USCGC ''Thunder Bay'' (WTGB-108) is the eighth vessel of the built in 1985 and operated by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

. The ship was named after a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

. She is homeported in Rockland, Maine

Design

The Bay-class tugboats are operated primarily for domestic

ice breaking An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and Ice navigation, navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also r ...

duties. They are named after American Bays and are stationed mainly in the

northeast United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic list of regions of the United States, region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast ...

and the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. WTGBs use a low pressure air hull lubrication or bubbler system that forces air and water between the hull and ice. This system improves icebreaking capabilities by reducing resistance against the hull, reducing

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

requirements. They can break up to 30 inches of ice continuously.

Construction and career

''Thunder Bay'' was built by the Bay City Marine Inc., in Tacoma,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

in 1985. She was launched on 31 July 1985 and later commissioned in 1986. ''Thunder Bay'' is homeported in Rockland, Maine. During icebreaking season, ''Thunder Bay'' frequently breaks the Penobscot River for ice clearing and flood prevention, but may also surge to the Hudson River in New York to assist when necessary. On 4 February 2021, ''Thunder Bay'' conducted a

icebreaking An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

mission at the

Penobscot River The Penobscot River (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's We ...

. On 18 June, the ship finished the In-Service Vessel Sustainment program and departed

Coast Guard Yard The United States Coast Guard Yard or just Coast Guard Yard is a United States Coast Guard operated shipyard located on Curtis Bay in northern Anne Arundel County, Maryland, just south of the Baltimore city limits. It is the largest industrial fac ...

in Curtis Bay,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Awards

* Transportation 9-11 Ribbon * Coast Guard Presidential Unit Citation *

Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award The Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award was a U.S. government unit decoration which was established in 1994. The Presidential Unit Citation and Joint Meritorious Unit Award are considered senior to the Secretary of Transportatio ...

* Coast Guard Unit Commendation *

Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...

* Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation *

Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation The Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation was a unit award of the United States Coast Guard which was awarded to all active, reserve, auxiliary, and civilian personnel of the Coast Guard for service from March 1989 to October 1989. The award ...

* National Defense Service Medal * Global War on Terrorism Service Medal *

Humanitarian Service Medal The Humanitarian Service Medal (HSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under . The medal may be awarded to members of the United States military (includi ...

* Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon * Coast Guard Sea Service Ribbon

References

United States Coast Guard home page

External links

TogetherWeServed: Thunder Bay Crew Members
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thunder Bay (WTGB-108)

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

1985 ships Ships built in Tacoma, Washington