“As American Marine celebrates half a century in business, our first new-build tug represents an important milestone and an investment in the next generation of our operations,” said Bob Shahnazarian, President and Owner of American Marine Corporation. “We wanted a team that could take our operational requirements and carry them all the way through design, construction, and delivery. New Pacific and Glosten give us that continuity throughout the program.”
“New Pacific was founded around a straightforward idea: complex projects need experienced people, capable infrastructure, and an operating model that works for the customer,” said Joe Corvelli, CEO of New Pacific. “Starting with a new-build program alongside American Marine and Glosten puts that model into practice from day one.”
New Pacific’s first build carries forward the shipbuilding legacy of its Vancouver waterfront. Once part of the historic Kaiser Shipyards, where vessels were constructed during World War II, the site now supports modern shipbuilding and heavy industrial work along the Columbia River. Founded by CEO Joe Corvelli, COO Chris Palmer, and CCO Peter Roney, New Pacific’s founders bring more than 90 years of combined leadership experience spanning commercial and government shipbuilding, marine operations, advanced manufacturing, and complex programs.
“We’re building on a site with a long industrial history, but the objective isn’t to recreate the past. It’s to expand the capability the Pacific region needs today,” said Chris Palmer, COO of New Pacific. “Our role is to build on the region’s strong workforce and supplier ecosystem and put serious industrial work back through this waterfront.”
New Pacific’s 180,000-plus-square-foot Columbia River facility supports shipbuilding, heavy industrial fabrication, and integrated program delivery with high-bay fabrication space, heavy-lift crane capacity, outdoor laydown areas, and rail and barge access for large-scale maritime programs.
“This project reflects how we want to work with our customers and industry partners: accessible, transparent, and flexible, with the experience and resources to build the right solution around the requirements of each program,” said Peter Roney, CCO of New Pacific.
Glosten is providing the vessel design and engineering package based on its CT-120, an oceangoing line-haul tug concept developed for long-distance towing and demanding offshore operations. Working with American Marine and New Pacific, Glosten tailored the design to AMC’s specific operational requirements while retaining the CT-120’s focus on range, towing capability, constructability, and efficient operation.
“AMC was looking for a modern line-haul tug built for long, demanding ocean tows,” said Peter Soles, Principal, Business Development at Glosten. “It had to be a true ocean roamer—a capable, practical tug that’s comfortable to live and work on, and built to tow hard for decades. The CT-120 gave us a strong starting point, but this is very much an American Marine tug. We worked closely with their team to make sure the design reflects what they’ve learned over many years of deep-ocean towing.”
The 499 GT (<200 GRT) tugs will measure 122 × 37 feet overall, with an operating draft of 17 feet and a usable fuel capacity of 130,000 gallons. Each will be powered by twin Wabtec marine diesel engines, each rated at 3,017 horsepower and coupled to a REINTJES reverse-reduction gearbox supplied by Karl Senner. The propulsion arrangement will combine 120-inch-diameter stainless steel propellers in Nautican nozzles with Nautican’s triple-rudder system for enhanced maneuverability. Delivering 85-plus metric tons of bollard pull, the tugs will be equipped with a Markey Machine diesel-powered, double-drum towing winch carrying 2,600 feet of 2¼-inch wire rope on each drum, along with a single-drum headline winch fitted with a clutchable warping head. Smith Berger will supply a flush-mounted pin table and Shark Jaws. Delivery of the first vessel is expected in Q3 2028.
