Villes at 50

 The Canadian Navy's three Ville class tugs based in Halifax, Granville, Listerville and Merrickville  have now put in 50 years of service and are still going strong. Built in 1974 by Georgetown Shipyard in Prince Edward Island, they are 365 bhp Cat powered with a single screw in a nozzle. At 45 feet long they are of a very convenient size for working in the confines of the HMC Dockyard. They also can be seen at other Navy installations in the harbour, most often in ship handling with the larger Glen class tugs. They also perform regular security patrols and other odd jobs such as fender placement.

Granville YTL 594 and Merrickville YTL 593 with fenders, and bibs, after undocking a visiting naval ship in the port. Their signal masts are struck for close in work.

 As non-commissioned auxiliary vessels working under the direction of the Master Attendant in the King's Harbour Master's office, they are civilian crewed, but carry the usual naval pennant designation YTL (Yard Tug Little). They are referred to as CNAV, Canadian Naval Auxiliary Vessels.

CNAV Merrickville YTL 593 in the Narrows March 15, 2025.

 They are so well maintained that there is no hint of their age. However at only a modest 7.5 tons bollard pull they may be under powered for the Navy's newer and much larger ships which are in the works. As craft that work only within the confines of the harbour, and for short trips, there would be an opportunity for electric / battery powered craft. 

The Navy's slightly newer Glen class tugs, built in 1976, are being replaced, but I have not heard of replacement plans for the Villes, familiarly called "pups". They in turn replaced a series of earlier 45 foot "Pups", also with "Ville" names, that were built during World War II.

 The war-built Merrickville served civilian owners for several more years after Navy duty.

 The current Villes are heavily fendered below the waterline for work with submarines.

 Listerville YTL 592 hauled out for maintenance.

 The recent visit to Halifax of the French submarine FS Tourville (coincidentally) saw a pair of our Villes in close attendance.

 

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Damens for Strait of Canso

There is more information now on the three new tugs to be based in Point Tupper, NS on the Strait of Canso. An announcement was made last November that there would be new tugs, https://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2024/11/three-green-tugs-for-strait.html but some of the details have changed so perhaps a new deal, has been reached with new players.

Tug services on the Strait of Canso were originally provided by Smit+Cory International to berth VLCCs at the Gulf Oil facility there and the refinery in Come-by-Chance Newfoundland. Smit+Cory then established Eastern Canada Towing Ltd (ECTUG) and took over tug operations in Baie-Comeu and Sept-Iles, Quebec, and in Halifax that had been operated by Foundation Maritime, and later by it successor MIL Tug. 

Atlantic Towing Ltd, an arm of J.D.Irving Ltd of Saint John, NB won the contract for tug services at Point Tupper with Nu-Star, operators of what had become an oil storage facility. Tugs also served the several other industries in the Strait of Canso area and the Port of Sydney.

The Smit+Cory parent company evolved over time and eventually ECTUG was taken over by Svitzer, a tug operating arm of Maersk. Svitzer Canada then did a deal with Atlantic Towing Ltd (ATL) to form a Joint Venture, with ATL operating tugs in Halifax and Svitzer in Point Tupper.

 The most recent change had the Point Tupper oil facility become Everwind with plans to build green hydogen and ammonia fuel production operations.

In November the announcement stated that existing tugs might be converted to alternate fuel, but as I suggested this did not seem to make sense due to their age. Now an Everwind press release states quite clearly that the three existing tugs Point Chebucto 1992:4000 bhp, Svitzer Montreal 2004: 5072 bhp and Svitzer Bedford 2005: 4895 bhp )all owned by Svitzer) will be replaced by three new Damen built tugs to be delivered this year. The Dutch company Damen, builds tugs to standard designs and sells from stock or custom outfits to owner's needs. Most of its tugs now come from their shipyard in Vietnam, but some work may be done in the Netherlands. (Damen builds other ships also and has 50 shipyards and related companies world wide).

One of the new tugs will be a Damen type 3212 (32m long) of 80 tonnes Bollard Pull, and the other two will be Damen type 2513 (25m long) of 65 tonnes bollard pull.  A price tag of $50 mn has been quoted.

Operation of the tugs will be by what Everwind describes as a "owned locally" company named Point Tupper Marine Services. It appears then that once the current JV contract with Svitzer and ATL expires in August it will not be renewed and the new company will take over with the new tugs.

It remains to be seen what will happen to the three current tugs as Svitzer has no other operations in Canada to absorb them. One or two other tug operators in Eastern Canada might be potential purchasers. 

