The purpose of her visit is to tow out McNally Construction's crane barge Derrick#1 with the tug Jamie L. on deck. They were working all winter at Nova Scotia Power's Tuft's Cove. Last week they moved over to pier 9C to prepare for the trip.
While at pier 9C the barge's spuds were lifted out and secured on one side deck, and then the tug was cradled down on the other side.
Beverly M 1 is one of a pair of sister tugs that McKeil bought a year ago from Swire Offshore of Hong Kong. Both tugs were working in Dubai at the time of purchase. Beverly M 1 was built as Shek O for Hong Kong Salvage and Towage (part of the Swire Group) in 1993. It was renamed Hunter from 2004-2006 and in 2008 became Pacific Typhoon for Swire. It is a twin screw tug with controllable pitch props and a tunnel thruster forward. It's Niigata main engines give 4,000 bhp. It was built by Inamura Zosen of Kure, Japan, and is fitted for anchor handling, fire fighting and towing.
The tug arrived with a good coating of frozen spray on her starboard side, but this did not deter the crew from tying up and getting a gangway ashore. The tow wires were already rigged on the barge, and it did not take long to make them up on the tug, which is fitted with a substantial towing winch.
Update: As of 0900 Monday morning the tow was still in port.
Update #2:
Tug and tow finally got away on Monday March 17 after the weather cleared away. They will still have to contend with certain restrictions imposed by Transport Canada Ship Safety. Speed and avoidance of ice are the main factors in determining when they reach St.John's. The derrick will be used to drive piles for a new pier at Irving Oil's terminal.
Tug and tow did have to vacate pier 9 March 12 to allow IT Intrepid to take the berth, but they only got as far as pier 28, and sat there until the weather passed.
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