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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Working the Backlog

 When pilotage operations resumed early this morning (Friday, December 22) after the latest storm had passed and sea conditions moderated, there was a major backlog of shipping to accommodate. Most of these ships will have to take their turns in order of earliest scheduled arrival as there is a limit to the number of berths in the port. As of late afternoon there were still six ships hove to off Halifax waiting their turn.

Among the ships that did enter port was the Annie B, a first time caller on ZIM's CGX feeder service. It was due originally from New York on Wednesday December 20 but spent an uncomfortable two days slowly steaming back and forth or hove to well offshore away from the coastal swells.

The bright sunshine was deceptive as there was still a swell runnning in the harbour. With a very stiff northerly wind, and sub-zero temperatures, there was a lot of spray for the ship and the attendant tug Atlantic Larch.*   (See also yesterday's Tugfax for some more splashy photos.)

 

The ship Annie B was hastily renamed in late June or early July 2023 by anonymous new owners Clement Shipping Ltd.

Built in 2003 by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan the 28,596 gt, 39,383 dwt ship has a capacity of 2826 TEU including 554 reefers. Its original name was Cardonia (still visible in welded letters on the bow) but was renamed on delivery as CMA CGM Ukraine, a name it carried until 2006 when it became Cardonia again.

 A report on social media says that the ship will unload 49 containers and load 1035 during its stay in Halifax, which even for a feeder service seems light. Seasonal variations and world events may be factors in loadings as the shipping world is in a state of flux these days.

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 * The Atlantic Larch, built by East Isle Shipyard in Georgetown, PE in 2000, is a 4,000 bhp tug with a 51 tonne bollard pull rating. It is based in Saint John, NB, but is designated as an "outside tug" available for coastal work and other assignments away from its home port. It arrived in Halifax to supplement the local tugs while Halifax Shipyard "launched" the latest Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship, AOPV 434 on December 9. 

There has also been additional activity in the port with more wind turbine components arriving and the Atlantic Bear had a short spell at the Shelburne Shipyard for its ten year classification renewal survey. Halifax can keep up with demand with five active tugs, but six would be preferrable in winter and other busy times. Regular tugs in Halifax are Atlantic Oak, Atlantic Fir, Atlantic Bear, Atlantic Beaver, and Atlantic Willow. Since early December the tug Atlantic Elm, not normally a harbour tug, has also been in Halifax, attending barges used during the transfer of the wind turbine towers, and other miscellaneous chores such as ship docking in Sheet Harbour. It also stood by in Cape Breton while the bulk carrier Genco Endeavour effected repairs.

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Dominion Bearcat - icing on the cake

The tug/ workboat/ diving tender Dominion Bearcat is back in the water after a thorough refit at its base in Dartmouth Cove. Owners Dominion Diving Ltd do all their own maintenance and refit work and have also done extensive rebuilds "in house".

Late in December I noted Dominion Bearcat hauled out at its Dartmouth Cove base.

Dominion Bercat was built in 1987 by Georgetown Shipyards Inc in Prince Edward Island to their own account as a tug/ workboat named G.S.I. No.1. In 1992 it was sold to the Mersey Paper Co in Brookyln (Liverpool), NS as a ship docking tug / lineboat, named Mersey Pride. When Mersey Paper shut down it newsprint mill and export dock, the boat was acquired by Dominion Diving and renamed in 2014.

It has since been fitted with an A-frame and other gear and primarily supports diving operations in Halifax.

Dominion Bearcat returns to base this morning with a bit of snow clinging to its fenders, like icing on a cake.
(Atlantic Larch and the former RCN fireboat Firebird in the background, are similarly decorated.)

Home for the Holidays

A pair of tugs not seen in Halifax for some time are tied up at Atlantic Towing Ltd's dock in Woodside.

Atlantic Larch arrived yesterday from Saint John and Atlantic Willow arrived recently too.

The Spitfire III remains in Halifax but sister tug Atlantic Bear sailed for Saint John today. Atlantic Oak and Atlantic Fir (background) are still here, so the port of Halifax is well covered with five ASD tugs.

Addendum: The Spitfire III also sailed for Saint John this afternoon.

