USS Apalachicola (YTB-767)

The USS "Apalachicola" (YTB-767) was a United States Navy harbor tugboat that operated at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Construction was begun in May 1963 by Mobile Ship Repair in at Mobile, Alabama. The "Apalachicola" was launched on October 26, 1963 and fully completed in April 1964. The tugboat began service in 1965 in the 13th Naval District. It provided harbor services to Naval and other ships in Puget Sound near Seattle. The tugboat moored during these years at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

During the 1990s the "Apalachicola" served alongside the "Pokagon" (YTB-836) and "Arcata" (YTB-768). The "Pokagon" was the newest YTB class tugboat in the navy at the time. The three tugs were docked at the easternmost pier of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, located a few hundred yards west of the Bremerton Seattle Ferry terminal.

She underwent a main engine overhaul in 1993, during which time it was not active. In 1992, the "Apalachicola" moved a crane barge from the shipyard to the Bremerton boardwalk. The crane placed a bronze statue of a ship's propeller and a shipyard worker presenting a model aircraft carrier to a young boy. The statue remains on the boardwalk today.

The YTB-767 is now out of service. During the time of its operation, underway movements of the tugboat required a detail of 7-8 crew members. Whereas the makeup of the crew varied, two required members for all movements was the quartermaster (who controlled the tugboat's movement) and the Chief Engineer (who was responsible for the operating systems of the tugboat). For movements involving a large ship, a harbor pilot joined the crew, and was transferred to the larger ship during the movement.

References

*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a10/apalachicola.htm