Tugboat

Tugboat Svitzer Bootle assisting the larger ship Maersk Newcastle at Tilbury, Essex, England in 2017

A tug or tugboat is vessel designed to tow, or push, other watercraft. Tugs are also used to tow or push other things, like logs, or log booms.

Some tugs are almost exclusively used to tow or bush unpowered barges. Other tugs are almost exclusively used to tow or push larger vessels within harbors, where their own manueverability is insufficient.

Many tugs are designed for working in canals, harbors, and other protected waters, while salvage tugs, and tugs built to assist in the offshore exploitation of petroleum or natural gas, are built to be ocean-going.