As with companion blog ShipfaxI like to send out older photos at Christmas time, along with best wishes for the holiday season.

My choice for this year is the tug Avantage when it was operating for the Quebec City based Groupe Océan. It is seen here while providing stern escort duties for the retired Great Lakes passenger ship Aquarama (renamed Marine Trader) in August 2007.

Lead tug for the trip to Aliaga, Turkey, was the Greek Aetos Z and the tow is off Quebec City on August 4, 2007. (Avantage accompanied the tow from Trois-Rivières as far as the Escoumins pilot station.)

Not long after and a little farther down stream off Ile d'Orléans, it was possible to get some tighter photos. (Aetos Z was built in 1986 by Yaroslavl as the USSR tug, then 1997-2006 as the training ship Muzhestvennyy.)

Avantage has an interesting history, it started life as the Sea Lion of the famed Belgian fleet of  Union de Remorquage et de Sauvetage (URS). The 2160 bhp, 34 ton BP single screw tug came to Canada in 1997 for Remorquage de Trois-Rivières / Three Rivers Boatmen and later merged into Groupe Océan. 

Laid up in Quebec City in 2018, it was "sold" earlier this year to Guyanese owners and renamed Kane G. Along with fleet mates Océan Echo II (renamed Brianna T) and the ATB Mega / Motti (tug renamed Mega II) all are now detained in Trois-Rivières, QC where they are likely to remain until next year - they are unlikely to depart in winter.

Built for work in the short steep seas of the English Channel it has a high bow and was probably a fine sea boat in its day. Its future is very much cloudy now. 

In closing I wish to thank all Tugfax readers for their support during 2021 and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous 2023.

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 The deep sea tug Kamarina arrived in Halifax January 3 towing the disabled bulk carrier Ale en toute to Setubal, Portugal.

For a detailed account of the tug and its tow, see the January 4 post on companion blog Shipfax with the title A bit of everything - Part 2

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 The Italian tug Kamarina, as per the previous post, is in Halifax to tow the disabled bulker Ale to Setubal. Since that post the tug remained at anchor in Bedford Basin until February 9 when it moved to Pier 27 to take on fuel. That would only take a few hours, but the tug stayed at the pier over night before returning to anchor on February 10. I hope this allowed the crew some time ashore. There is still no word on when the Ale will be ready to tow - there does not seem to be any sign of activity on the ship.

Kamarina returning to anchorage on February 10.

Update:  On February 15 the Kamarina sailed from Halifax for Lisbon, Portugal - light tug.

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 The powerful icebreaking tug Polar Circle sailed from St.John's, NL February 8 for Bergen, Norway. This week (about February 10 or 11) it was announced that GC Rieber Shipping AS had acquired full ownership of the vessel, purchasing the 50% interest previously held by Maas Capital Offshore.

The ship arrived in Halifax October 7, 2022 and aside from one brief trip to Boston December 16-22 for refueling, it remained at anchor in Halifax, with a brief move to take on stores, until January 30, 2023. It arrived in St.John's February 2 for refueling, but had to wait for MDO (Marine Diesel Oil) which was not immediately available.  

Sailing from Halifax January 30, 2023.

 There was speculation that the ship was "shopped" to the Canadian Coast Guard and private companies, but if so there were no takers. The Canadian Coast Guard may need an interim icebreaker when the CCG Terry Fox undergoes a life extension process starting later this year. However they might need more power than the Polar Circle has. It is a 12,236 bhp tug with a bollard pull rating of 150 tonnes. Construction was completed by Langsten Slip in Tomrefjord, Norway in 2006 on a hull built by Aker Tulcea. (The Terry Fox is a 23,200 bhp vessel with a 1920 nautical mile / 58 day range.)

Polar Circle was built in 2006 for a 15 year charter to Exxon Neftegaz as a tanker escort in the Sakahlin Island region of Russia. The contract was extended to September 2023, but in July 2022 Rieber opted to exit Russia and the ship sailed transpacific via the Panama Canal and New York to Halifax. Its orginal name Polar Pevek was changed to Polar Circle in 2022. (A previous Rieber vessel named Polarsirkel built in 1976, was renamed Polar Circle in 1981. It participated in the seal hunt off Newfondland in 1978 and possibly in other years.)

The future of the ship is thus unknown, but operation in Norwegian waters or the Baltic is the most likely.

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 On February 15 the Kamarina sailed from Halifax for Lisbon - light tug. See also companion blog Shipfax of same date. [Updates Tugfax post of February 11.]

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 It is not often that the tugs of Atlantic Towing Ltd display their fire fighting capabilities, but this afternoon the Atlantic Bear put on a demonstration for several minutes.

