Atlantic Willow - correction and clarification

A regular Halifax based tug for several years is the Atlantic Willow. One of the large series of ASD tugs built by Irving Shipbuilding's Eastisle Shipyard , it was based on the original Robert Allen Ltd design, but with some modifications. It entered service in 1998.

Atlantic Willow moves between assignments in Halifax harbour.

It is still using the winter shelter over its ship handling winch on the foredeck.

It was the first tug in the series to be built with the full firefighting package, because it was intended for use at the NuStar oil terminal at Point Tupper, on the Strait of Canso. Presumably that is why it is the only tug in the ATL fleet registered in Port Hawksbury, NS instead of the company's home port of Saint John, NB. It was also equipped with a towing winch aft. 

The tug is rated at 4,000 bhp / 50 tonne bollard pull - somewhat less than the 5,000 bhp / 66 tonne, 5,500 bhp / 70 tonne ratings of the other Halifax tugs. Nevertheless it is still a hard working member of the fleet and it is often designated to work at the bow of a ship and with the smaller ships. 

In case the above photo is a bit placid looking, it should go on record that the tug can "step out". 

Irving tugs have traditionally been named after trees, because the company got is start in the tug business by towing timber on the Saint John River. Originally the river tugs were named for coniferous (softwood) trees (used for lumber and paper making), whereas coastal and ocean tugs were named for deciduous (hardwood) trees. No distinction is made now since some harbour tugs work coastal, and there is no longer any river work.

However, due to the limited number of local tree species, the names do get re-used. Such is the case of the willow, a name used in the fleet from 1980 to 1996. Irving Willow was built in 1958 by J.I.Thornycroft in Woolston, UK for Red Funnel Tugs of Southampton, UK as Dunnose. It was one of a series of first generation twin screw diesel tugs, built to serve the large ships, including the "supertankers"  of the 1950s. Its two 6 cylinder Crossley's giving 1340 bhp became obsolete for that purpose as ships continued to grow, and it was replaced with a new generation. Irving acquired four tugs from the Red Funnel fleet, three of which went into regular service.

Irving Willow ex Dunnose was assigned to the Harbour Development Ltd division of Atlantic Towing Ltd and tended barges and dredges all around the Atlantic region. In 1995 Atlantic Towing Ltd and Harbour Development Ltd,  were given a separate corporate identity under the J.D.Irving branch of the family companies, as distinct from Irving Oil. Most Irving tugs were given the "Atlantic" prefix, however those attached to Harbour Development  Ltd were given a "master" suffix, and Irving Willow was renamed Wavemaster in 1996. It carried that name until it was broken up in Dartmouth, NS in 1995.

Irving Willow with dump scows at a dredging site in Yarmouth, NS in 1985.

CORRECTION: The Atlantic Willow does not carry a towing winch. The most photo I have that shows the tug from the stern, has a picnic table where a towing winch could be installed if needed.

CLARIFICATION: In addition to Atlantic Willow, 4,000 bhp, Atlantic Towing Ltd normally posts two 5,000 bhp tugs and one 5,500 bhp tug in Halifax. The one larger tug is drawn from the three tugs built for working with LNG tankers at the Canaport buoy off Saint John, NB. If needed for an LNG tanker it will return to Saint John, but this is now a rare event. Currently that tug is Atlantic Beaver. The two 5,000 bhp tugs based in Halifax are Atlantic Oak and Atlantic Fir.

Thanks to readers for pointed out the error and inaccuracy in the last post.

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Wavemaster stopover

The tug Wavemaster and its tandem tow made a stopover in Halifax last evening en route from Saint John, NB and Summerside, PE. It was towing the dredge Cranemaster and the split hull hopper barge HD-11.

This is my first opportunity to see the tug up close since it was refitted for Canadian service and renamed. I did see it in Shelburne shortly after it was acquired from the Royal Netherlands Navy in 2018. Originally named Regge it was built in 1987, and beautifully maintained.

