Rising Star (ship, 1991)
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The Rising Star is a tugboat operated by the United States Air Force to assist cargo vessels supplying its Thule AFB, in northern Greenland.[1][2] The tugboat is operated during the less than three months the port is ice-free. For the remainder of the year the vessel is pulled up on the beach.
Built in 1991, the Rising Star is 71 feet long.[1] She is powered by 2 two-stroke diesel engines, capable of generating 900 ship horsepower each. She was built at the Swiftships yard in Morgan City, Louisiana.
The Rising Star is the US Air Force's only tugboat.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Steve Brady. Thule tugboat plies frigid Arctic waters, United States Air Force, September 30, 2013. Retrieved on February 26, 2014. “"Some small boats are used by security forces in Florida and some missile retriever boats are used to return target drones at Tyndall AFB," said Tech. Sgt. T. Read Harris, 821st Support Squadron vehicle maintenance representative. "But Thule can claim the only Air Force tugboat."”
- ↑ Daniel Dale. Thule stocks up for long winter’s night, Colorado Springs Military Newspaper Group, 2013-08-22. “The Ocean Giant waits in the bay for tanker operations to finish, while the Rising Star, the Air Force’s only pusher boat, motors through the bay. The Rising Star helped position cargo ships into and out of Thule’s port during Operation Pacer Goose, Thule’s annual resupply mission.”