 Despite some snow left on the ground, the temperature was several degrees above zero C, so it was an opportunity to give the decks a good wash too.

Atlantic Bear is one of three tugs, with Atlantic Beaver and Spitfire III, built in 2008 to work at the Canaport LNG terminal in Saint John, NB. The Aquamaster ASD tugs have 5432 bhp Cat main engines delivering a bollard pull of 70 tonnes (some sources said 79 tonnes). All three are owned by Atlantic Reyser, a joint venture between Atlantic Towing and the Spanish tug and terminal operators Reyser [REmolques YSERvicios Maritimos S.L.] which has been owned since 2017 by P+O Maritime, a subsidiary of Dubai-based DP World.

Atlantic Towing bases two of the three tugs in Halifax, but dispatches one or both to Saint John when needed for LNG tanker berthing. 

 Two monitors rated at 1,200 cu m / hr (317k USGPM) mounted on the deck house, deck manifold and water curtain are powered by a 2,700 cu m / hr (713k USGPM) pump working off the port main engine.

Three other tugs (Atlantic Oak, Atlantic Fir and Atlantic Willow) are also based in Halifax, and they are also fitted for fire fighting, but are not as powerful.

As the pilot boat Capt. E.T.Rogers makes its way outbound, Atlantic Bear forms a water backdrop.

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 The tug Atlantic Willow has returned to its normal ship berthing duties in Halifax.

The Atlantic Willow (forward) assists fleetmate Atlantic Beaver guiding the bulker Ocean Pearl as it arrives in Halifax to load gypsum, April 15.

The Atlantic Willow left Halifax April 6 and headed for Trinity Bay, NF. It was joined there by the Atlantic Larch, Atlantic Spruce and Atlantic Elm from Saint John. They were called in to dock the Terra Nova FPSO at Bull Arm. The huge ship returned from a refit in Spain, and was anchored in Conception Bay. It was escorted round to Trinity Bay by suppliers and the four tugs docked the FPSO at the Bull Arm facility. There is still a lot of work to do on the ship before it can return to its position at the Terra Nova offshore oil field some time this summer.

With the misson completed the Atlantic Willow arrived back in Halifax April 14. 

The tug was built in 1998 and equipped with firefighting gear. It was stationed in Point Tupper, NS when Atlantic Towing Ltd provided tug services at the Nustar oil storage facility. It was transferred to Halifax when Atlantic Towing Ltd and Svitzer Canada agreed to exchange services in 2010. It is rated at 4,000 bhp and is the least powerful of the five tugs normally based in Halifax. It is the only ATL tug registered in Port Hawksbury.

 March 15, 2023 photo.

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 A tug / standby vessel, once a regular in Halifax was recently reported with engine trouble in Turkey. Renamed Mirjana K when it was sold in 2021, it was better known in Halifax as the Atlantic Tern.

Atlantic Tern was built in 1975 as the anchor handling tug supply vessel (AHTS)  Canmar Supplier II by Vito Steel Boat and Barge Construction Ltd of Delta, BC. First owners, Dome Petroleum, through their offshore subsidiary Canmar Drilling, used the boat in the Beaufort Sea. 

Amoco took over the debt-ridden Dome and Canmar, and eventually closed down the arctic operations. By that time the boat had been renamed Supplier II but became Canmar Supplier II again (twice) until finally sold in 1998 to the Norwegian company Remoy. They renamed it REM Supporter until selling it to the Faroe Islands operator Thor p/f in 2005. It then became  Thor Supplier. During this time it was extensively modified with the addition of an aft facing bridge structure and raised forecastle.

In 2012 Atlantic Towing Ltd acquired the boat and renamed it Atlantic Birch II *. Initially it worked as a support vessel for seismic work off Greenland, but by 2013 it was back under Canadian flag and registered as Atlantic Tern. Paired with Atlantic Condor the boats shuttled to and from the Deep Panuke site, about 250 km southeast of Halifax. Atlantic Tern spent more time in the standby role, leaving Condor for the heavier loads.

When the offshore gas installations were decommissioned the Atlantic Tern was laid up in Stephenville, NL in August 2020. It was sold in early 2021 and renamed Mirjana K under Panama flag and sailed in May 2021 for Rotterdam. The new owners, imaginatively named Project Canada IC Ltd, were rumoured to be Croatian. Recent listings show owners as Boyut Endustriyel of Gebze, Turkey. 

It is now reported that the vessel suffered engine failure in Greek waters on March 1, 2023. The Bas Viking took the vessel in tow for the Yalova Shipyard for repairs on April 12. Assistance was provided by the Turkeli for the passage through the narrow Canakkale Strait (aka  Dardanelles) for an arrival of April 16.

