New tugboat comes to work in Cook Inlet Click here to go to the full PDF version of this issue, with any maps, photos or other artwork that appears in some of the articles. A newly built tugboat, the Bob Franco, was due to arrive in Alaska to escort and assist ships docking at Tesoro’s refinery at Nikiski on the Kenai Peninsula. A welcoming ceremony was planned for Nov. 12 in the Homer harbor. The 120-foot, 5,360-horsepower tractor tug is designed specifically to operate in “the severe tides, fast currents and heavy ice of Cook Inlet,” said an Oct. 29 media advisory from the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council, which monitors oil industry activity in the inlet. The tug belongs to Seattle-based Harley Marine Services. It will operate under contract for Tesoro. —Wesley Loy Print this story | Email it to an associate.