Firebird's non dramatic rescue

1. Float rescued by rigid hulled inflatable patrol boat, and passed to Firebird

2. Firebird towing in reverse back to Dockyard.

The Christmas - New Year period has been very quiet in the port of Halifax, with a few ships coming and going, and very little tug activity.

Today, as a statutory holiday and "no work" day for longshoremen [see Shipfax] it was even quieter.

The only activity I detected was not exactly a challenging towing job, and it did not actually involve a tug. The Canadian Forces Auxiliary Vessel (CFAV) Firebird was called in to rescue a wayward float. Due to high winds the float was making its way down the harbour when it was corralled first by a navy patrol boat. They called in Firebird to tow it back to HMC Dockyard.

Whatever possessed them to tie it up to the Firebird's bow instead of alongside I will never know, but they were then forced to tow in reverse all the way back to the berth.

.