship Repair
Laid down	1 May 1963
Launched	26 October 1963
Acquired	9 June 1964
Stricken	28 October 2002
Identification	IMO number: 9093878 MMSI number: 351907000 Callsign: HO4421
Fate	Sold 8 May 2006
General characteristics
Class and type	Natick-class large harbor tug
Displacement	283 long tons (288 t) (light) 356 long tons (362 t) (full)
Length	109 ft (33 m)
Beam	31 ft (9.4 m)
Draft	14 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion	Diesel engine, single screw
Speed	12 knots (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Complement	12

Construction

The contract for Apalachicola was awarded 18 January 1963. She was laid down on 1 May 1963 at Mobile, Alabama, by Mobile Ship Repair and launched 26 October 1963.

Operational history

Apalachicola began service in 1965 in the 13th Naval District. She provided harbor services to Naval and other ships in Puget Sound near Seattle. The tugboat moored during these years at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

During the 1990s Apalachicola served alongside Pokagon (YTB-836) and Arcata (YTB-768). Pokagon was the newest YTB class tugboat in the navy at the time. The three tugs were docked at the easternmost pier of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, located a few hundred yards west of the Bremerton Seattle Ferry terminal.

In 1992, Apalachicola moved a crane barge from the shipyard to the Bremerton boardwalk. The barge's crane moved a bronze statue of a ship's propeller and a shipyard worker presenting a model aircraft carrier to a young boy onto the boardwalk. The bronze statue was forged in the shipyard and remains on the Bremerton boardwalk today.

Apalachicola underwent a main engine overhaul in 1993, during which time (approximately 5 months) she was not active. She is now out of service. During the time of her operation, underway movements of the tugboat required a detail of 7-8 crew members. Whereas the makeup of the crew varied, two required members for all movements were the quartermaster (who controlled the tugboat's movement) and the Chief Engineer (who was responsible for the tugboat's operating systems). For movements involving a large ship, a harbor pilot joined the crew and was transferred to the larger ship during the movement.

Stricken from the Navy Directory 28 October 2002, ex-Apalachicola was sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) on 8 May 2006.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
•  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.