Three Tows - UPDATED

 Day to day tug activity in the Port of Halifax rarely attracts much attention. Docking, undocking and escort work appear to be routine and are carried out with quiet skill. 

Today, November 13 there were several ship arrivals and departures that used the tugs of Atlantic Towing Ltd in those typical functions. Large ships, such as the 149,525 gross tons 15,000 TEU container ship Zenith Lumos took two tethered stern escorts both inbound and outbound as required by Port of Halifax regulations.

 Sister tugs Atlantic Ash and Atlantic Maple both RAStar 3200-W types of 6675 bhp, 85 tonnes bollard pull provided the required double escort.

Seeing tugs with tows is rare, but today there were two of note. The first saw the US flag tug Ezra Sol (see previous post) finally getting underway after a long stay in port. It arrived initially on September 21 towing the bulk carrier AP Revelin. That ship lost its prop (or a blade) and was unable to proceed on its own. The ship transloaded its grain cargo to another bulker the Eva Bright then awaited favourable weather. Calm conditions are expected for the next week and the the tow was able to get underway this morning.

The Ezra Sol gets underway from Pier 25 today. 

After reconnecting the tow line, the voyage begins with the Atlantic Maple providing steering assistance from the stern tethered position. ETA New York is November 18.
 

Tugs from McNally Marine  are busy in the harbour with dredging and construction of the new pier face at Halifax Shipyard. Some of that work has been completed and the company will move some equipment back to its base in Point Tupper. Today their very capable tug Mister Joe (Russel Brothers, 1964, 750 bhp), which arrived from Cape Breton November 10,  towed out a derrick barge.

Built as the Churchill River and renamed in 2001, tug was extensively rebuilt in 2019. "Worth its weight in gold", the tug has worked all over eastern Canada including Hudson Bay and Newfoundland and Labrador. The trip to Point Tupper will take about 36 hours at 4.9 knots.

Tugs of the Royal Canadian Navy's auxiliary fleet are not commissioned naval vessels and are crewed by civilians. However they work for the Navy doing a variety of chores, including berthing naval vessels.Today's operation for the CNAV Glenside YTB 644 was a little out of the ordinary. It moved the long retired World War II Corvette Sackville from its summer berth, where it is open to the public, to its winter berth within the HMC Dockyard, the RCN's eastern base.

 

 The Glenside and two more sister tugs, the Glenbrook and the Glenevis were built in 1976 and are rated at 1750 bhp, 19 tons bollard pull. They are VS cycloidal drive boats, very adept at working within the confines of the Dockyard finger piers. 

When the time comes to move the Sackville next year the task may fall to a new tug, as the RCN is in the process of retiring these tugs and replacing them with two ASD tugs. The first of the new tugs, the CNAV Canso is fitting out in Quebec City and may be delivered this fall or more likely by next spring. [The wisdom of building only two tugs to replace three tugA and a fireboat, and ASDs at that for a growing RCN must be questioned. More on that another time.]

It is worth noting that between the time when the Mister Joe was built and the Glenside was built Canada instituted a requirement that all sleeping accommodation on new tugs was to be above the waterline. Older vessels were "grandfathered" as conversion was likely impossible. The regulation came into effect after several lives were lost when tugs sank, trapping crew below. The rule also applied to tugs, no matter their age, purchased abroad and brought under Canadian flag. If they had sleeping quarters below the waterline it had to be removed and new accommodation provided or the boat had to be a day boat, with no sleeping aboard. 

Bonus Round - Dominion Diving

Tugs and work boats from Dominion Diving Ltd are constantly busy in the harbour shifting barges,  providing line handling services and carrying out small tows.

The Dominion Rumbler scurries ahead of the inbound Morning Cornelia on November 11 for a line handling job. The auto carrier's bow line will be lead out to a mooring buoy and Dominion's crew members will make take the line and make it fast to the buoy, sometimes using an even smaller boat. (September 30 photos).

Note the boat has a towing bit mounted high on a "roll bar" aft.