* The naming tradition for Atlantic Towing Ltd goes back to the early towing operaiotns of the J.D.Irving companies. They had a number of tugs working the Saint John River and tributary lakes, with timber booms and later chip barges. The tugs were named after soft wood (coniferous) trees - the preferred wood for use in making paper. Alder, Cedar, Fir, Juniper. Pine and Spruce, were among the native species that were selected as names. 

The Irving interests also had harbour and deep sea tugs that operated in saltwater predominantly, and they were named for hardwood (deciduous) trees. Names such as Birch, Beech, Elm, Hickory, Maple, Oak and Walnut were used for those tugs. One interesting tree selection was the Teak, used for a tug built in Singapore.

When Atlantic Towing Ltd became more formalized as a division of J.D.Irving Ltd, and water transport of wood products came to an end, the naming lines became blurred and both softwood and hardwood tree names were applied to the harbour and seagoing tugs. For example sister tugs Atlantic Fir and Atlantic Oak both work out of Halifax.

Atlantic Towing Ltd also entered the offshore supply business and chose to name its tug/suppliers after sea and shore birds. Most of the species selected were commonly found in the Atlantic Canada region, but there were exceptions, such as the inexplicable Condor. The Atlantic Tern as reported above was initially given the (in my opinion) inappropriate name of Atlantic Birch II. In fact it was the third tug to carry the Birch name, but the second "Atlsantic Birch" . As an offshore vessel it was soon renamed for the family of seabirds - the Tern. 

Tugs owned by the Irving interests were named with the prefix "Irving" until the late 1990s when they were renamed with the prefix "Atlantic". The first tug using the Birch name was the Irving Birch, built in 1941 as the Assurance class HMS Charon later HMS Alligator. It served the Irving fleet from 1959 to 1969, by which time it had been replaced by a second Irving Birch built in 1967. That tug became the Atlantic Birch in 1997 and was broken up in 2013.

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 Tugs from Atlantic Towing Ltd, performed a double tethered escort exercise in Halifax harbour on April 23.

Halifax harbour pilots, the Atlantic Pilotage Authority and the container ship MOL Courage (90,634 deadweight / 9060 TEU) conducted the exercise as the container ship entered Halifax harbour without the use of the ship's rudder. Both tugs, Atlantic Fir and Atlantic Oak, were tethered to the ship with stern lines and in effect steered the ship following directions from the harbour pilot, via VHF radio.

The exercise was repeated on departure of the ship the next day, April 24. This time however the ship used the western channel, which required a coiuple of sharp turns.

The exercise was a trial to prepare for an emergency. If a large ship has a rudder failure, a single 5,000 bhp tug might not be sufficient to turn the ship, so a second tug would be needed. 

Large container ships are now frequent visitors to Halifax, with 150,000 dwt and 15,000 TEU not uncommon. Generally such ships use one tug as tethered escort and one or two additional tugs for  berthing, depending on conditions. 

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Ships do it, and so do tugs. Tonight May 4-5 two tugs passed each other northeast of Halifax.

The Beverly M 1 initially arrived in Halifax April 30 towing the deck scow MM10 from Sydney.

Built in 1993 by Inamura Shipbuilding Co in Kure, it is a 2 screw CPP tug of 4,000 bhp. It was named Shek O. until 2004, then became: Hunter; 2006: Shek O.; 2008: Pacific Typhoon. When McKeil acquired the tug in 2013 it was working in Dubai with a sister tug which was also acquired by McKeil. Interestingly the tug still carries the inscription "Salvage + Towage" from its orginal owners, Swire Offshore of Hong Kong, however the letters MM (for McKeil Marine) have been added. It is also equipped with a large anchor handling and towing winch.

The Beverly M 1 sailed from Halifax May 3 en route for Sydney.

The second tug is the Fjord Saguenay, built in 2006 by East Isle Shipyard in Georgetown, PE as one of the improved ice class series of 5,000 bhp tugs. Built as Stevns Iceflower it worked in Europe, also under the name Svitzer Njord from 2007 to 2009. It returned to Canada on its own hull in February 2009, arriving in Halifax on one engine. It was given the name Fjord Saguenay and went to work in La Baie (Port Alfred) for Rio Tinto Alcanunder the management of Groupe Océan. This spring it moved to Quebec City where Océan's repair facility replaced an engine with a more efficient one. Its place at La Baie has been taken by Ocean Raynald T (a sister tug built as Stevns Icequeen in 2009).

As an ASD tug, it works over the bow with a large winch on the foredeck. It also has a towing winch, and quick rlease tow hook aft.

The tug sailed from Quebec City April 29, sailed down the St.Lawrence and across the Gulf of St.Lawrence, through the Northumberland Strait, and Canso Canal, anchoring in Inhabitant's Bay May 2. Today May 4 it departed southbound, not giving a destination on AIS.

