Tugboat Independence

The tugboat Independence moored in the Cape Cod Canal. Buildings and the training ship of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy are seen in the background.

The Independence was built in 2009 by the Derektor Shipyards in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It measures 127′ long and generates 5,400 horsepower from its twin sixteen-cylinder diesel engines. For safety, tugboats generally have two of everything.

Approximately 15,000 vessels use the 7-mile long canal annually. It takes and hour and a half to transit, a much shorter journey than going around the tip of Cape Cod. The majority of the cargo is petroleum products like gasoline and fuel oil carried in long barges that are towed or pushed through the canal, with the assistance of a second tugboat to ensure safe passage.

Part of my portfolio of photographs, this image uses an artistic software filter to impart a painterly appearance. I also processed the image to remove the color in all parts of the image except for the tugboat and water, making it stand out more clearly among the dense array of shapes of the academy buildings and ship in the background. Prints are available from my Pixels shop.