NEAH BAY — The Barbara Foss rescue tug finished its fifth season of duty in the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Friday after successfully assisting four sea-going vessels since last fall.
Stationed since last October, the Barbara Foss had its first assist of the season Oct. 9 when the 98-foot tugboat Altair’s engines failed while towing a barge to Portland, Ore.
The barge was loaded with more than 3 million gallons of diesel oil.
The other three assists during the 2002-03 winter season involved the container ship Cristoforo Colombo on Oct. 29, the fish-processing vessel Seafreeze Alaska on Jan. 19 and the container ship Buxsund on Jan. 30.
In total, 22 ships have been helped since rescue tugs began operating from Neah Bay in the spring of 1999.
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