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Atlantic Larch and tow

Atlantic Towing is gearing up for another season of northern supply work with the repositioning of tugs from their winter duties and preparing the barges for their work.

For the past several years ATL has been ferrying cargo in Chesterfield Inlet to Baker Lake on the west coast of Hudson Bay, using two tugs and two barges. Last year the tugs were Atlantic Elm and Atlantic Beech. For several years one of the barges has been Atlantic Sea Lion.

Atlantic Larch, ATL's "outside" tug, has a towing winch and additional satellite communication.

It seems certain that the Atlantic Sea Lion will be one of the barges again this year. After laying over in Halifax for the winter, it was picked up today by Atlantic Larch and headed off to Saint John. NB to be readied for work.

The barge has a long history since it was built by Saint John Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co Ltd in 1966. Originally a tanker barge for carrying heavy fuel or asphalt, it was named Irving Whale.  From September 7, 1970 until late July 1996 it sat on the bottom of the Gulf of St.Lawrence in a perfect state of preservation after sinking in a storm.  When leaking from its cargo became a serious threat to fisheries, it was raised at great expense and handed back to J.D.Irving Ltd.

 After twenty-six years on the bottom and five years laid up, the barge was pretty raw looking when it left Halifax for a refit in Shelburne in tow of Atlantic Elm.


After five years laid up in Halifax it was renamed ATL 2701 and rebuilt as a deck cargo barge in 2001.  It was used to carry wood chips for a time and even made a lengthy trip to the Great Lakes in 2007 with a cargo of specialized gas piping racks.

 As seen today underway in tow, Atlantic Sea Lion reveals little of its past.

In 2009 it was renamed Atlantic Sea Lion and has seen regular service in the north. The barge and its tug initially go up the St.Lawrence to Becancouer QC and load cargo for the north. After the long tow to Hudson Bay they operate a shuttle service from deep draft ships, transferring cargo into Baker Lake. The first ships usually arrive in late July and the operation goes on until October.

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Atlantic Larch and tow

Atlantic Larch picked up some frozen spray on its way down the coast last night.

This morning Atlantic Towing Ltd's Atlantic Larch arrived towing the barge Atlantic Sea Lion. The tug is considered to be an "outside" tug, in that it is not assigned to a particular port, but roams the region as needed for towing and other assignments. Its last posting was in Belledune, NB and has now been replaced there by Atlantic Elm joining Atlantic Beech and Atlantic Aspen.

Atlantic Elm and Atlantic Beech worked in Hudson's Bay all summer, lightering supplies in to Baker Lake at the head of Chesterfiled Inlet for Trasnport Desgagnés. Returning in November, Atlantic Beech went directly to Belledune towing its barge Atlantic Sea Lion, whereas Atlantic Elm returned to Saint John for maintenance towing its barge Atlantic Marlin. At the same time Atlantic Teak returned to Saint John from Belledune. It is presently tied up at ATL's Indiantown shops.

Atlantic Larch dates from 2000 and is a 4000 bhp ASD tug rated at 51 tonnes bollard pull. It is equipped with a towing winch and is easily identifiable because of the two satellite domes it carries.

The barge started life in 1966 as the tank barge Irving Whale. Infamously it sank in tow September 7, 1970 and sat on the bottom of the Gulf of St.Lawrence until August 1996. Raised and refitted as a deck barge it was renamed ATL 2701 in 2001, then Atlantic Sea Lion in 2009. It often winters over in Halifax and has been used to transport components from Irving Shipbuilding's Woodside fabrication facility to the Halifax Shipyard.


The regular Halifax contingent of harbour tugsAtlantic Oak, Atlantic Fir, Atlantic Willow and Atlantic Bear were joined last week by Spitfire III subbing for Atlantic Bear which seems to be out of service.

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Return of the Osprey and other Atlantic Towing activity

The Province  of Nova Scotia's official bird is the osprey, a migratory fish hawk that usually puts in its first appearance of the year in late April or early May. Today's return of the big tug supplier Atlantic Osprey is certainly seasonally correct, but as to origin, it is coming from St.John's Newfoundland rather than more southern waters.

The 3453 grt, 16,000 bhp OSV is one of four similar ships in the ATL offshore fleet, two of which are UT 722 and two are UT 722L (L=long), all built at Halifax Shipyard under license from Ulstein. The boat was laid up for a time over last winter, and a large deck crane and other gear, such as an ROV davit have been removed.

