SAN FRANCISCO—The 2016 Ship of the Year Award, presented by Steamship Historical Society of America (SSHSA), was given to San Francisco’s 109 year-old tugboat ‘Hercules.‘
Hercules has resided in the San Francisco Maritime State Historic Park since 1975, after spending years towing timber and ships across the sea. The tugboat was built in New Jersey in 1907 by John H. Dialog and Son for the Shipowners’ and Merchants’ Tugboat Company in San Francisco.
“Ship of the Year Award is in recognition of a significant milestone or any other accomplishment contributing to the historical importance of the engine-powered vessel,” states the SSHSA website.
The National Park Service published a statement made by fireman Albert J. Hody who describes life on the Hercules in 1919, almost 100 years ago: “Out through the Golden Gate, the most beautiful harbor in the world. North, towing this barkentine to Port Washington in Canada. Thence south, empty, to Astoria where we picked up six million feet of timber in a raft to tow south to San Diego. Long, slow, lazy days, making no more than three knots.”
“The Hercules stands as a testament to her past and the West Coast Maritime community as a whole, and she will continue do so for generations to come, due to the extraordinary efforts of her inspirational and talented crew, the United States Park Service and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park,” notes a statement release on the SSHSA website.
The award was accepted by superintendent Kevin Hendricks on Hyde Street Pier earlier this month.