The two tugs likely passed within sight of each other off Nova Scotia's eastern shor.

Update:

Thanks to an alert reader, I have learned the tug is heading for Shelburne, NS for its class renewal survey.

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 It is not often that a newly built tug appears in Halifax harbour, so it was more than a little surprising to see one on June 15. I have no idea when it arrived in Halifax, because it was already at work on the waterfront when I saw it.

It is a type that is very common on inland waters in the United States and is usually referred to as a "truckable pushboat". About 25 feet long it is equipped with a pair of push knees and a towing bitt. On boats of this type the wheelhouse and its deck structure are usually demountable for road transport.

It appears to be one of the standard designs built by Progressive Industrial Inc of Palmetto, FL. Measuring 25' x 10' x 4' draft, and powered by a 310 hp Cummins engine driving a single screw and with flanking rudders.

I have not seen any registration information nor a registration number, but it was working with some sectional scows owned by Eagle Beach Contracting Ltd, which were in use installing some steel piling reinforcement on the Sackville pier.

An ideal type of craft for sheltered waters, it will likely become a familiar sight in the harbour. 

It deserves a name and as soon as I detect one, I will post an update. (It may be under 15 gross tons and thus will be registered  by number only, with the name being an unofficial one.)

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 Following up on the previous post, the "new tug in town" has a acquired a name and owner's identification.

In recent days the tug has been spotted at various locations around the harbour with a sectional scow carrying a crane. The tug operates in the pusher mode, using a pair of beefy looking push knees and tugger winches.

Eagle Beach is based at the old Fader Agency wharf near the Macdonald Bridge in Dartmouth, now also used by the Atlantic Pilotage Authority...

 ...and has been seen at Mill Cove in Bedford Basin.

As per the previous post, the tug is a "Victory" model, built by Progressive Industrial in Palmetto, FL. The twin screw vessel is powered by a pair of Cummins QSB engines totaling 610 bhp.

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 In preparation for a wharf replacement project at the Bedford Institute, McNally Construction Inc is bringing in the required equipment. The new Jetty L will be built using concrete caissons and will replace the existing timber crib pier. New floats will also be installed. Dredging will be required for removal and bottom prep. The dredge spoil will be moved elsewhere (likely to the Pier 36 area - but that is only a guess.)

First in port was the small tug D.D.Kaufman, new to McNally, which arrived August 16 from New Jersey, the long way round - via the New York State canals and the Great Lakes. It tied up at an inside berth at the Bedford Institute Jetty L and is thus "immune" from photography. More on this tug when I can get a picture.

Today, August 24, it was the familiar veteran tug Sandra Mary arriving from Port Hawksbury with the crane barge Derrick No.4 and a dump scow (as yet unidentified).

Well outside the port limits the scow was handed off to the Dominion Enforcer which towed it in to the Bedford Institute.

The tug Sandra Mary measures 96.82 gross tons and is thus registered by name. When it was built by Russel-Hipwell (formerly Russel Brothers) in Owen Sound, ON in 1962 it was named Flo Cooper by the C.A.Pitts Construction Co Ltd. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions it passed into the hands of McNally in 2000 and took its present name. (Near sister tug Churchill River of 1964 became McNally's Mister Joe in 2001).

Sandra Mary is a 75 footer, rated at 650 bhp through a single screw. [Some sources say 1320 bhp - two engines, single screw.] Its trip actually began in May in Ontario, and it was reported downbound in the St.Lawrence Seaway June 2 towing the crane barge William P. Dilly and the small tug Lac Vancouver. It was then recorded in Montreal and Trois-Rivières June 4 and arrived in Port Hawksbury. It was next reported leaving Port Hawksbury July 14 and in Sydney July 16 to 17. It was not recorded on AIS again until yesterday (August 23) when it sailed from McNally's base in Port Hawksbury for Halifax.

Despite their size McNally's tugs range widely, all over eastern Canada - often at towing speed (about 4.5 knots on this last trip).

Sandra Mary did not stay in Halifax long, but sailed later in the morning for Port Hawksbury - possibly for more equipment. (Its free running speed as a light tug is 9.5 knots.)

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 A notice in the Halifax Chronicle Herald newspaper on September 12 announced that the mult-purpose workboat Tidal Pioneer is offered for sale by tender. Its owners, Sustainable Marine Energy (Canada) Ltd entered into voluntary bankruptcy earlier this year, citing government permitting issues. After operating a pilot project in Grand Passage, Digby Neck, the company wanted to install floating tidal generators in Minas Passage, further up the Bay of Fundy where there is an extremely large tidal range and fast flowing currents. 