While arriving it passed Atlantic Towing Ltd's Woodside tug base, where the usual four harbour tugs, Atlantic Oak, Atlantic Fir, Atlantic Willow and Atlantic Bear have been joined temporarily by Atlantic Larch. The latter tug will likely be towing out the barge Atlantic Sea Lion for northern supply work.

Atlantic Bear went to Saint John last week to assist with an LNG tanker, but returned to Halifax in time to put on a water demonstration for the inaugural call of the auto carrier Grande Halifax on Wednesday (see also Shipfax).

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Local tugs assist

Although details are sketchy and accounts are conflicting (and some obviously wrong) two local tugs and the Canadian Coast Guard came to the assistance of a ship in trouble off Nova Scotia at the end of last week. The cargo ship Nordika Desgagnés had a steering problem while outbound from the Gulf of St.Lawrence east of Louisbourg. Reportedly bound for Sydney, Australia, the ship called in with its problem March 13. A storm was passing through the area at the time, and conditions must have been very poor with extreme high winds and seas.

CCGS Sir Wilfred Grenfell was first on the scene. Although based in  Newfoundland, it has been working out of Halifax this winter.

Built in 1985 in Marystown, NL, as an anchor handling / tug / supplier, on spec for the Newfoundland government, it was acquired by the Coast Guard and converted for Search and Rescue work. It was also upgraded to Ice Class I and fitted out for firefighting and equipped with survivor accommodation, including hospital.

Some reports indicate that the Grenfell took the Nordika in tow, but this seems unlikely. CCG ships are not normally equipped or mandated to tow vessels except in extreme circumstances. However under a new program recently announced, CCG ships are to be equipped with "towing kits" (whatever ever that may mean). Certainly a ship like Sir Wilfred Grenfell, with 12,860 bhp would be quite a capable towing vessel if it carried the right gear to tow.

Transport Desgagnés acquired Nordika Desgagnés a year ago, for use in northern supply work. Built in 2010 by Tianjin Xingang as  BBC Oder the 12,974 grt, 16,953 dwt ship is equipped with three 60 tonne cranes. As with many Desgagnés ships, it is chartered out bareboat for most of the year and brought back under Canadian flag from July to October during the northern re-supply season. A the time of this incident the ship is flying the Barbados flag, and is likely working for BBC Chartering.

Reports indicate that Sir Wilfred Grenfell handed off standby duties to the icebreaker CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent  which was off Sydney headed for the Magdalen Islands at the time.  How long it carried on these duties is not known to me. Sir Wilfred Grenfell stood by off Eddy Point at the entrance to the Strait of Canso to relieve the Louis at some point.

Desgagnés apparently put out the call for a tug, and Atlantic Larch, based in Halifax, was sent to the scene. The 4,00 bhp ASD tug is fitted out with a towing winch  in addition to the shiphandling winch forward, and is considered the "outside" tug in the Halifax fleet of Atlantic Towing Ltd.

It is reported that the Atlantic Larch secured a tow line to the ship. It is not clear what happened then, but either the line parted or there was some other reason that caused Atlantic Larch to break off the tow and head for Port Hawksbury. (The original destination was given as Sydney, but that was upwind and likely to be more difficult).

It was then that the 7,000 bhp Atlantic Tern was called in from its standby duties off Sable Island, to take over the tow. This it apparently did and safely delivered the Nordika to the paper mill dock in Port Hawksbury early Saturday March 17.

Atlantic Tern is much rebuilt from its original appearance as Canmar Supplier II when it was built in 1975 by Vito Steel Boat in Delta, BC. Fitted with two Nohab Polar engines driving CP props it was an ice class anchor handler with FiFi1 for use in the Beaufort Sea.  In 1998 it became Rem Supporter for the Norwegian company Remoy then in 2005 Thor Supplier for Faroese owners Thor P/F. In the meantime it had been rebuilt with a raised forepeak and its wheelhouse extended aft. Atlantic Towing acquired the boat in 2012 and initially renamed it Atlantic Birch II. However as it was attached to Atlantic's offshore support vessel fleet , they gave it a more appropriate bird name in 2013. 

