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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