The Tidal Pioneer was used to tow the generators and install them on location, and service them once they were anchored and operational. The company suspended operations in April-May and the generators were to be scrapped according to press reports.

[There were controversial issues with this tidal power project which will not be dealt with here. An internet seach will reveal more information from news sites.]

The Tidal Pioneer was built in 2019 by Neptune Shipyards BV in Aalst, Netherlands.  It is a standard design EuroCarrier 2611 type, a twin screw flat deck vessel with two Caterpillar main engines delivering 1940 kW with 35 tonne Bollard Pull. It carries two deck cranes and a variety of towing and anchor handling gear. The hull measures 24.5m x 11.04m x 3.45m depth (about 2m draft). The offset superstructure allows for large deck loads. [Details from Neptune's web site for typical craft of the type.]

This type of vessel is popular in Europe, and has been exported world wide, but is still rare in North America. Remarkably it made an unassisted Atlantic crossing via the Azores, arriving in Halifax August 24, 2021. (Dominion Diving's Dominion Warrior is the only other vessel of the type in Canada and although only slightly smaller, it arrived in Halifax on a heavy lift ship in 2018.)

The sale ad notes that any claims against the vessel must be registered in the Federal Court of Canada by October 7, 2023.

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 Dominion Diving's Dominion Warrior put to sea on a towing job September 21. 

Dominion Warrior at its base in Dartmouth Cove.

 Eurocarrier type vessels are commonly used for towing in Europe as they are equipped with towing winches, shark jaws and all the usual appurtenances for towing. However they are such rare vessels in Canada (there are only two, and both in Halifax - see below) that it is still a bit of a novelty to see one towing. 

The launch Halmar retrieves the line handlers from the barge as it heads for sea.

According to reports the barge's new owners are planning to put the unit back in service, and are sending it to the shipyard for renewal of its classification. Despite the Dominion Warrior's AIS signal giving a destination of Gibraltar, it is more likely to be heading for a shipyard closer to home.

The 1293 gt barge was built at the Aecon Atlantic Industrial Inc shipyard in Pictou, NS. It is registered at 1293 gt (and surprisingly was not listed on the pilot dispatch list, as vessels of more than 1,000 gt usually require a pilot).

Footnote:

 The Federal Court ordered sale of the other Euro Carrier, Tidal Pioneer is expected next week (October 4). It is laid up at Dominion Diving Ltd's base in Dartmouth Cove. [see previous post].

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 Atlantic Towing Ltd, the providers of harbour tug services in Halifax and Saint John, NB, periodically moves tugs between the two ports depending on the need. They have three tugs of 70 tonne bollard pull and 5400 bhp, the Atlantic Bear, Atlantic Beaver and Spitfire III that were designed with higher bows and extra fendering to work with LNG tankers at the Canaport monobuoy in the open roadstead off Saint John. With gas imports at a very low level now, one or two of the tugs have been shifted to work in Halifax where their power is useful for large container ships.

When a gas tanker or large crude tanker is due in Saint John, the tugs may be sent back from Halifax, and one of the other Saint John harbour tugs moves over to take its place in Halifax.

The Atlantic Beaver went to Saint John in recent days, the Atlantic Bear sailed today,  and the Atlantic Cedar arrived from Saint John to supplement the three other regular Halifax tugs, Atlantic Fir and Atlantic Oak (5050 bhp 68 tonne bollard pull), and Atlantic Willow (4,000 bhp, 50 tonne bollard pull).

The Atlantic Cedar is also a 5050 bhp, 68 tonne bollard pull tug and it was soon put to work doing the same jobs that its sister Halifax tugs usually do.

That work included tethered stern escort for the arriving 113,509 gt / 119,180 dwt container ship CMA CGM Cochin. With a container capacity of 10,100 TEU it is about 5,000 TEU shy of the largest container ships to call in Halifax, but still requires the good power of three tugs to berth at PSA Halifax's Pier 42 - this case with the Atlantic Fir and Atlantic Oak.

Ships must be turned 180 degrees to tie up starboard side to, and tugs are required for slow speed steering assist, braking and the usual push pull. The stern tug keeps its line up, but moves to the port quarter and the offside tug (in this case Atlantic Oak) shifts to port midships for the actual berthing.

For comparison purposes the following file photo shows the additional fendering on the Atlantic Beaver:

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 There was another visit from a McNally Construction tug today. This time it was the Mister Joe, a 1964 vintage tug, often seen in Halifax over the years. Built as the Churchill River by Russel Brothers in Owen Sound, ON it operated in Hudson Bay until coming south to Newfoundland in the 1990s. It was then bought by Beaver Marine in 1998. When Beaver was acquired by McNally Construction Ltd of Hamilton, ON, they renamed the tug after their founder in 2001.

