Zug

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"I'm only carrying out orders, Zorran can't blame me!"

— Zug in, Trapped

Zug
Background Information
First appearance	Sunshine (TUGS)
Last appearance	Bigg Freeze (TUGS)
Voice Actors
Voice actors	Nigel Anthony (UK) Tarô Arakawa (Japan) Pauli Virta (Finland) Scott McNeil (Salty's Lighthouse)
Overview
Name	Zug
Gender	Male
Nationality	Estonian (Voice) American (Design)
Technical Details
Vessel	Tugboat
Type	Switcher
Power type	Steam
Fuel type	Coal
Number	4
Company	Zero Marine Bigg City
Owner(s)	Captain Zero

Zug is an ambitious young tug who is Captain Zero's fourth tug, and one of the Z-Stack switchers. He is usually seen working with Zip. He is used for a wide variety of tasks around Bigg City Port.

He speaks with an Estonian accent.

Biography

TV Series

Zug's capabilities range from the towing of barges to liner docking operations. He and Zip are the Z-Stack equivalents of Ten Cents and Sunshine, in that they are the smaller tugs of the fleet, who work together and are plotting against the other two.

Zip and Zug usually assisted in Zorran’s schemes, such as shoving Big Mac aground onto mudflats so that they weren’t enough Star Tugs to tow in the Duchess and unsuccessfully rescuing their barges from Ten Cents.

Zug is shown to be absolutely loyal to his fleet, though his schemes fail due to a lack of common sense and could even cause trouble for the Z-Stacks. While the fleets were competing for a contract to deliver stone, Zip and Zug left Ten Cents to rescue a capsizing Izzy Gomez alone so they could have some salvage when he "failed". However, Zug failed to account for the fact that there were multiple witnesses to his refusal to help, including the Coast Guard, leading to the Z-Stacks losing the rocks contract.

In the annual regatta, Zug pulled a barge advertising a company that produced wood.

While up-river once, Zug was late for log detail due to taking an old tramper to the Breaker’s Yard. While helping him due to his pace, Zorran jammed the tramper across the river. Thinking the Star Fleet was up-river, Zorran discarded Zug and let the situation worsen. Zug worked with the Star Tugs to get free until Billy Shoepack blew up the tramper with his dynamite.

Personality

Zug mainly works with Zip, and likes to think of himself as the intelligent one. Compared to Zip, he certainly is intelligent and practical, but he is not as smart as the other tugs. He comes up with devious plans for him and Zip to use when faced against the Star Tugs, but these plans rarely, if ever, work and usually lead to negative consequences for them. With Zip, Zug basically commands him, who's too frightened to make any good suggestions.

Zug is sneaky, cowardly and needs the other Z-Stacks around for courage. He is intimidated by the main Z-Stack Zorran and has a tendency to be somewhat nervous and jittery around him and the other harbor tugs. However, as seen in Trapped, he did initially keep his cool while around Zorran, only to panic when Zorran's impatience landed the smaller tug in trouble.

However, like Zebedee in High Winds, Zug is shown to have a good streak in him somewhere. When Zorran callously abandoned him trapped up-river with most of the Star Tugs when they accidentally crashed an old tramper across the river, Zug worked with the Star Fleet to get it out of the way. He never complained. He was also shown to be very supportive towards O.J.'s plan to ram it with a line of barges, despite it not working as expected; he even helped out in the attempt. After they were all freed when Billy blew up the tramper, Zug laughed at Zorran with the Star Tugs.

Zug has also proved to be suspicious and brave when trying to figure and capture the pirate after Ten Cent's barges keep disappearing. But when following Ten Cents, and Sunshine to see what they're up to, he and Zip end up finding a fright when they are chased by the thieves.

Basis

Like the rest of the Zero Marine, Zug is based on the Moran Fleet tugs of the 1920s.

Appearances

Episodes Sunshine Pirate Trapped Regatta Munitions (cameo) Warrior Quarantine Jinxed (cameo; larger role in original cut) High Winds (cameo, larger role in deleted scene) Up River (deleted scene) Bigg Freeze Books and Annuals Kidnapped Run Aground Treasure Hunt (does not speak) Loading Grain (cameo) Mistaken Identity The Race (mentioned) Heat Wave

Audio Files

Zug's whistle has a hooting quality that sounds very much like a squeeze horn, but deeper.

Trivia

• Zug's voice and face is based on Hungarian-born American character actor Peter Lorre.
• After TUGS' production ended, Zug's model was purchased by the Star Tugs Company, an organisation which aims to restore and preserve the models, wearing his smiling face mask.
  • It is currently unknown if Zug's other face masks still remain in existence.
• Going by early blueprints, the spout on Zug's whistle original resembled a smile.
• Taking Lord Stinker seems to be have previously been Zug's job until Warrior started to use him, evidentially then becoming the tug's favourite barge.
• In a few episodes of the Finnish version, Zug is called Suppala although sometimes he is just called Sisu.
• Zug is the only Z-Stack to have his spotlight mounted on his wheelhouse rather than his bow.

Quotes

"Need a hand, Big Mac, old buddy?"

— Zug to Big Mac, Sunshine

"Hey up, Zip! Look what the wind's blown in. Goody two-screws."

— Zug to Zip referring to Ten Cents, Pirate

"It wasn't my fault! Ask Zorran!"
"One of Zorran's little schemes? Hrrgn, I thought as much..."

— Zug and Big Mac, Trapped

"Clear off, Zorran! It's our business."
"No, it's not. Deal's a deal. Ten Cents said he'd let us in on it."
"No, I never!"

— Top Hat, Zug and Ten Cents, Regatta

"Very good, Ten Cents. Now try pulling down the bigger ones."
"Or we'll show you how it's done."

— Zug and Zip, Warrior

"Get out of that, Star Tugs!"

— Zug to Ten Cents and Sunshine after blocking them off with a fire barge, Bigg Freeze

Merchandise

• Port Set (discontinued)
• Kabaya Stamp (discontinued)
• Thimbles (discontinued)

Bigg City Port

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* Television Series only | ** Annuals only | --- Cut

Zero Marine Bigg City

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5 Tugs | 1 Former Member

CAPTAIN	Captain Zero
MEMBERS	Zorran | Zebedee | Zak | Zug | Zip
FORMER	Boomer
LOCATIONS	Zero Dock