Under cold, windy and rainy skies, Seattle-based Foss Maritime on Jan. 23 introduced the first-ever diesel-electric hybrid tugboat. The unveiling came during a ceremony at the Foss berth on Pier D at the Port of Long Beach.

Foss says that the new green-and-white tug, named the Carolyn Dorothy, can do the same work as a traditional tug, while emitting about 44 percent fewer air pollutants.

The 78-foot-long, 34-foot-wide dolphin-class tug cost upward of $8 million to construct, with the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles contributing a combined $1.3 million toward the construction. The ports provided the funding as part of the Technology Advancement Program, a component of their San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan.

 - The Cunningham Report