BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- After serving more than 60 years on the St. Lawrence Seaway the Robinson Bay tug boat will soon be off to its new home at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy.

The vessel received a grand send off from GLS Administrator Adam Tindall-Schlicht who called the tug a "vital piece of the Seaway for more than 60 years."

Tindall-Schlicht said the transition of the vessel from active service to the Academy is "an exciting chapter" in the history of the Robinson Bay.

"Built in 1958, the Robinson Bay has been a symbol of resiliency, of reliability and of steadfast service on the St. Lawrence River for more than six decades. This vessel has played an essential role in ensuring the safe passage of vessels through these important waters for us. For us, the Robinson Bay is not just a tug boat. She is a legacy of safety, a legacy of operational excellent and a legacy of the work conducted on the seaway," he said.

Tindall-Schlicht said many of the former crew members who served aboard the "Robbie Bay" as it is known were in attendance for the ceremony, marking the end of a storied career.

He said the vessel will serve as an important learning tool for future mariners who will utilize the tug to earn their licenses to operate similar tugs on the seaway.

"They will make the Robinson Bay their own, continuing her legacy as a critical asset to the Great Lakes maritime community,"

Commander of the ninth district of the U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Jon Hickey took a moment to compliment the men and women who have served aboard and maintained the Robinson Bay, saying she was one of "the best maintained, cleanest and best labeled vessels" he had ever seen.

He also took time to compliment the numerous Seaway employees who execute the day-to-day operations of the shipping lane.

"It's wonderful what they do to ensure the safety and security and efficient flow of commerce and goods across the MTS, the marine transport system, every single day," Adm. Hickey said.

He commented that with the Robinson Bay soon to be used as a training tool, it will only enhance the readiness of the maritime fleet that serves the Great Lakes and Seaway as a whole.

"It's a special moment in maritime history because the Robbie Bay has had such a storied history...it is going to help the Maritime Academy execute its mission," he said.

Adm. Hickey said having a "qualified, a trained, a documented maritime workforce is so critically important to our maritime industry, our maritime execution of our maritime duties, our national security, our economic prosperity.:

"That workforce is a critical element of us, our ability to execute the flow of goods and people over our marine transportation system," he said.

He said the Coast Guard does not do it alone, working closely with partners like merchant mariners and Canadian counterparts alike to ensure the shipping channel remains a viable source of commerce for both the United States and Canada.

"This is another demonstration of the vitality and health of the relationships that connect across all our kinds of stakeholders. I can tell you that without the partnership across our federal, state, local, tribal, industrial, international partners, the Coast Guard simply couldn't do its job. We all execute our collective mission stronger when we're working together," Adm. Hickey said.

Jerry Achenbach, superintendent of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, also touched on what the donation of the vessel means to the academy as well.

He said in recent years the academy, and by extension its students, have rented a tug part-time to allow for training and licensing in the use of such vessels.

But with limited availability, he said that meant only about 25% of graduates would be full licensed by graduation.

Now with the Robinson Bay available to them full-time, all students will now graduate ready to provide service anywhere on the Great Lakes.

He said that readiness will prove essential to ensuring commerce and services remain uninterrupted.

AFGE Local 1968 Union President Fred Carter took a moment to praise the many crews that took to the waters of the Seaway, utilizing the tug for duties from ice breaking every spring to buoy installation from the mouth of Lake Ontario to Cornwall.

He said the Robinson Bay always stood ready to serve the Seaway and "always ensured that she brought her crew home safely" despite the inherent dangers of conducting such duties that are essential to the shipping industry on the Seaway.

Former Tug Master Danny Bradon said he could attest to the resilient tug, having served on her for more than 28 years prior to his retirement.

He, along with numerous other retired GLS employees, were on hand to bid the Robinson Bay farewell.

Bradon said it was a "good thing she can't talk because we'd all be in a lot of trouble."

He reminisced about his time working on "the Robbie Bay," calling it "a big deal to serve on her."

"As a kid from St. Regis Falls, that was unbelievable, to serve on the Robbie Bay. For the next 28 years we did our thing. She always brought us home. I had some of my most memorable moments in my life on that old girl and some of the most terrifying," he recounted.

Bradon said the most memorable by far was pulling into port near Montreal right after 9/11 happened.

He said visitors could watch as vessels came and went still, with many waiting for the Robbie Bay to pull in.

"As we came in we heard them chanting. 'Robbie Bay, U-S-A, Robbie Bay, U-S-A. Needless to say, when we got tied up I had tears coming down my cheeks," Bradon said.

He called the moment "one of the most emotional" he experienced in his 28 year career aboard the vessel.

"That's how much respect that little tug boat had. Whether we were in Montreal, we were in Cleveland, every time we talked on the radio, all the lakers would check in at one time or another. It's a sad day for me to see her go but she's going to be in good hands. I know a lot of young folks get to learn on her," he said.

One of the longest serving tugs on the Seaway, the Robinson Bay was the last of her kind to be in full-service as newer vessels phased in over the years.

"We entrust the Great Lakes Maritime Academy with our legacy and superintendent, we have every confidence that you, your faculty, your board, your staff and your students will continue to shape a brand new future for the Robbie Bay and our maritime industry," Tindall-Schlicht says.