17th Annual Towing Vessel Safety Seminar (TVSS)

Friday June 2nd, Norfolk Tug Company fielded a "Tug Boatmen's Challenge" team as part of the 17th Annual Towing Vessel Safety Seminar (TVSS) provided by the USCG and Virginia Maritime Association (VMA). The TVSS is a daylong event where tugboat crews come to review Safety and Compliance issues relevant to the work boat industry like safe line handling techniques, Medical Certificates on their Merchant Mariner Credential, safe entry for confined spaces, etc.  

The event is capped with a "Tug Boatmen's Challenge" where local tug companies compete against each other in various skill events for bragging rights within Norfolk Harbor.

This year the challenge events were (all events timed):
- Knowledge Test: testing the general knowledge of the team on seamanship terms and navigation rules and regulations.
- Engineering Test: team test where they had to name specific parts of a Diesel Volvo engine.
- Hawser toss and flake: a 15' line toss over a bit, messenger line throw, and hawser drag and flake.
- Life ring toss and immersion suit donning: a life ring throw of 15' and donning of an immersion suit.

Congratulations to the Norfolk Tug's team of John Pruitt (Captain Lucky D), Jonathan Priddy (Captain Lorette), Jim McWee (Engineer Lorette), and Nick Murphy (Deckhand Julie Anne) performed well on the knowledge and engineering tests but truly shined during the Hawser Toss and Flake, and the Life Ring Toss and Immersion Suit Donning.  The team posted the best times of 34 seconds and 45 seconds respectively on those two events.