The Mister Joe has been in and out of Halifax frequently ever since, and is generally based in Point Tupper, NS but has also worked on the Great Lakes. It underwent a major refit in 2013-2014 when its wheelhouse was rebuilt to the orginal plans, but with modern glazing. McNally carried out the work in house at their Point Anne, ON base.

Today's visit was very brief, just long enough to tether its tow to the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) pier and head back to sea.  The tow appears to be the Beaver Neptune a sem-submersible barge used to build concrete cribs. The cribs are slip-formed concrete caissons, which are floated off the barge then sunk in place and ballasted full with gravel.

 McNally has the contract to remove the old timber pile pier and build a new pier at the BIO. Fleet mate and near sister tug Sandra Mary was featured here August 24, 2023 when it towed in other plant for the project, including the Derrick No.4 and scow with small tug D.D.Kaufman. It was here again September 9 with the crane scow Idus Atwell. It then departed for Point Tupper directly.

The Sandra Mary did not hang around Point Tupper very long, for it was reported earlier this week departing Sorel, QC for McNally's main yard in Point Anne, ON, near Belleville, towing the tug Bagotville. Reports indicate that the Bagotville, built in 1964, and laid up for a few years, will be scrapped, but that remains to be seen. McNally has done some significant rebuilds over the years.

Bagotville in Halifax in 2013.

I reported Bagotville's history here on May 11, 2013. It has spent very little of its life in salt water, and aside from the last couple of years in layup it has been well maintained. Bulwarks take a beating in its kind of work, but they can be replaced. 

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 The United States flag tug Calusa Coast arrived today, October 15, from Boston and tied up at Pier 25. It arrived light tug.

The tug shifted from dry cargo barge towing on the eastern seaboard to working on the Great Lakes from 2016 to 2020 with the barge Delaware delivering asphalt from Marathon, Detroit to sundry Lakes ports such as Cleveland and Buffalo. It left the Lakes in November 2020 and since then it has been reported in New York with barges carrying bulk sugar, but has likely been doing other work as well.

I am alwauys impressed by how well maintained these older US tugs appear. This one looks frech "from the showroom".

The tug is wearing its "lock ladders" - very long ladders on each side, standing upward, and which can be angled outward to allow agile crew members to land at the lock wall to assist passage if needed. They can also be used to access the deck of a light barge when the tugs goes "in the notch" for pushing.

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 His Majesty's Canadian Dockyard in Halifax operates six tugs through the King's Harbour Master. All are crewed by civilians and are not commissioned Royal Canadian Navy naval vessels, but are designated as Canadian Naval Auxiliary Vessels. Three of the tugs are the Glen class of 1750 bhp Voith-Schneider tractor tugs and three are Ville class "Pup" tugs. A new tug program is underway to build replacements for the 1977 era Glens but the even older Villes remain in service with no sign of replacements any time soon.

Those small pups can be seen bustling about the harbour conducting many duties including ship berthing, fender handling, securing to mooring buoys and security rounds. I have covered these tugs here before and in a previous post I called them Gofers of the Dockyard.

 The three Villes in Halifax were built by Georgetown Shipyard in Prince Edward Island in 1975, and were named Listerville YTS 592, Merrickville YTS 593 and Marysville YTS 594. The last of the trio was later renamed Parksville then in 2003 renamed Granville. The pennant designations were also changed from YTS (Yard Tug Small) to YTL (Yard Tug Little).

The tugs are powered by a 365 bhp Caterpillar engine driving a single screw in a steerable nozzle, giving a bollard pull of 7.5 tons. They seldom stray very far from Halifax, but I did notice the Merrickville in Sambro today. Yesterday the Granville was returning from the static Sound Range trot buoys in Macnab's Cove and was heading into a stiff northerly breeze, which it weathered with its usual dignity.

A familiar task for the Pups is moving inflatable (Yokohama) fenders to berths outside the Dockyard for visiting naval vessels. They are secured in such a way as to still provide visibility.

As befitting their miniature size the tugs deploy tiny Yokohamas as hull fenders of their own.

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 Since September 28, 2023 when its Canadian registry was closed I have been waiting for news on the disposition of the tug Duga. So far there has been no information forthcoming except that it has registered in Bolivia (a land locked country!) and has been sold to foreign buyers, perhaps in Mexico.

Groupe Océan acquired the tug when they purchased Les Remorqueurs de Trois-Rivières in 2002, and the tug remained stationed in that port until it was moved to Quebec City and laid up in July of this year.

