Everlast / Norman McLeod

The tug Everlast was purchased by McAsphalt Marine Transportation Ltd. in November 1999 for joint operation by McAsphalt Industries Ltd. and ULS Corp. The ship arrived at Port Weller Dry Docks on June 8, 2000, and was laid up pending the arrival of the barge Norman McLeod from overseas. After a refit at Hamilton, Everlast was ready to be linked with the new barge for Great Lakes and East Coast service.

This tug was built by Hashimoto Zosen, in 1977. It was launched as Bilibino at Kobe, Japan, and went to work for the Far Eastern Shipping Corporation under Russian registry. The vessel was sold to Portolos Salvage and Towing of Greece in December 1996 and renamed Everlast. It worked overseas in salvage work until resold for Canadian service pushing the asphalt barge Norman McLeod.

The 143 foot, 5 inch long by 44 foot, 6 inch wide vessel was originally powered by a pair of diesel engines totaling 6,000 horsepower. They were replaced at Sarnia in 2002.

Everlast has worked with the Norman McLeod on the East Coast of North America, along the St. Lawrence and into the Great Lakes trades. Service was briefly interrupted in 2003 due to an engine room fire while transiting the Seaway but, following repairs, the vessel was soon back to work.

Adapted with permission from “The Ships of Upper Lakes Shipping” by Skip Gillham

The black-oil tanker barge Norman McLeod was built at Nanjing, People’s Republic of China, in 2001. The 377-foot, 3-inch long vessel is owned by McAsphalt Marine Transportation Ltd. Together with the usual tug Everlast, the pair measures 500 feet long by 71 feet, 6 inches wide.

Norman McLeod was towed across the Pacific by the tug Haedong Star No. 99 but broke loose and was damaged in transit. The pair arrived at Montreal on August 22, 2001, and the barge was brought to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs. It was finally able to begin trading in November 2001, and was linked to the tug Everlast.

Official christening took place at Port Colborne on February 19, 2002, and the 70,000-barrel capacity vessel has been active on the Great Lakes and along the Atlantic Seaboard carrying liquid asphalt and similar products.

Norman McLeod meets all new government standards and is fully double-hulled. The tug and barge are joined with an articouple linkage system and the 1,000 horsepower bow thruster is operated from the wheelhouse of the tug.

Norman McLeod touched bottom on the south side of Hamilton Island in the Lake St. Francis section of the St. Lawrence on Dec. 7, 2002. The ship was carrying asphalt from Hamilton to Valleyfield at the time but there was only minimal damage. The ship has also seen East Coast service during the winter months.

Adapted with permission from “The Ships of Upper Lakes Shipping” by Skip Gillham