MV J. Milliard Tawes
The MV J. Milliard Tawes was a support vessel operated by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources from 1972 to 2022.[1][2][3] Her primary duties were buoy tending and icebreaking. She could break ice up to 18 inches thick.
She was built for the United States Coast Guard, which operated her as the USCGC Barberry from 1941 until 1970 as a buoy tender.[4][5] Maryland acquired her, and retrofitted her to serve as a light icebreaker after she was declared surplus by the Federal government.
Her replacement, the MV Eddie Somers, was named after her last Captain.[1]
She was 100 foot (30.48 m) long, and her engines generated 1000 horsepower.[1]
She was named after John Milliard Tawes, Maryland's first Secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and previously the state's 54th Governor.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Meet the four ice breakers operating on the Chesapeake Bay, Proptalk, 2018-01-31. Retrieved on 2022-08-03. “The J.M. Tawes is a 100-foot, 1000 HP buoy tender captained by Captain Eddie Somers.”
- ↑ Blount Boats delivers icebreaking buoy tender, Marine Log, 2022-07-28. Retrieved on 2022-08-03.
- ↑ Chuck Hill. “Blount Boats delivers icebreaking buoy tender” –Marine Log, Chuck Hill's blog, 2022-08-03. Retrieved on 2022-08-03.
- ↑ Sailing into History: Department’s Largest Vessel Ready for Retirement, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 2020-03-01. Retrieved on 2022-08-03. “The boat was originally commissioned by the United States Coast Guard in 1942 under the name Barberry; the federal government surplussed the vessel and it was brought into the department’s service in 1972.”
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 New DNR Vessel Christened the M/V Eddie Somers, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 2022-03-04. Retrieved on 2022-08-03. “The retiring vessel was built for the U.S. Coast Guard in 1941, and operated as a buoy tender until the early 1970s, when it was surplused by the federal government. The department acquired it for use on the Chesapeake Bay and renamed it after the first DNR secretary and former Maryland Governor J. Millard Tawes.”