Ships working through ice frequently strain their steering gear or even jam their rudders while backing, especially with an inexperienced crew. That is one possibility of how the ship "lost" its steering. It could also be the strain of weather, or any one of a number of reasons. (The tanker Australian Spirit lost its rudder completely closer to Halifax in December 2014.)

However it has to be said that although there was a speedy Coast Guard response, there was not a large towing vessel available to assist. Fortunately for all involved the weather improved dramatically and a tug was found to assist, but it does not take much to imagine more severe conditions where even a 7,000 bhp supply tug would not have been adequate. Calls for an Emergency Towing Vessel program for the east coast have apparently fallen on deaf ears. Either that or British Columbia called louder - they are getting ETVs.

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Atlantic Towing visitors

Two Atlantic Towing Ltd tugs arrived in Halifax today, each visit related to barge work.

Atlantic Beech ex Irving Beech, built 1969, 2250 bhp arrived from Saint John, NB to tow away the barge Atlantic Sealion. As it has been doing for several years, the tug will likely be supporting northern supply to Baker Lake. It ferries cargo from larger ships at the entrance to Chesterfield Inlet on the western shore of Hudson's Bay in to the community of Baker Lake, 150 miles or so inland.

Atlantic Beech with Atlantic Sealion astern at  Woodside. 

On the dock at left is the disused Atlantic Chestnut.

Some of the cargo comes to Hudson's Bay via the Atlantic, largely from Quebec. Some cargo came overland to Churchuill, MB, where it was loaded for Baker Lake.
Due to rail wash outs on the Omnitrax line from The Pas, MB this spring, there will be no northern supply service from Churchill, MB this year. All cargo will have to be delivered the long way round via the Atlantic. In fact there will be cargo delivered to Churchill by sea for the town's own use. The town is in desperate need of supplies normally delivered by rail, including propane, food, fule and general merchandise.

The barge Atlantic Sealion (the former Irving Whale) has been used to shuttle components from the Woodside pier to Halifax Shipyard for the Arctic Offshore Patrol vessel construction.

Atlantic Larch arrived towing the pontoon Irving Beaver from Saint John, NB. The Larch built in 2000 and 4,000 bhp used to be stationed in Halifax but has become an "outside" tug used for towing work and now based in Saint John, but traveling widely around eastern Canada.

Atlantic Larch wangles the Irving Beaver to a berth at the old Coast Guard Base. 

The Woodside docks in the background are full up with the three Halifax based Atlantic Towing tugs, Atlantic Oak, Atlantic Willow, Spitfire III and the visiting Atlantic Beech, the supplier Atlantic Condor (at the Exxon Mobil dock), and the tanker Atlantic Pegasus  at Irving Oil.

(see today's Shipfax)

The pontoon Irving Beaver was built by Saint John DD+SB in 1973 as a floating sawmill and crew camp for work on the Saint John River. When that work ended its deck house was removed and it  became an "unmanned pontoon".  It dimensions are 68.58m x 26.52m and it is gross registered tonnage is now 2190 grt (it was 2702 as built).

I assume it will take the place of Irving Sealion on the shuttle run for shipbuilding components.
The pontoon's name was unique in the J.D.Irving fleet. Tugs were named for trees (softwood for river tugs, hardwood for seagoing, and barges named for marine animals). However all the animals were salt water species, such as Tuna, Whale, Seal, Sealion. Beavers are largely fresh water animals, and Irving Beaver's job was to chew up wood on the Saint John River, that seems an entirely logical  - dare I say whimsical? - choice.

Change Day at Atlantic Towing

For a short time today there were five tugs alongside Atlantic Towing Ltd's dock at Woodside. One tug was only in port briefly - Atlantic Hemlock.

Atlantic Hemlock has begun to shorten up the tow, which is trailing its buoyed insurance line.

 

 With the Hemlock on the hip, the barge makes its way stern first toward pier 6.

The veteran tug, built in 1996 is the oldest of the modern ASD tugs in the fleet. It arrived this afternoon towing the barge Atlantic Sealion. The once notorious Irving Whale, the barge is back from a summer's work in Chesterfield Inlet, running the supply shuttle to Baker Lake. Since the tugs that were working in the north returned to Belledune, I am assuming that is where Atlantic Hemlock picked up the tow. After a short spell at Woodside it set out for Saint John.

