Tug of wharf: Before snuggling up in Wilmington, seafarers must tie one on with the likes of the Catherine McAllister.

• Author: Murray, Arthur O.
• Position: Feature - Tug boat

To get to the Catherine McAllister, the crew must cross a rusty metal walkway to a dock just across the Cape Fear River from the battleship USS North Carolina and climb onto and off two other tugboats. The boat is bright red, 94 feet long, with tractor-trailer tires ringing its hull. At precisely 1:50 p.m., it backs away from the dock. Then, with a puff of thick, black smoke, it starts on its way. Minutes later, the almost identical Barbara McAllister, also part of McAllister Towing of Wilmington Inc.'s three-tug fleet, pulls out as well.

Once the Catherine McAllister is chugging along, deckhand Randy Bussey runs down its specs. Built in 1940, it's a powerhouse. It has a 16-cylinder diesel engine that's as big as a minivan. Pistons the size of five-gallon buckets power the engine, capable of 3,000 horsepower. It turns a single screw -- landlubbers would call it a propeller -- with four blades, each 10 feet from shaft to tip. "This is your old-fashioned, all-American tugboat," Bussey says.

At 44, Bussey looks the part of a roughhewn seaman, with goatee, jeans and a worn denim shirt. "I've only lived on land three years of my adult life," he says. He has owned two other boats and lives on a custom-built, 56-foot powerboat docked at a marina on an island between Wrightsville Beach and Wilmington. "The only time I'm on land is to cross it to go to work."

As the Catherine McAllister continues down the river past the huge container cranes at the state port, Bussey muses aloud not about the ship the crew is about to escort into port but the bigger job tonight. The tug will help the Tofton, from Oslo, Norway, leave for open waters, then guide a giant 51,754-ton container ship -- he doesn't know the name -- into the port. But on this trip, the tugboat will bring in the IVS Super Adventure.

The Wilmington office, which employs 14, is one of nine U.S. locations for New York-based McAllister, which owns 65 tugs. Brian McAllister, president of the 137-year-old company, won't discuss revenues. But shipping agents say tugboat fees, paid by the ship's owners, can range from $5,000 to $30,000 or more, depending on the size of the vessel and the job.

By 2:15, the Catherine McAllister has reached a small dock just outside the state port. It's 70 degrees and sunny, though the breeze is blowing between 15 and 22 knots. A couple of minutes later, the Barbara McAllister pulls alongside and ties up to the Catherine McAllister. Ralph Guy will pilot the Catherine...