Then named Mister Darby, the boat's construction was completed and she was delivered to Jackson Marine Corporation on 9 February 1997. Her hull, constructed from ordinary strength steel, has an overall length of 42.9m (140.7feet), a molded breadth of 6.8m (22.3feet), and a moulded depth of 6.8m (22.3feet). The boat has a total of 21 tanks: 12 for fuel oil, 5 for ballast water, 5 for lubricating oil, 7 apiece for fresh- and waste-water, a hydraulic oil tank, a slop tank, and an anchor chain locker. The tug can carry up to 6 cubic meters of fuel, has a gross tonnage of 852 GT and a net tonnage of 205 NT.
The boat's propulsion is powered by two Alco Engine Inc. 16-251F engines with a maximum continuous power rating of 2312.6kW apiece. Each engine has 17 228.6mm cylinders with a piston stroke of 266.7mm. Each engine powers a single cast steel propeller. Electrical power is generated by two Detroit Diesel 8V71 150kW auxiliary generators. The bow thruster is powered by a single Detroit Diesel 8V71. It also has one Detroit Diesel 12V71 fire pump engine along with a single Detroit Diesel 8V71 tow winch engine.
In 1998, the tugboat was purchased by Donjon and renamed Atlantic Salvor.[1]
MV New Carissa was a Japanese-owned bulk carrier flying the Panamanian flag of convenience that ran aground on a beach near Coos Bay, Oregon, United States, during a storm in February 1999, and subsequently broke apart. The ship's insurers declared the vessel to be a total loss. As a result, New Carissa was no longer a salvageable vessel; instead, she had effectively become a shipwreck.
Attempts using the "Salvage Chief" and the "Atlantic Salvor" pulling together to refloat and tow the stern section were unsuccessful.[2]
Atlantic Salvor was hired by the United States Navy to tow the decommissioned ex-John F. Kennedy from Norfolk to Philadelphia in March 2008.