Atlantic Bear puts on a show

 It is not often that the tugs of Atlantic Towing Ltd display their fire fighting capabilities, but this afternoon the Atlantic Bear put on a demonstration for several minutes.

 Despite some snow left on the ground, the temperature was several degrees above zero C, so it was an opportunity to give the decks a good wash too.

 In fact the tugs have a deluge system that washes down the deck house and provides a water curtain to prevent damage when working close-in to a fire.

Atlantic Bear is one of three tugs, with Atlantic Beaver and Spitfire III, built in 2008 to work at the Canaport LNG terminal in Saint John, NB. The Aquamaster ASD tugs have 5432 bhp Cat main engines delivering a bollard pull of 70 tonnes (some sources said 79 tonnes). All three are owned by Atlantic Reyser, a joint venture between Atlantic Towing and the Spanish tug and terminal operators Reyser [REmolques Y SERvicios Maritimos S.L.] which has been owned since 2017 by P+O Maritime, a subsidiary of Dubai-based DP World.

Atlantic Towing bases two of the three tugs in Halifax, but dispatches one or both to Saint John when needed for LNG tanker berthing. 

 Two monitors rated at 1,200 cu m / hr (317k USGPM) mounted on the deck house, deck manifold and water curtain are powered by a 2,700 cu m / hr (713k USGPM) pump working off the port main engine.

Three other tugs (Atlantic Oak, Atlantic Fir and Atlantic Willow) are also based in Halifax, and they are also fitted for fire fighting, but are not as powerful.

As the pilot boat Capt. E.T.Rogers makes its way outbound, Atlantic Bear forms a water backdrop.

 

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Kamarina sails

 On February 15 the Kamarina sailed from Halifax for Lisbon - light tug. See also companion blog Shipfax of same date. [Updates Tugfax post of February 11.]

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Missed Opportunity - perhaps

 The powerful icebreaking tug Polar Circle sailed from St.John's, NL February 8 for Bergen, Norway. This week (about February 10 or 11) it was announced that GC Rieber Shipping AS had acquired full ownership of the vessel, purchasing the 50% interest previously held by Maas Capital Offshore.

The ship arrived in Halifax October 7, 2022 and aside from one brief trip to Boston December 16-22 for refueling, it remained at anchor in Halifax, with a brief move to take on stores, until January 30, 2023. It arrived in St.John's February 2 for refueling, but had to wait for MDO (Marine Diesel Oil) which was not immediately available.  

Sailing from Halifax January 30, 2023.

 There was speculation that the ship was "shopped" to the Canadian Coast Guard and private companies, but if so there were no takers. The Canadian Coast Guard may need an interim icebreaker when the CCG Terry Fox undergoes a life extension process starting later this year. However they might need more power than the Polar Circle has. It is a 12,236 bhp tug with a bollard pull rating of 150 tonnes. Construction was completed by Langsten Slip in Tomrefjord, Norway in 2006 on a hull built by Aker Tulcea. (The Terry Fox is a 23,200 bhp vessel with a 1920 nautical mile / 58 day range.)

Polar Circle was built in 2006 for a 15 year charter to Exxon Neftegaz as a tanker escort in the Sakahlin Island region of Russia. The contract was extended to September 2023, but in July 2022 Rieber opted to exit Russia and the ship sailed transpacific via the Panama Canal and New York to Halifax. Its orginal name Polar Pevek was changed to Polar Circle in 2022. (A previous Rieber vessel named Polarsirkel built in 1976, was renamed Polar Circle in 1981. It participated in the seal hunt off Newfoundland in 1978 and possibly in other years.)

The future of the ship is thus unknown, but operation in Norwegian waters or the Baltic is the most likely.

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No news for Kamarina - updated

 The Italian tug Kamarina, as per the previous post, is in Halifax to tow the disabled bulker Ale to Setubal. Since that post the tug remained at anchor in Bedford Basin until February 9 when it moved to Pier 27 to take on fuel. That would only take a few hours, but the tug stayed at the pier over night before returning to anchor on February 10. I hope this allowed the crew some time ashore. There is still no word on when the Ale will be ready to tow - there does not seem to be any sign of activity on the ship.

Kamarina returning to anchorage on February 10.

Update:  On February 15 the Kamarina sailed from Halifax for Lisbon, Portugal - light tug.

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