Asbury Park Press
Tugboat workers face long hours and tense conditions in their vital role.
When Capt. Sean Taylor nosed his tugboat into the side of a massive cargo ship with less force than it takes to crack an egg, tension drained from his face.
Piloting a 4,200-horsepower tug headlong into a 739-foot ship with a bellyful of Russian steel can be tricky. Tricky, but necessary to guide the ocean-going ship out of port into the navigational channel of the Delaware River.
Every incident — no matter how small — triggers a drug-and-alcohol test and possibly litigation. Too many incidents can cost a tugboat captain his job.
A native of North Camden, N.J., Taylor, 38, has been drawn to the river since boyhood. He enjoyed hanging out at Pyne Point Marine Works, observing the tides, sizing up the professionals who work the river and checking out the weekend boaters. A family friend was a tugboat captain. Within eight years, he worked his way up from deckhand to captain with McAllister Towing, the oldest family-owned tug service on the East Coast.
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