Hemlock features the tapered sides to the deck house. A feature of the original Robert Allen design, it was eliminated in later tugs in the series.

Also sailing this afternoon was Atlantic Larch.It had been in Halifax to fill in for Atlantic Willow while it was on the slip in Shelburne. Willow is now back with a nice new paint job and will be ready to work. When Larch left Halifax earlier this year, when it was replaced by the more powerful Atlantic Fir, it was fitted with a large Sat dome from the Fir, but this has now been removed, altough the tripoid mast is till in place. 

Larch and Hemlock are fitted with towing winches, but no fire fighting gear, and are considered "outside tugs" meaning that they are available for coastal work.

Atlantic Hemlock away from the dock (far right)

Atlantic Larch (far left) readying to go.

Atlantic Willow (inside the pier), Atlantic Fir (centre left) and Atlantic Oak (centre right) are the regular Halifax tugs.

There is a sixth tug at Woodside, although it is not in the water.

Irving Chestnut, after several years laid up at pier 9 in Halifax, was in the way and was lifted out at Woodside this summer. Built in 1953 as the US Army T-Boat T-497 it is assigned to Atlantic Towing's subsidiary Harbour Development Ltd, and was used a general purpose tug / workboat / crew boat. A  sister boat Irving Hazelnut (ex T-435) is still operating as a dredge tender. 

With a third unit Irving Walnut (ex T-425) which may have been scrapped by now, the trio were called

the "Nut Boats" and worked Saint John Harbour and the Canaport offshore tanker buoy before being signed over to the dredging fleet. They are the last of the Atlantic boats to still carry the "Irving" name - the rest of the fleet was renamed in 1996-1998.

How long the Chestnut will sit until she is broken up or refitted is anyone's guess.

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More tug updates

The tugs Svitzer Njal and Svitzer Nerthus are underway again and are upbound on the St.Lawrence River, giving a March 10 destination of Montreal. Stranger and stranger.






Atlantic Fir has settled in in Halifax and will be assigned here permanently, replacing Atlantic Larch. Halifax needed more horsepower, and Fir's 5,000 bhp will allow it to do escort work., This will avoid the crazy situation where two tugs were used as stern escort, when the other 5,000 bhp tug, Atlantic Oak was not available.  See: http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.ca/2016/02/atlantic-larch-and-atlantic-willow-on.html
Fir escorted the loaded tanker Afra Oak outbound this morning.






Atlantic Larch will now be an outside tug, used for towing assignments around the region. It was built originally for use at Point Tupper. It will now be based nominally in Saint John, but will be on the move most of the time.
Larch is giving a March 17 ETA for Colon, Panama and Corbin Foss with the former Protecteur in tow is now off Acapulco, still giving a March 17 ETA for Balboa.


Ocean Foxtrot is still in Marystown, NL.

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Tug move updates - and more

I may have erred in the actual departure date of the tug Atlantic Larch from Halifax. Either that or it came back and left a second time. I caught it outbound for Colon, Panama on Saturday March 5.



Ocean Foxtrot put back to Marystown, NL in tow of Western Tugger and Coast Guard escort. After a four year layup, a day in rough seas stirred up enough sludge in its fuel thanks that it lost power. A thorough cleaning seems to be in order. However it is possible that the C.O.D. tow may have depleted the new owner's funds.Another abandonment seems possible.
 

The Halifax based tugs Svitzer Njal and Svitzer Nerthus sailed from Halifax March 3, bound for Sept-Iles, QC. It seems an odd destination, since there is little traffic in the port these days and Groupe Océan has all the work there having wrested away the Iron Ore Company of Canada contract from Svitzer several years ago. All I can think is that they are there to assist at Port-Cartier if needed, since ArcelorMittal is a major client. The contract for Svitzer Cartier expires shortly, so even that may be a wild guess.
Sept-Iles is relatively close to Méchins, QC, where Verreault Shipyard often services Svitzer tugs, so that may be a explanation too.



HEADLINE
Tugfax Blogger Suffers (another) Sudden Attack of Apoplexy.

