 The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Thunder Bay clears a channel for vessels to navigate the frozen Hudson River
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bay class |
| Builders | Tacoma Boatbuilding Company, Tacoma, Washington and Bay City Marine Incorporated, National City, California |
| Operators | United States Coast Guard |
| Preceded by | WYTM-110 |
| Built | 1977-1987 |
| In commission | 1979-present |
| Planned | 10 |
| Completed | 9 |
| Active | 9 |
| Retired | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Icebreaking tugboat |
| Displacement | 662 tons |
| Length | 42.7 m (140 ft) |
| Beam | 11.4 m (37 ft 5 in) |
| Draught | 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in) |
| Propulsion | diesel electric: 2 Fairbanks Morse diesel engines with Westinghouse DC generators, 1 Westinghouse DC motor |
| Speed | 14.7 knots (27.2 km/h) |
| Range |
|
| Complement | 17 (3 officers) |
| Armament | 2 × M240 machine guns |
The Bay-class tugboat is a class of 140-foot (43 m) icebreaking tugboats of the United States Coast Guard, with hull numbers WTGB-101 through to WTGB-109.
They can proceed through fresh water ice up to 20 inches (51 cm) thick, and break ice up to 3 feet (0.91 m) thick, through ramming. They can also ram pressure ridges of up to eight feet in thickness. These vessels are equipped with a system to lubricate their progress through the ice, by bubbling air through the hull.