The Project:

Pioneering a new route, Foss delivered a fully constructed 190-ton turbine to Revelstoke, Canada. Arriving from Brazil, the turbine was towed from Portland, OR to Pasco, WA. Moving then overland a heavy haul contractor transported the turbine to above the Grand Coulee Dam, where it was loaded onto a sectional barge that had been engineered and built for the remaining 335 nautical miles. Plotting a never-before commercially traversed 45-mile stretch of the Columbia River, Foss worked in conjunction with B.C. Hydro to regulate the flow of water in three dams to minimize the current and provide the needed depth.

Services Provided:

  • Turbine Transportation
  • Project Towing
  • Project Cargo & Logistics
  • Naval Architecture &
  • Marine Engineering
  • Voyage Planning & Mapping

Highlights:

  • Transported a 23’ diameter by 12’4”, 190-ton electric turbine runner to Revelstoke, where it will generate 500 MW capacity; enough power to service the equivalent of 40,000 homes at peak demand
  • Surveyed and plotted the first commercial course above the Coulee Dam into British Columbia, Canada to the Hugh Keenleyside Dam
  • Provided four tugs: Lewiston of the Columbia River Fleet and the Cougar, Pine Cat, and River Chief to navigate the barge through currents and rapids running up to 9 knots
  • Designed a sectional barge 160’ x 40’ with two 300-horsepower thrusters, installed in reverse on the front to provide power and steerage for the fore and aft of the barge