My ongoing quest for responsible ship naming suffered another setback recently when I learned about another shipowner that has abdicated the responsibility of sensible ship naming by resorting to a contest for school children. A panel of judges (who obviously didn't know any better) selected the name  Iron Guppy for a new icebreaking tug/workboat for the Port of Toronto.

This ludicrous appellation will be applied to the craft which will be completed in June by Hike Metal Products. The 750 bhp single screw ABS Ice Class C0 boat  may last as long as 45 years, which its predecessor William Rest managed to do.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rest]
If so, the name should be thoroughly stale by then and so outdated as to be meaningless. Even the six to twelve year olds that came up with it may be thoroughly tired of it by then. I know I am already.
For more on the process see: http://www.portstoronto.com/PortsToronto/Media-Room/News/Waterfront-Elementary-Students-Name-PortsToronto%E2%80%99s.aspx

Not only is the name undignified for a tug, it is an embarrassment to a Port, that has a long maritime history. Its previous vessels have carried interesting and meaningful names, often with historic antecedents or symbols. Many have also been named for notable persons, such as the Port's fireboat William Lyon Mackenzie [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lyon_Mackenzie_%28fireboat%29 or for more on the man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lyon_Mackenzie
or another (now retired tug) the Ned Hanlan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Hanlan_%28tugboat%29 

If not named for a memorable person, surely a tug deserves a name indicative of force, power, activity, purposefulness, utility or dependability.
For more on the new tug see: http://www.ral.ca/news/2016/2016-02-18.html
I am rendered speechless by Toronto's choice.

By the way the Toronto Marine Historical Society is a wonderful means of learning about that port's history, and much else related to Great Lakes shipping: http://www.tmhs.ca/

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Tug Moves

Atlantic Larch has sailed from Halifax for Panama. The tug presumably will be taking over the tow of Protecteur from Corbin Foss, which is still due in Balboa March 17. The former RCN supply ship is headed for Liverpool, NS and a date with the scrappers.

 

Atlantic Larch is fitted with a towing winch and often works outside of Halfax harbour.

 

Following the tow on AIS, as of today, Corbin Foss and Protecteur were well down the Baja California peninsula of Mexico, and had been making better than 8 knots. Corbin Foss has 7200 bhp  at its disposal.

To take Atlantic Larch's place in Halifax is Atlantic Fir. It seems an odd arrangement, since Atlantic Fir is a 5,000 bhp tug and Atlantic Larch is only 4,000bhp. Also Atlantic Fir has been doing a lot of outside towing and seemed to be ATL's go to tug for that kind of work.
Interestingly when Atlantic Fir was spotted working Halifax today, it had lost the prominent SatNav dome it was porting when last seen February 7. Perhaps it was transferred to Larch. [See today's Shipfax for partial photo.]

Océan Foxtrot in Halifax fitted for cable repair work.

A former Canadian tug is disabled south of St-Pierre (46.30N x 55.57W) and has called for Coast Guard assistance. The Océan Foxtrot had been laid up in St.John's for four years, and is only one day out of port for an unknown destination. Its Canadian registry was closed October 3, 2014 and it was reported sold, but the buyers were not disclosed. I believe the boat was in fairly rough condition, so it is perhaps not surprising that it is having a problem. Once again the wisdom of setting out to sea at this time of year, with severe storms passing through, in a questionable vessel, makes one wonder who protects the foolhardy?

Built in 1971 by Cochrane + Sons, Selby, England as Polar Shore it worked for Offshore Marine until 1977 when it was acquired by Dome Petroleum's Canadian Marine Drilling and renamed Canmar Supplier VII. Groupe Océan of Quebec City acquired the tug in 1995 and it performed a whole variety of chores for them including pushing a barge, towing pulpwood barges, dive support and salvage tows. It was among the vessels that worked on recovering material form the Swiss Air crash in 1998.
It was rated at 72 tonnes bollard pull from two 12 cylinder KHDs totaling 5280 bhp.

The last rumour about Océan Foxtrot in 2014 was that it would be towing the former RCN diving support ship Cormorant from Bridgewater, NS to scrappers in the Dominican Republic. The current story has echoes of the previous unhappy experience of the tug Charlene Hunt which towed Lyubov Orlova out of St.John's for the DR, lost the tow and was itself eventually towed away.