Construction of the tug was started by Rolf Rekdal A/S Tonura, Tomrefjord, Norway, and completed in 1977 by Langsten Slip A/S, Langsten. It was built as an ice strengthened anchor handling tug, of 4200 bhp with a 55 tonne bollard pull. Its twin contollable pitch props are mounted in fixed nozzles, and its hull is heavily fendered below the water line.

After service for J. Ostensjø of Haugesund, Norway it was brought to Canada for work in the Beaufort Sea for Arctic Offshore Marine Services, the Hay River based company owned by Capt Don Tétrault. It possibly made a northwest passage on its delivery. I am not sure of its route when it was then sold to Trois-Rivières, ca. 1987.

In the mid-1990s when Atlantic Towing Ltd had new tugs under construction for use at Point Tupper, Duga was chartered until the new tugs were delivered and it was based at the Statia terminal in Point Tupper.

The tug has been well maintained by Groupe Océan at their own shipyard, but I understand that the Wichmann main engines are unusual and perhaps a bit of a liability. 

It is interesting that the tug has kept its name since 1977, despite now five changes of ownership. (The world "duga" in old Norse can mean "help" or "aid" and has a similar meaning in several Scandanavian tongues, so seems appropriate for a tug,).

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 Although it has been in Halifax since August 16, today, December 21, was the first time I was able to get a close up look at the tug D.D. Kaufman. As I reported here on August 24, the tug arrived in Halifax from New Jersey, the long way round, via the New York state canals, the Great Lakes and the St.Lawrence Seaway. It is here working on the new Jetty L at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) where it is nearly impossible to see, let alone photograph. 

The tug's owners, McNally Construction Ltd of Hamilton, ON also have bases in Sorel, QC and Point Tupper, NS and carry out marine construction work throughout eastern Canada. They have a large fleet of scows, barges, and several tugs and workboats. Many of these are older units were acquired in the 1990s when McNally purchased the fleets of the former McNamara Marine, Cartier Construction, Beaver Marine, Canadian Dredge + Dock, and Pitts Engineering companies.

In 2017 Weeks Marine Inc of Cranford, NJ purchased the McNally Group, which also included McNally International, a tunneling specialist based in West Lake, OH. Then in turn as of January 1, 2023 the large construction company Kiewit Corporation acquired Weeks, including its Hawaiian subsidiary and North American Aggregates of Perth Amboy, NJ.

Today, following a large storm surge in Halifax harbour, the D.D. Kaufman was dispatched from BIO to Pier 25 to check on the semi-submersible barge Beaver Neptune. The barge was used to build concrete caissons for the BIO Jetty, and on completion of that work was moved out of the way to Pier 25. 

It appeared to have weathered the storm with all its mooring lines intact, so the D.D. Kaufman returned to BIO. There was still quite a swell running in the harbour, so the tug's windscreen wipers got a good workout coming and going.

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 When pilotage operations resumed early this morning (Friday, December 22) after the latest storm had passed and sea conditions moderated, there was a major backlog of shipping to accommodate. Most of these ships will have to take their turns in order of earliest scheduled arrival as there is a limit to the number of berths in the port. As of late afternoon there were still six ships hove to off Halifax waiting their turn.

Among the ships that did enter port was the Annie B, a first time caller on ZIM's CGX feeder service. It was due originally from New York on Wednesday December 20 but spent an uncomfortable two days slowly steaming back and forth or hove to well offshore away from the coastal swells.

The bright sunshine was deceptive as there was still a swell runnning in the harbour. With a very stiff northerly wind, and sub-zero temperatures, there was a lot of spray for the ship and the attendant tug Atlantic Larch.*   (See also yesterday's Tugfaxfor some more splashy photos.)

The ship Annie B was hastily renamed in late June or early July 2023 by anonymous new owners Clement Shipping Ltd.

Built in 2003 by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan the 28,596 gt, 39,383 dwt ship has a capacity of 2826 TEU including 554 reefers. Its original name was Cardonia (still visible in welded letters on the bow) but was renamed on delivery as CMA CGM Ukraine, a name it carried until 2006 when it became Cardonia again.

 A report on social media says that the ship will unload 49 containers and load 1035 during its stay in Halifax, which even for a feeder service seems light. Seasonal variations and world events may be factors in loadings as the shipping world is in a state of flux these days.

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 * The Atlantic Larch, built by East Isle Shipyard in Georgetown, PE in 2000, is a 4,000 bhp tug with a 51 tonne bollard pull rating. It is based in Saint John, NB, but is designated as an "outside tug" available for coastal work and other assignments away from its home port. It arrived in Halifax to supplement the local tugs while Halifax Shipyard "launched" the latest Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship, AOPV 434 on December 9. 