This is the second Wavemaster in the Harbour Development fleet. See:
http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-new-wavemaster.html

Among the modifications made for Canadian service was moving accommodation above the water line and the addition of a towing winch, rescue boat, etc.,

Harbour Development Ltd is the dredging and marine construction arm of the J.D.Irving Group, and is run independently from Atlantic Towing Ltd.

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The New Wavemaster

On the move from Shelburne, NS for seal trials to Saint John, NB is the  tug Wavemaster. Owned by Harbour Development Ltd, the dredging subsidiary of Atlantic Towing Ltd, it has re-used a name from the past.


Built for the Royal Netherlands Navy as Regge, the tug was acquired early last year and sailed to Shelburne in March. Since then it has been extensively rebuilt, and in June 2018 was renamed Wavemaster.

See Tugfax 2018/03/21   for more on the Regge.

 Irving Willow working in Yarmouth harbour has an extended wheelhouse and modified deck house.



This is the second HDL tug to be named Wavemaster. The first was built in 1958 by J.I. Thornycroft in Southampton, UK for the local Red Funnel Tug fleet. It was powered by two 6 cyl Crossleys giving 1340 bhp with twin screws. Named Dunnose it was one of four similar tugs acquired by Atlantic Towing over the years. In 1980 it was renamed Irving Willow and seems to have been attached to the dredging fleet from early days. Because some of its accommodation was below deck, and no longer permissible for Canadian tugs, the deck house and wheelhouse were modified. Sister tug Atlantic Juniper ex Irving Juniper ex Thorness was not modified and remained a day boat as a result. (It was to be broken up in the last year.)

Sister tug Atlantic Juniper remained a day boat in Saint John, NB.

 When the J.D.Irving parent company removed the "Irving" name from its tugs in 1996, Irving Willow was renamed Wavemaster. It was laid up in Dartmouth in 1998, and although drydocked in 2004, it was never in service again and was finally broken up in Dartmouth in 2005.

 The same tug, as Wavemaster worked with dredges and scows.

Harbour Development has been making do with only one large tug (and small tugs and workboats) since 1998, so it seems likely that the new Wavemaster will be replacing the veteran Swellmaster. Also a Thornycroft- built former Red Funnel tug, it was built in 1965 as the firefighting tug Atherfield. It came to Canada for Atlantic Towing Ltd in 1971 and was renamed Irving Hemlock. It has been attached to the dredging fleet from the beginning, and was renamed Swellmaster in 1996.

 Irving Hemlock still carried fire monitors which were used for washing down scows.

A twin screw tug, originally with two Crossley engines totalling 1340bhp it was re-engined with a pair of 12 cylinder Caterpillars in 1987 giving 2,000 bhp. The new Wavemaster seems to be a suitable  replacement.

Swellmaster was also equipped with a winch for towing dredges from port to port.

At Shelburne Ship Repair in Shelburne, NS - also part of J.D.Irving and Irving Shipbuilding Inc, I hear that the yard's tug/workboat SSR 3 has been broken up some time ago.

Built in 1964 for Ferguson Industries in Pictou for the Department of Public Works dredging fleet, its original name was Grand Entrée. A 380 bhp single screw boat it was stationed in the Magdalen Islands, but later transferred to Gaspé. In 1996 it was renamed T.5 when DPW put their entire dredging fleet up for sale. Harbour Development Ltd bought the boat and used it for a time. It was then laid up in Dartmouth and when Dartmouth Marine Slips was shut down it was transferred to Shelburne.

It was then renamed SSR 3 but the registered name remained T.5. The shipyard used the tug for working around the slip and as a diving tender, but it was laid up about 2005, and broken up sometime in 2017.  

The number of tugs built in the 1950s and 60s is rapidly diminishing, Although about 25 are still listed in the Atlantic Region, several of those are laid up and unlikely to return to service. There are also a few still  listed which have in fact been broken up already.

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