The smallest tows seen recently include:

Dominion's as yet unnamed aluminum hulled workboat was spotted towing a former Coast Guard boat:

 And to outday, their venerable Halmar (built in 1960, rebuilt in 2009) won the prize for smallest tow. Halmar works as a crew boat for pilot delivery, goes well to sea for survey and sampling work, and acts as a diving tender.

The small inflatable was used for some unknown, possibly diving, work in Bedford Basin. Legend has it that the Halmar was built by Halifax Shipyard apprentices. It operated as a workboat at the old Dartmouth Marine Slip until it moved next door to Dartmouth Cove and was rebuilt by Dominion Diving.

 

Update 2025-11-14 

The Mister Joe returned to Halifax, with its tow, after only few hours at sea. There may have been an equipment failure of some sort. By the end of the day November 14, the tug and tow were still in port.

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Ezra Sol

 The tug Ezra Sol was called out of Norfolk, VA September 12 to tow the disabled 38,795 deadweight tonnes Croatian bulk carrier AP Revelin to a safe anchorage off Halifax. The ship had lost its propeller, en route from Port Allen LA, and was unable to move on its own. The tow arrived on September 17 and with the assistance of the local tug Atlantic Maple the ship anchored outside the port limits with the Ezra Stol standing by.

On September 24 with the Ezra Sol towing, the AP Revelin entered port with the assistance of the port tugs Atlantic Oak (forward) and Atlantic Ash (with line astern) and took up an anchorage in Bedford Basin. 

 

Ezra Sol [2002. 6,000 bhp, triple screw] was built by Main Iron Works in Houma. LA and is powered by three Cummins engines. Originally named O.J.Cenac it was renamed O.J. in 2008 and Copper Mountain in 2013. In 2023 it became the Ezra Sol and works for Seaward Marine Corp of Norfolk, VA.

Port regulations require that ships anchoring in Bedford Basin must have operational engines in order to move on short notice. (The Basin bottom is poor holding ground, and in high winds ships tend to "wander" and must re-anchor). If they cannot move on their own they are required to have a tug alongside.  

 

The tug Point Chebucto [1993. 4200 bhp ASD] was therefore called in from Port Hawksbury, NS where it was in warm layup after NuStar Energy's new tugs entered service in July. It then stood by the ship and the tug Ezra Sol moved to Pier 9C to await further developments. [The five local harbour tugs are kept busy enough that they could not be spared for extended standby work.]

 

Perched on the end of Pier 9C, the tug shows off its triple stacks and massive towing winch.

Not the only stacks in town- the 550 feet high triple stacks of the Nova Scotia Power Corp's Tuft's Cove generating station provide some contrast.

 

On October 3 tugs moved the AP Revelin to Pier 27, and the standby tug was no longer required.  Point Chebucto tied up for the night at the local tug dock - the IEL wharf. Today, October 4 the Point Chebucto departed for Sheet Harbour, NS. (The bulker Fjord Pearl seems to have sailed from Sheet Harbour without tug assistance, so it appears that the Point Chebucto will carry on back to Port Hawksbury.) 

Also today the Ezra Sol sailed, heading for Boston. 

 So far there had been no sign of activity on the ship. Installing a new prop may require lightering off some cargo or even drydocking, since there may also be damage to the rudder, and shafting. It is likely that an ocean going tug has been called in for a transatltantic tow.

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Small Quebec Tugs - Part 1

 The tug builder / owners GFFM Leclerc from Ile-aux-Coudres, Quebec have created a number of small but powerful tugs. Both Groupe Océan and Transport Desgagnés have several Leclerc-built tugs in their fleets -some owned and some rented - while Leclerc also rents tugs to them and to other companies.

The tugs are all built to a similar pattern, and have evolved over the years to the current design of shallow draft, triple screw, 900+ bhp boats of under 15 gross tons. That means they can be registered by number only, and the names displayed on the hulls are "unofficial". It is therefore difficult to pin down the date of build if the registration number is not visible.  (The tugs owned by Transport Desgagnés are generally registered by name however.)

