Saturday, September 8, 2012

Quebec Tug News - all good


A sister to Océan Serge Genois built in 2010 is under construction, with a bigger tug to follow.

Groupe Océan seems to be going from strength to strength as it continues to build its fleet. With the recent completion of the dredge Océan Traverse Nord at its Industrie Océan shipyard, work is well underway on another 24m  4,000 bhp fire fighting tug at a cost of $10.6 mn to be delivered in December.
Work will then start on a large 34m 8,000 bhp tug at a cost of $24mn. It will be the first in a series called the TunDRA 100 class. It will be an ice class, escort and sea-going tug, built to work in the North. It will have two Ulstein (Rolls Royce) azimuthing stern thrusters.
Océan has worked in the north for many years, and in mid-August Océan Delta, assisted in freeing the grounded Vega Sagittarius near Nuuk, Greenland.

Despite many new tugs in recent years, such as Océan Keith Rusby (right) Océan still has many noble veterans in its fleet. The 1969 Océan Echo II and the 1973 Océan Charlie are still providing excellent service, largely in fresh water. 

Despite the huge newbuilding program in recent years, Océan still has many veterans in its fleet, and seems to find new work for its new tugs rather than just building replacements for its old ones. The company has its own shipyard and a new maintenance facility in Quebec City, and keeps its boats in tip top condition.

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