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A little more than eight months ago, a Lafourche Parish tugboat was among vessels garnering international attention, when its captain and crew rescued 4,000 tourists stranded on a stricken cruise ship.
Fame for Capt. Willie Preatto and others involved with bringing the Carnival Triumph to Mobile was short-lived.
But the work done by crews on the towing and crew vessels of local companies goes on daily.
Captains, crew members and vessel owners say that whether it is assisting with a cruise ship – a once-in-a-lifetime assignment for most local vessels – or hauling or pushing petroleum or other cargo, the level of professionalism employed is the same.
Louisiana mariners, like others in commercial maritime centers throughout the world, often find themselves having to offload or take loads on in heavy seas.
“You have to know what you are doing,” Preatto said, after the Triumph operation. “You need to be able to calculate wind, seas and current and your angle of approach. Now it’s easier because some vessels have steering apparatus that is almost like a video game with a joystick. But it’s not like driving a car, like you just are pulling up in a parking lot.”
The tug Preatto pilots, the Roland A. Falgout, is part of Global Towing, a firm that operates vessels owned by Falgout Bros. Inc., a family-owned company in Larose founded in 1965.
The Falgout tugs are among the most powerful in local waters, and the five-tug fleet includes vessels ranging from 3,000 to 9,000 horsepower.
Global operates two 220-foot offshore supply vessels that routinely service oilrigs and platforms, placing them among giants in the Gulf oilfield like Edison Chouest Offshore.
The deep-water drilling operations in the Gulf that are making a comeback after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill moratorium depend on vessels like these.
But the companies that ply the Gulf vary in size, as do the companies that operate them.
One of the smaller companies reporting growth is Coastal Towing in Galliano. Founded by former shrimper Jimmy Prudhomme, the company once boasted three towboats.
Now its fleet has grown to include four towboats, according to Eric Prudhomme, who has run the firm since his father’s retirement.
Being part of a tradition like marine towing in this part of Louisiana, Prudhomme said, is almost impossible to describe. But there is pride in the company, and it carries down to employees who make up its small family.
Another success story is Settoon Towing, a Belle River company founded in 1968.
Settoon specializes in transporting liquid cargo for oil, gas and petrochemical firms.
Its once-tiny fleet has grown to 50 push boats and 80 tank barges. Its fleet is considered one of the youngest in the industry.
In July the firm took delivery of its newest vessel, the Cheryl Lee Settoon, named for Cheryl Lee Sanford, wife of Robert Sanford, vice president of lease supply at Plains All American Pipeline. PAA is a strategic partner of the towing firm.
The Cheryl Lee Settoon, 83.5 feet long and 32 feet wide, was built by Sneed Shipyard.
Kellie Burnett, executive assistant to Settoon CEO Russ A. Settoon, said she still marvels when she sees towboats from her company and others doing their work.
“People need to remember how important these vessels are,” she said. “Each one represents dollars on the water.”
The Cheryl Lee Settoon, an 83.5-foot long and 32-foot wide tug named for the wife of Robert Sanford, vice president of lease supply at Plains All American Pipeline, was built by Sneed Shipyard. It’s one of many tugs working along the Gulf Coast. “People need to remember how important these vessels are,” said Kellie Burnett, executive assistant to Settoon CEO Russ A. Settoon. “Each one represents dollars on the water.”
