Dominion Warrior at Work - updated (and again)

 Dominion Diving's Dominion Warrior put to sea on a towing job September 21. 

Dominion Warrior at its base in Dartmouth Cove.

 Eurocarrier type vessels are commonly used for towing in Europe as they are equipped with towing winches, shark jaws and all the usual appurtenances for towing. However they are such rare vessels in Canada (there are only two, and both in Halifax - see below) that it is still a bit of a novelty to see one towing. 

 Today's tow is the Scotia Tide a specially constructed lift barge, designed for the placement (and retrieval) of tidal turbines from the sea bottom. When the orginal tidal power project was cancelled, the barge was laid up Saint John, NB where it was the subject of extended litigation, and eventually ended up in Halifax.

The launch Halmar retrieves the line handlers from the barge as it heads for sea.

According to reports the barge's new owners are planning to put the unit back in service, and are sending it to the shipyard for renewal of its classification. Despite the Dominion Warrior's AIS signal giving a destination of Gibraltar, it is more likely to be heading for a shipyard closer to home.

The 1293 gt barge was built at the Aecon Atlantic Industrial Inc shipyard in Pictou, NS. It is registered at 1293 gt (and surprisingly was not listed on the pilot dispatch list, as vessels of more than 1,000 gt usually require a pilot).

Footnotes:

 1. The Federal Court ordered sale of the other Euro Carrier, Tidal Pioneer is expected next week (October 4). It is laid up at Dominion Diving Ltd's base in Dartmouth Cove. [see previous post].

Update:

 2. Thanks to a reader I have learned that there is also a Euro Carrier vessel working on Canada's Pacific Coast. The Haisla Northwind was built by Neptune in 2019 and is owned by Bridgemans GP Ltd of Richmond, BC. It is currently at work on the LNG Canada terminal construction project in Kitimat.

3. I have just discovered another Eurocarrier - this one in Newfoundland, operated by 360 Marine of Harbour Breton. As far as I can tell it is a 2209 model (21.6 m length overall x 9 m breadth), twin screw 748 kW and 15 tonnes bollard pull. Built in 2022 and orginally operated in the Netherlands as NP 574 , it was registered in St.John's in June as 360 Handler. It has been reported in St.John's, Harbour Breton, Marystown and Argentia.

4.There is slighly larger Turkish-built version also working in Newfoundland. Its name is Oderin and it is also working in the Marystown / Argentia area for NL Marine Services Inc of St.John's. It was built in 2017 and operated in Turkey as Ulubey and was renamed Ulubey 1 in 2019. It was registered in Canada and given its present name in 2020.

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