The latest acquisition by McKeil Marine was registered in St. John's today as Sharon M 1. She is the former Pacific Tempest, ex Mai Pobuilt in 1993 by Inamura Shipbuilding in Japan for Hong Kong Towing & Salvage and lately operated by Swire Group.
She joins sister Beverly M 1 ex Pacific Typhoon, ex Shek O, which was registered February 20.
The 4,000 bhp ASD tugs will likely be used with a pair of new barges under construction for McKeil at Glovertown Shipyard in Newfoundland. The barges, built in cooperation with Mammoet and Hunt's Transport, are to be used in construction of the huge new Hebron Gravity Base Structure at Bull Arm, NL. The 120 meter high concrete structure will eventually be placed in 93 meters of water on the Hebron oil field off Newfoundland. In the meantime it will take more than 2,000 workers and 132,000 cubic meters of concrete to build. Substantial quantities of aggregate, reinforcing steel and other materials will be needed, and they will be transported by these and other tugs and barges. Also at the Bull Arm site workers will assemble the accommodation topside structure. The topside production structures will be built overseas.