Our electric tugboat fleet is growing with $160 million partnership

Today we’re excited to announce a major step toward electrifying the marine industry. We’re partnering with marine solutions leader Curtin Maritime on a $160 million contract to build a fleet of eight hybrid-electric ship assist tugboats. It will be the largest deployment of electric workboats in marine industry history — right in our Los Angeles backyard.

“Tugboats are the workhorses of our ports. They’re critical for our national supply chains and defense logistics, yet are largely powered by outdated, unreliable, and harmful diesel engines,” says Mitch Lee, Arc CEO and co-founder. “Our goal is to rebuild the commercial industry around modern, efficient, and reliable hybrid-electric powertrains, and this is a huge next step.”

A new standard, powered by Arc

Ship assist tugs are the powerful and agile harbor craft that help cargo ships and other huge vessels enter and maneuver through ports. Each tugboat we’re building with Curtin will deliver over 4,000 horsepower and around 60 tonnes of bollard pull, backed by a 6 megawatt-hour battery. They’re designed around the vertically integrated electric powertrain technology we’ve developed for our high-performance Arc Sport, Arc Coast, and truckable tug.

Beyond their strength and range, our electric tugs offer more reliability and less downtime. Fuel and maintenance are responsible for up to half of a ship assist’s operating costs — especially the aging diesel fleets servicing most ports. "We’re focused on innovation that drives real efficiency and cost savings for our operations,” says Curtin Maritime CEO Martin Curtin. “These tugs will do exactly that by delivering the power and reliability we need while giving us a smarter, low-maintenance fleet."

Supporting a port at the forefront

Our partnership’s first four tugboats will hit the water before the end of 2027. After assembly at Snow & Company’s Seattle shipyard, the tugs will get to work in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach — the Western Hemisphere’s busiest port complex.

The fleet will help handle around one-third of the nation’s waterborne container goods as the ports transition to zero-emission operations over the next decade. “We’re excited to do this on the largest stage possible,” says Kofi Asante, Arc vice president of business development. “Our vision is to have the broadest industry impact.”

To inquire about Arc’s commercial work, contact us: commercial@arcboats.com.