Beverly M 1 - night time tow out - updated (again)

McKeil Marine's Beverly M 1 made its first call in Halifax just at dusk this evening. Too bad for picture taking.

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.

At time of posting a departure time had not been set. It may be tonight or early tomorrow.

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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Gleeful tugs

It is debatable whether tugs can be gleeful, but it seems that the three McNally Construction tugs in Halifax were gleeful at noon time today when they completed placement of the last of the cribs at pier 6 in Halifax shipyard.

 

Freed from towing the huge concrete cribs at glacial speeds, and hours of nudging them into position, the tugs seemed to kick up their heels when the job was completed. The workers were also pleased to have the rest of the week end off too.

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McNally triple tow

McNally Construction used three tugs to tow a concrete crib from the work site to the Fairview Cove container pier on Tuesday October 15. Bagotville took the lead, towing Oshawa, which was towing the crib. Jamie L brought up the rear pushing the crib for a time. As they neared the destination, Jamie L turned and repositioned as a brake to help position the crib.

[Power lines in the foreground  were unavoidable, due to a crime scene investigation underway closer to the water.]

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Tandem Tow

 1. As the large tugs Atlantic Oak and Atlantic Hemlock head back to base, they pass Oshawa towing Jamile L towing a concrete crib.

A tandem tow usually refers to one tug towing two ships, but in Halifax, it seems to mean two tugs towing one object. McNally Construction has the job of building large concrete cribs that form the pier face of the new pier 6 at Halifax Shipyard. In order to move the cribs from their construction site to the shipyard, they are using two tugs, Jamie L and Oshawa as shown here before.

2. Oshawa's line is bar taut to Jamie L. 

3. Oshawa is really digging in and her engines are running at full revs.

4. Jamie L is also running with the pedal to the metal and setting up a bit of a rooster tail.

The advantage of using two tugs is that once at the pier 6 site Oshawa peels off and gets into position to place the crib. Once located, the  crib is "gentled" into place using a system of wires and come-alongs and then sunk in place.

5. The crib is moved the last few feet into position with wires. The motorboat is allowing a man to install a sleeve in the sidewall which will allow water in for sinking.

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McNally - still working pier 6, pier 9 and Fairview Cove

Three McNally tugs in Halifax involved with pier expansions at Fairview Cove and Halifax Shipyard. One new concrete crib, built by McNally, will soon be placed at Fairview Cove to extend the pier. They are currently using Derrick No.3 to place steel sheet piles in the area.
Meanwhile using pier 9c as a base McNally is building cribs for the Halifax Shipyard pier 6 expansion. So far five cribs have been positioned.  Derrick No.1 and the semi-submersible Beaver Neptune are in use along with the previously shown Dexter scows and workboats.
McNally's tug Jamie L seems to be the tug most in use, but Oshawa can also be seen from time to time. Bagotville does not seem to be very busy by comparison.

1. Oshawa gives Jamie L a tow while floating off a concrete crib at pier 9 September 17.

2. Jamie L makes up to tow Derrick No.1 from pier 6 to pier 9c.

3. Tow under way, September 20.

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