US tugs (yes plural) on the move

US Tug 1

What was expected to be a short stay in Halifax for the tug Genesis Victory (see previous post) turned into a bit of a marathon as weather systems kept wandering through the region making conditions unfavourable, particularly in the Cabot Strait and eastern Gulf of St.Lawrence.
There was also ice in the Sydney Bight (enough to trap the big Marine Atlantic ferry Highlanders for a time) but the northern side of the Strait was blown quite clear.
It was not until Sunday April 9 that calm conditions prevailed and Genesis Victory ex Huron Service got under way for sea, towing its barge GM6506 directly from the Bedford Basin anchorage.

Genesis Victory underway in the Basin early Sunday morning heading for sea. It was very calm, and the barge tracks well, so it was not necessary to push it from the notch while leaving harbour.

 The tug and barge remained at anchor from March 26 until April 1 when they went in to pier 9c for the day - likely for supplies, such as water. It went back to anchor that evening then put in a pilot order for Saturday April 8, but that was cancelled after the pilot was aboard due to late received weather forecast with high winds over night. By Sunday however it was good to go and they headed for the Great Lakes - finally.

Tow line bar taught, the tug glides through the Narrows in near dead calm conditions. Her twin EMDs were purring nicely as she made the bend at Tuft's Cove.

US Tug 2 

It was a much briefer stay for the  traditional US style tug Thomas. It arrived this morning with the barge J.G.Burke and was underway again this evening back to New York.

Built in 1976 as Ocean Voyager by McDermott Shipyards Inc in New Iberia, LA the tug was acquired by Weeks Marine Inc in 1986 and renamed. Powered by a pair of GM EMDs totaling 4,000 bhp it has a tiny bird's nest type conning post atop a spindly mast. it is also fitted with a substantial towing winch and is obviously used for barge work with (count 'em) 27 aircraft type tire fenders, and big bow and stern fenders.  On its last visit to Halifax in October 2008, it had the barge Weeks 246 in tow, and loaded steel bridge fabrications at the Cherubini Metal Works pier in Eisner's Cove. 

There will be more on its tow, the barge J.G.Burke in future posts. The barge was built specifically as a building platform for concrete pier cribs. The cribs will be slipformed in place on the barge, which will then submerge to float them off. Weeks is the parent company of McNally, who will build the six 45m x 20m cribs for the new navy jetty for Arctic Offshore Patrol ships (AOPS). Work on the jetty began last year, but shut down from January until the last week of March.
As a US flag vessel, the Burke has been granted a coasting license, good from March 1 to August 31 of this year to build the cribs (also known as caissons).

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