 The Point Chebucto ready to launch by Halifax-Dartmouth Industries Ltd. (The Halifax Shipyard was under lease to J.D. Irving Ltd at the time and would bought in 1994.)

 In 1994 Svitzer was "de-merged" from A.P.Møller-Maersk and listed as its own entity, Svitzer Group A/S, on the Nasdaq Copenhagen stock exchange. Maersk also sold its Maerk Supply ship company and its oil field interests. The A.P.Møller family trusts may have purchased shares in the new Svitzer Group, as an investment, but with no connection to A.P.Møller-Maersk.

 Svitzer remains the world's largest tug company with 446 vessels in 143 ports.  

Caucedo,in Halifax fore trials.

Svitzer Montreal was built by East Isle Shipyard in Georgetown, PE as Caucedo for owners in the Dominican Republic. It was acquired by Svitzer and renamed Svitzer Caucedo in 2018 and Svitzer Montreal the same year. After Svitzer's unsuccesful effort to break into the Montreal harbour towing market, it was refitted in Halifax then sent to the Strait of Canso.

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Veteran tows Veteran

 On Febrary 19, 2025 most eyes in Philadelphia were focused on the veteran ocean liner SS United States as it was towed from layup en route to Florida where it will be reefed. I have no pictures of my own of that operation, but there were many views and videos on line.

Tug watchers however might be excused for focusing more on the lead tug - a veteran in its own right, dating back to 1970.

Now named Vinik No.6 it is owned by Vinik Marine Services Inc of Keyport, NJ. Its history dates back to 1970 when it was built by Southern Shipbuilding Inc of Slidell, LA as Robert Alario for Nolty J. Theriot Inc of Golden Meadow, LA. In 1992 it moved to Morania Oil Tanker Corp of New York and was renamed Morania No.6. Under that name it pushed asphalt barges from Saint John, NB where I was able to squeeze in a photo on April 14, 1996. Morania equipped the tug with the elevated pilot house, which enabled it to work in the notch of unladen tanker barges.

In 2000 Morania merged with Penn Maritime Inc of Philadelphia and the tug was renamed Penn No.6.

In May 2000 the tug arrived in Halifax with the barge Penn No.460 and both were drydocked at Halifax Shipyard.

 The tug was back again in October 2011with the barge Penn No. 120.

The tug detached from the barge while it unloaded at Imperial Oil, and tied up at the tug dock, allowing for a closeup look at some of the heavy towing gear. The tug worked the barge from the notch with "old school" facewires, and no articulation gear.

In 2012 Kirby Offshore Marine Operating LLC took over Penn Maritime,but did not change the tug's name. It was laid up in 2017.

Vinik Marine Services acquired the tug in 2018 and renamed it Vinik No.6 and it is appparently still in fine working order. Its two V-16 EMDs give it 5700 bhp for its twin screws which is enough juice to tow the sleek United States at 7.3 knots to Mobile, AL. The ship will be prepped there for a year before it is sunk as an artificial reef off Destin, FL. The ship's funnels will be removed and preserved ashore as part of an interpretive centre.

There is still speculation on the top speed of the SS United States. Since 1952 it has been the Hales Trophy holder of the Blue Riband for fastest transatlantic crossing of a passenger liner. It did not need all its 420,000 shp to set the recors for the eastbound crossing of 3d/10h/40m at 35.59 kts and 3d/12h/12m westbound averaging 34.51 kts. It did reach 38 knots on original trials but may well have been able to exceed that on emergency demand. Numbers as high as 42 knots are credible.

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Change Out in Halifax - amended

 With the delivery of two new tugs earlier this year and several large operations in the port of Halifax and as far away as Newfoundland, Atlantic Towing Ltd has been moving its tugs around. Now, December 23, it seems things are settling back to more or less normal.

Coming into effect this year has been the requirement for two tethered escort stern tugs for the Very Large Large Container Ships and usually three tugs for berthing. With those tugs busy there is a need for at least two more tugs to attend to other ship movements. It now appears that ATL has settled on six (or maybe seven) tugs to work in Halifax.

The newest tugs, Atlantic Ash and Atlantic Maple are the "go to" tugs for large ships and tethered escort work. With 6675 bhp and 85 tonne bollard pull they are the most powerful tugs in the fleet. Built by Uzmar in Turkey, they were delivered during this past summer. They are easily identifiable thanks to the red piping for their fire fighting monitors and the extended exhaust pipes.

 

A "regular" tug in Halifax, ever since new in 2004, is the Atlantic Oak. Built as part of the large series at East Isle Shipyard in Georgetown PE it is rated 5050 bhp and 66 tonnes bollard pull. The tug was away from Halifax until recently for an extended refit at Shelburne, NS.