Océan Seahawk is a typical Leclerc tug, and displays its official registration number C24893QC. It was first registered in 2021 and is rated at 990 bhp. Its unofficial name is only partially displayed on the bow, but in full on the stern.

Strictly "day boats", they have no accommodation space other than a sizeable wheelhouse.

 

This past summer I was able to see several of these tugs:

Transport Desgagnés uses Leclerc tugs for their Arctic Sealift work. The tugs, along with shallow draft barges, are carried north on the deck of northern supply ships, and are used to lighter the cargo ashore to communities without regular port facilities. They are lifted on and off with the ships' own cranes.

On July 3 the Zelada Desgagnés headed north for its first arctic supply trip of the season. On deck are a pair of shallow draft barges and two tugs. The Desgagnés- owned Siku (12.59 gt)(with yellow stripe) built by Meridien Marine in Matane, QC is forward of the GFFM Leclerc-owned tug Glacier Polaire.

 

The Narval Polaire C28772, built 2024, ferries workers ashore after loading the other tugs and barges.

The tugs and barges will be left at a northern port after the first trip and brought back south after the second or third trip of the season.

Several Leclerc tugs stand by the Rosaire A. Desgagnés as it loads a barge in the anhorage off Ile-aux-Coudres on July 7.

 

Groupe Océan uses the tugs in their dredging operations and large marine construction projects, and can be seen in many regions of Quebec, as far west as the St.Lawrence Seaway.

The dredge Ocean Basque 2 working off Ile-aux-Coudres, September 3. The Nuit Polaire and Ocean Seahawk are lashed up with the Grande Ourse and Petite Ourse to take silt out to a dumping ground.

 

 

 The Leclerc shipyard at the extreme east end of Ile-aux-Coudres turns out about one tug a year and usually a barge, and has ample storage and launch space.

 

The latest new build is for Transport Desgagnés, and is registered by name as Siqiniq:

 

 It was ready for launch in July. It is hull number C25 of the triple screw tugs. The previous twin screw tugs numbered about up to hull H7.

 Some of the older twin screw versions are stored in the yard and are available for rental.

and several of the newer units are in the water (or in the tidal mud) and ready to go: 

There are other small tugs working in Quebec too. A second installment will follow.

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New Angle

 The Royal Canadian Navy's base in Halifax, HMC Dockyard, is served by a small fleet of tugs. They are not commissioned naval vessels, but are classed as auxiliairies, and are operated by civilian crews. There are two classes of tugs, the Glens and the Villes (also known as "pups").

When not berthing ships and doing other chores the tugs can be seen from the Angus L. Macdonald bridge that spans the habour almost directly over their basin.

 

This week, May 15, I saw one of the tugs from a different angle - and much closer - when it was tied up at Dominion Diving's facility in Dartmouth Cove. It was probably undergoing some maintenance as each of the three Glen class tugs in Halifax have been undergoing refits.

 

The Glenbrook YTB 643 was built in 1976 and is a 1750 bhp Voith-Schneider tractor. 

The tugs have been meticulously maintained, but are due for replacement. The new tugs are under construction at the Industrie Océan shipyard in Ile-aux-Coudres, QC. The first two tugs, the Haro and Barkerville were delivered to HMS Dockyard in Esquimalt, BC last year and the second two are due for delivery to Halifax this year. They are to be named Canso and Stella Maris - more on these when they arrive.

Each dockyard will receive two tugs to replace the three tugs and a fireboat originally in service.  

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Where have all the tuboats gone?

 To paraphrase the old folk song - gone to Argentia (nearly) every one.

There is a major marine operation taking place in Argentia, Newfoundland which has resulted in tugs being brought in from Halifax, Saint John and Quebec City.  The float out of the newly built Gravity Base Structure (GBS) for the West White Rose oil field extension will require vonsideralbe horsepower - well beyond the means of local tugs - which generally could not be spared from their regular duties in any event. 