There has also been additional activity in the port with more wind turbine components arriving and the Atlantic Bear had a short spell at the Shelburne Shipyard for its ten year classification renewal survey. Halifax can keep up with demand with five active tugs, but six would be preferrable in winter and other busy times. Regular tugs in Halifax are Atlantic Oak, Atlantic Fir, Atlantic Bear, Atlantic Beaver, and Atlantic Willow. Since early December the tug Atlantic Elm, not normally a harbour tug, has also been in Halifax, attending barges used during the transfer of the wind turbine towers, and other miscellaneous chores such as ship docking in Sheet Harbour. It also stood by in Cape Breton while the bulk carrier Genco Endeavour effected repairs.

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 The Neptune Eurocarrier workboat Tidal Pioneer has found new work after its original owners declared banktuptcy last year.

It was acquired by Sustainable Marine Energy Canada Ltd (SMEC) to work with their tidal power project, which due to funding issues was halted and the company entered voluntary receivership in May 2023. The Tidal Pioneer was laid up in Dartmouth at Dominion Diving's base and listed for sale. (It has been maintained in working order.)

The vessel has now been sold to Leask Marine, an international marine contracting company based in the United Kingdom. Its Canadian registry was closed February 2 and it has been registered in the UK under the new name C-Horizon.

Leask Marine, through Nova Innovation CAN Ltd, has applied for a coasting license to use the boat to move a (submerged) tidal turbine from Meteghan, NS and install it in Petit Passage (between Digby Neck and Long Island, off Tiverton, NS). Citing the unique characteristics of the boat and the need to use experienced personnel (presumably not Canadian) a coasting license will be needed to use a non-Canadian vessel in Canadian waters. Although Eurocarrier type vessels are common in Europe they are rare in Canada, and no Canadian flag vessels are available for the work.

The work is to be carried out in March so that the C-Horizon can take up another contract in the UK by April 30.

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A big tug arrived in Halifax March 26 in preparation for a big tow.

The tug is the ALP Sweeper, classed as an anchor handling tug, it is equipped for long distance tows of very large vessels such as FPSOs and oil rigs. It is an ice class 1B ship with FiFi II and DP II capability and produces in excess of 300 tonnes bollard pull. Built under license by Niigata Shipbuilding in Japan, it is an Ulstein SX157 design with the patented X-bow.

The Dutch company ALP Maritime Servcies has a fleet of eight long distance towing vessels. A relatively new company, founded in 2010, it filled a gap when older established companies got out of the ocean towing market. Ironically it was announced last month that one of those companies, Royal Boskalis Westminster BV, has acquired ALP from its parent Altera. 

Boskalis, primarily a marine construction and dredging company, purchased Smit Salvage in 2010.

The ALP Sweeper (tugs are named for football [soccer] positions) arrived from Ponta Delgada, Portugal and tied up at Pier 26 in Halifax. It will await arrival of the fire damaged MSC Sao Paulo V from Quebec City. The 53,324 gt container ship had an engine room fire March 3 on the Lower St.Lawrence River when outbound for Sines, Portugal. The ship's cargo was not damaged, so it seems that the ALP Sweeper may tow the fully loaded ship to Portugal.

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 The fire damaged container ship MSC Sao Paulo V arrived in Halifax 2 as a dead ship in tow from Quebec City.

The Groupe Océan tugs tasked with the tow may not be familiar to Halifax, but are worth noting as previous visitors.

Océan Taïga is one of two 8,000 bhp, 110 tonne bollard pull Lloyd's Ice Class 1A Super F.S. arctic class tugs, with fire fighting capability (the other is Océan Tundra) built to work in the high arctic and as escort tugs on the St.Lawrence River. It was lead tug in towing the 53,324 gt ship.

Letting up the slack on the tow line, April 2.

Despite its Quebec City and Baffin Island work routine the tug has been in Halifax before. It stopped over here in 2018 en route to Jamaica to work temporarily in Groupe Océan's Kingston tug fleet. (Note the extra wires to secure the tire fenders for the ocean passage, and containers of spare gear on deck.)

The second tug in the MSC Sao Paulo V tow is Océan Raynald T., a typical 5,000 bhp Robert Allen design tug, built by East Isle Shipyard in Georgetown PE. Completed in 2009 it was originally the Stevns Iceflower (the second of the name) then Svitzer Nerthus from 2009 to 2017.

With its sister tug Svizer Njal (ex Stevns Icequeen and renamed Océan Clovis T. in 2017)it also visited Halifax before. The two tugs were brought to Canada in 2015 when Svitzer attempted to break into the tug business in Montreal. The venture was not a success and Groupe Océan acquired both tugs and assigned them to harbour duties in Quebec City.

Océan Raynald T. acted as tethered stern tug to provide steering during the tow from Quebec City. It cast off and its place was taken by the local tug Atlantic Bear off Halifax.

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