As with most of the Halifax-based tugs it has Fire Fighting equipment and a towing winch.

 Its sister tug, also built for Halifax in 2005, the Atlantic Fir has the same bhp but pulled 68 tonnes on its BP trials.

It recently completed some "outside" work in Newfoundland and last week towed the semi-submersible barge Boa Barge 37 to Sydney and and returned to Halifax light tug December 21.  It is fitted with a towing winch and a large staple on the after deck.

Another sister Atlantic Cedar also rated 5050bhp, 66 tonnes BP has been a regular in Halifax for some time, but was based for many years in Saint John. 

It is also equipped with a towing winch. The above photo was taken when the tug was brand new (2005-07-09) and before the towing wire was wound on the drum.

A less powerful tug, Atlantic Larch built in 2000 and rated at 4,000 bhp with 51 tonnes BP and equipped with a towing winch, has also been working in and out of Halifax recently, mostly doing barge work, such as shifting the Atlantic Swordfish from the South End Container Terminal to the Fairview Cove container terminal, repositioning Rubber Tired Gantries. It has also been in the Sydney area. Termed an "outside tug" it was fitted with advanced navigating systems and carries two "golf balls."

 Unlike the other tugs it is not fitted with firefighting equipment, but does have a towing winch.

Amendment: on December 27 the Atlantic Larch left Halifax for Saint John,

 For the last several years and until this year while the Atlantic Oak was in refit the Atlantic Beaver was brought in from Saint John. One of the three tugs built for the Natural Gas Terminal it is a 5432  bhp, 72 tonne BP tug, built to stand by ships at a monobuoy in the open roadstead. That capability is not needed in Halifax, and it sailed for Saint John December 22.

The Atlantic Beaver carries two rows of tubular fenders in the bow and fire fighting monitors on the wheelhouse deck.

The "odd man out" in this series of tugs is the Atlantic Willow. As far as I can tell it has been laid up for some time and has not seen any service for perhaps months. It is also the oldest tug in the group, built in 1998, with 4,000 bhp and 50 tonne bollard pull. 

It was built originally for service at Point Tupper and is equipped with more elaborate fire fighting gear.

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Three Green Tugs for the Strait

Canada's Federal Government announced on October 26 a $22.5 million funding package for the Everwind Fuels green hydrogen project in Point Tupper, Nova Scotia. Included along with terminal upgrades, fuel loading arms and pipelines to handle ammonia, the investment includes three tugs.

Press releases indicate that Svitzer will "buy" three tugs.

Previous reports in September stated that Svitzer had committed to procuring or retrofitting one tug to use ammonia fuel. It would be the world's first tug to use green hydrogen derived ammonia fuel.  

Today's announcement does not contain enough money to "buy" three new tugs along with all the other work proposed at Everwind. It also seems unlikely that the current three tugs at Point Tupper could or would be retrofitted. In view of their age it would not seem to be a sensible investment. Therefore Svitzer will likely be financing the construction of new tugs and amortize the cost over the term of a new contract.

According to my records Svitzer has until August 2025 left on the present contract with Everwind, so I assume that the current tugs will be replaced as part of a new contract. Point Chebucto (4100bhp, 61 tonne BP) dates from 1993, Svitzer Montreal (5072 bhp, 66 tonne BP) from 2004 and Svitzer Bedford (4895 bhp ca.60 tonne BP) from 2005. That is not particularly long in the tooth for tugs, but they are to the low end of current power standards.

Tugs are in much demand these days and shipyards are busy, so it is unlikely that any of the major tug builders can come up with three ammonia fueled ice class tugs in less than a year. I assume the contract will thus be extended for at least another five years beyond August 2025.

Svitzer and its predecessor, Eastern Canada Towing Ltd has provided tug services in Point Tupper, NS under the title of Point Tupper Towing. The company is a partnership with Atlantic Towing Ltd (ATL) with Svitzer providing the tugs and their management and operation. They also send tugs to Sydney, NS and Sheet Harour as needed.

A similar joint venture called Halifax Marine Towing has ATL providing tugs and their managment in the port of Halifax. The companies also co-operate on tug services in Sheet Harbour, NS providing a tug from either Halifax or Point Tupper depending on availability but only when needed. Recently ATL's Atlantic Willow and Svitzer's Point Chebucto provided ship assist in Sydney when an offshore power module as offloaded from a heavy cargo ship to a crane ship.