The gravity base structure was built in a man-made basin - effectively a graving dock - which itself was constructed for the purpose. The Basin has been flooded and now the earth berm that kept the basin dry will be dredged out by the Tristan da Cunha, a Luxembourg flag cutter suction dredge, and the GBS will be floated out.

The 201,000 tonne unit will be taken out to its location and ballasted down. Onc bedded in postion 350 km east of St. John's (217 nautical miles)  the topside structure will arrive fromTexas for installation.

Atlantic Towing Ltd will be providing the tugs Atlantic Cedar (5050 hp) and Atlantic Fir (5050 hp) from Halifax and Atlantic Larch (4000 hp) from Saint John and Groupe Océan has sent  Ocean Taiga (8000 hp) and Ocean Tundra (8000 hp) from Quebec City. Also on hand appear to be the Newfoundland  based tug  Dalton Hunter (3570 hp) and the anchor handler Skandi Mariner ex Maersk Mariner (12,444 hp).

To partially cover off for Halifax the Atlantic Spruce (4000 hp) has been sent round from Saint John.

I have no photos to include with this post, but I am sure there will be considerable media coverage available.  

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McKeil tugs together

 There was a rare sight in Halifax harbour today, April 25, when two of McKeil Marine's busy tugs were seen (briefly) together.

 The Tim McKeil and Beverly M 1 were alongside together this morning at the Cherubini Metal Workers dock on the Dartmouth side of the harbour. The Tim McKeil left not long after with the barge MM161 and a load of components, each mounted on a semi-trailer.

The Tim McKeil and barge arrived April 18, and soon began to take on the large cylinders (likely wind generator towers) destined for Dalhousie, NB.

 Tim McKeil ex Pannawonica I is a 4800 bhp tug, built in 1991 and acquired in 2014. It is fitted with an elevated wheelhouse for barg work. 

Beverly M 1 dates from 1993 and is a 4200 bhp tug the former Pacific Typhoon -13, Hunter -06, Shek-O -04. It also sailed later in the day for Sydport.

Ity will be interesting to see if the Tim McKeil and barge will use the Canso Canal en route to the Baie des Chaleurs.

Goodbye 'Osprey

 A Halifax-built AHTS has been sold and is en route to Greece.

The Atlantic Osprey was sent down the launch ways April 17, 2003 and completed in July of the same year. It was handed over to Atlantic Towing Ltd for operation in Newfoundland waters. Both Halifax Shipyard and Atlantic Towing Ltd are owned by branches of J.D.Irving Ltd, the industrial arm of the Irving family of companies from Saint John, New Brunswick. 

The 3453 gt ship was the last of four similar vessels built to an Ulstein 722 design. The first two, Atlantic Eagle and Atlantic Hawk were 3157 gt platform suppliers and the second two, Atlantic Kingfisher and Atlantic Osprey were UT722L types with anchor handling / towing winches and 5 meter longer hull at 80m LOA. 

 Atlantic Eagle is currently serving as an Emergency Towing Vessel in British Columbia. Atlantic Hawk was sold in 2021, renamed Sayan Jarl then Seival under Russian flag. Atlantic Kingfisher has been chartered out to Brazil since 2002.

The Atlantic Osprey appeared to have a more elaborate fire fighting outfit. It was equipped with two controllable pitch props delivering about 100 tonnes bollard pull from four Bergen main engines of 14,411 bhp. It had one conventional and one azimuthing thruster forward and two athwartship thrusters aft. (It was also report at 16,000 installed horsepower.)

 

Atlantic Hawk (left) and Atlantic Osprey (right)

 From September 2022 to August 2023 the Atlantic Osprey was reflagged to Barbados, presumably for work overseas. It may also have operated abroad on other occasions. It did work out of Halifax for a time between 2018 and 2020 with a drill rig Noble Regina Allen and offshore platforms. It was laid up periodically in Stephenville and did spot charter work.

 

In March of this year, its Canadian registry was closed and it was renamed Giant under Liberian flag. New owners are reported to be Giant Shipping SA with managers Megatugs International Salvage. It departed Bull Arm, NL April 12, 2025 for Piraeus, Greece.

 

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