By now, you may have noticed I’m a sucker for sea-going vessels—a good fit for a resident of one of the busiest ports in the world. I just learned that the Port of Long Beach is testing a hybrid tugboat, the Caroline Dorothy! All tugboats are inherently cute, but this one is clean and green too. The hybrid design allows it to use diesel power for pushing and pulling other vessels (only about a quarter of its time on the water. When idling or cruising, the boat will use electric power, which is expected to reduce air pollution by 44 percent compared to a traditional tugboat. Foss Maritime, the company that designed and built the Caroline Dorothy, is also working on hybrid retrofits for other tugboats. You can bet I’ll be prowling the docks for a glimpse of this trim new eco-tug.
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