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Some Quebec tugs

  Although I was in Quebec this summer I was some distance away from any major ports, and as a result did not see much large tug activity. However I did see numerous small tugs,

Groupe Océan operates harbour tugs up and down the St.Lawrence but also has a large marine construction and dredging plant, not to mention their shipbuilding operation.

Among the dredging projects are the annual maintenance dredging at the ferry terminals in Rivière-du-Loup and at Ile-aux-Coudres. On September 8 the tug Océan Aqua arrived off St-Louis, Ile-aux-Coudres with the dredge Océan Basque 2, the dump scows Grande Ourse and Petite Ourse and the tug / workboat Océan Albatros. Despite a very stiff wind from the west they spudded down a short distance from the ferry dock.

The Océan Aqua was built by Damen Hardenxveld-Giessendam, Netherlands, in 2003 and aquired by Océan in 2022. It is twin screw tug of 1440 bhp.

 The Océan Albatros carried the name Qimu to 2018 and was built in 2008 by Chantier naval Forillon in Gaspé. It is a 700 bhp twin screw vessel.

It is heavily fendered forward and has prominent lifting straps, permitting it to be lifted out for transport.

The Industrie Océan shipyard at Ile-aux-Coudres has delivered two tugs to the Royal Canadian Navy for use in Esquimalt, BC and is building two more for Halifax. The work is mostly carried out indoors so I was lucky to see a superstructure on the dock. The component was likely built at Océan's facility in the Port of Quebec and delivered to Ile-aux-Coudres by barge.

 

No trip to Ile-aux-Coudres would be complete without a look in at the GFFM Leclerc facility at the east end of the island. At this time of the year many of its rental tug fleet are at work in the far north on lighterage duty, but there were still three tugs at their shipyard.

 

 The Ours Polaire and Pivert Polaire await assignment, and the Vent Polaire appears fresh from refit. Meanwhille at the "Port de Refuge" basin four Desgagnés and Leclerc tugs were standing by for the next trip north. 

From left to right: the Silak, Lumaak, Glacier Polaire and Beluga Polaire.

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Lightering

 There were four cruise ship in port today, Septmber 13. Due to the limited nunber of acceptable berths for cruise ships the Emerald Princess once again anchored in number one anchorage in the lower harbour and transferred passengers to and from shore using the ship's own "lighters". These small craft, which are slightly larger than the ship's lifeboats, are often used in remote destinations where no port facilites exist. or the ship is too large to enter port.

The Emerald Princess in number one anchorage retrieving a lighter this evening. The ship's lighter boarding area is at the waterline near midships.

(The kayaks in the left middle ground are not among the lighers!)

Due to expansion of the southend container terminal the berths at Piers 30 and 31 are no longer available for cruise ships, and aside from the regular berths at Piers 20 to 23, there are no other berths where cruise ships can dock. Even when those berths were available, passengers had to be bused through industrial activity when leaving or re-boarding the ship as it was unsafe for pedestrians.

The shortage of berths was foreseen last year and the Port of Halifax installed a landing stage at Pier 24, consisting a small floating platform and a ramp up to the pier. Some tents on the pier allow for passengers to be "processed" by Canada Border Services and to wait under cover for buses and taxis to take then on shore excursions. Although new and shiny - the landing stage has the air of a temporary fix (which it is) and a cheap one at that. 

The Port has no solution to the problem of increasing demand for cruise ships space. Although there have been several suggestions, such as docking ships at the Develop Nova Scotia (former IEL) pier in Dartmouth (surely unpalatable), no permanent solution is in the works. [I note that the Emerald Princess is too large to dock at Quebec City's excellent cruise terminal and on September 6 it had to dock some distance away in an industrial zone with no pedestrian access, so Halifax is not alone with this problem, which seems to be world wide, viz. Venice, Alaska, etc.,]

Lighters too-ing and fro-ing from Pier 24 with the bow of the Norwegian Breakaway looming over the end of Pier 22.

As reported in Halifax Shipping News on August 11 the use of lighters (operated by the ship's own crews, and with crew members taking the lines at the landing stage) has quite rightly raised the ire of the Longshore union. The union's contract assigns line handling work to its members. They also note that non-Canadians, operating non-Canadian vessels in Canadian waters is at odds with cabotage laws [in spirit if not in letter].

This is a continuing story, and so will likely result in a follow up post.

Emerald Princess  was biult in2007 by Fincantieri, and its fifteen decks and 113,561 gross tons can accommodate 3,114 lower berth passengers and 1200 crew. The ship was sponsored by Florence Henderson, Marion Ross, Erin Moran and Susan Olsen. (If you don't know who thsese people are / were congratulations - that means you are young.).

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