Washington to Post Rescue Tug at Neah Bay

According to Kitsap Sun, the Washington state Ecology Department has to use an emergency contracting procedure to get a rescue tug to Neah Bay by October first. Foss Maritime Services of Seattle has contracted with the department the past five years but says it won't have one available for the job until November. The state paid six-thousand dollars a day last winter for the rescue tug at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca (FEW'-kuh). Environmentalists consider the tug essential to avoiding oil spills from ships that lose power. Since 1999, the tug has been sent out to assist ships 29 times, including three times last winter. (Kitsap Sun)