As of this evening Océan Foxtrot was not showing up on AIS, nor was any Coast Guard vessel showing up nearby.

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Atlantic Fir - with a little help from my friends

The tug Atlantic Fir made it into Halifax today with the barge Oceanus - but not without the help of all three of Atlantic towing's harbour tugs.

Atlantic Fir (left) has the tow and Atlantic Oak is providing steering from the stern of the barge. Atlantic Larch is nosing up on the barge's starboard bow and Atlantic Willow is standing off the port bow as the barge begins to make its eastward turn off Ferguson's Cove.

Originally scheduled to arrive yesterday afternoon, the tug and barge put back out to the anchorages for about 24 hours while some mechanical and electrical problems were rectified. Then in perfect conditions it entered the harbour this afternoon, keeping to the western channel, but there was no other traffic at the time so there was lots of room to maneuver into the IEL dock in Dartmouth. (The western channel is deeper, and less likely to snag a heavy tow line.)

 Atlantic Fir is leaving the western deepwater channel (the towline is just visible).

Atlantic Oak with the stern line is ready to swing the barge back into the main channel.

The barge Oceanus is registered in the United States, but is working in Canada under coasting license from September 15, 2015 until September 14, 2016. It was brought in by ATL to make multiple trips from Port aux Basques, Cow Head and Bay Bulls with components for the Hebron Topsides Project. (The topsides will be mated to the gravity base at Bull Arm once the latter is completed). The components include the 400 ft x 100 ft, 340 tonne flare boom, the 5200 tonne drilling support, helideck and lifeboat station components ranging from 30 to 213 tonnes.

Built in 2010 by Gunderson Marine LLC the 7913 grt barge measures 384 ft x 105 ft x 25 ft deep.   It is owned by Ulysses LLC of Belle Chasse, LA.

Atlantic Fir is a near sister to the Halifax based Atlantic Oak, a 5050 bhp ASD, built in 2005, with 68 tonne bollard pull and fire fighting gear. It differs visually from the Oak chiefly due to the large sat nav dome, fitted because it does ocean towing.

Earlier in the day Atlantic Towing called on Svitzer to provide the tug Svitzer Njal to assist with both container ships EM Kea and CMA CGM Titus in place of Atlantic Oak. Svitzer Njal and sister Svitzer Nerthus are wintering in Halifax until they go north again in July. Since Atlantic Towing Ltd and Svitzer operate the tugs in Halifax and Point Tupper in a joint venture, we might see this happen again from time to time. It would certainly avoid the kind of double escort we saw yesterday, which is really quite unsatisfactory for a number of reasons.

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Atlantic Larch and Atlantic Willow on a Double Date

Large ships transiting the Narrows of Halifax Harbour are required to have a tethered escort tug. The designated tug is Atlantic Oak, which has more than 5,000 bhp is set up for the work with some special strain gauges and an escort skeg.
 

The other two harbour tugs Atlantic Larch and Atlantic Willow  at 4,000 bhppull are considerably less powerful and do not have the hull escort skeg.
This afternoon when Halifax Express was due to sail from the Fairview Cove container terminal, Atlantic Oak was on standby for another job (see below) and was not available and so the other tugs did the job in tandem.

Each with a line to the ship's quarters, I am sure they were able to assist the ship in making its turn past the Pier 9 knuckle, however Atlantic Willow gave her line an awful lot of scope for such a narrow channel. Also with the two tugs as close as they were, I am not sure they would have been very good at braking if they had to stop the ship. They would clearly have been in each other's way.

It was not an ideal arrangement, but I guess it had to be done on time, since the next section of the Macdonald Bridge was coming out, and it was probably desirable to have the big ship well past when that was happening.

The bridge deck is undergoing replacement in sections, starting from the Dartmouth side (left in this picture), and although the work is so far not over the main harbour channel, it is just as well to keep shipping away to avoid wake. The old bridge sections are landed on a barge and the new sections lifted from the same barge, and great precision is needed. The barge is handled by the tugs Belle D and Halifax Tugger with assistance from Captain Jim. For more on these see:

http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.ca/2015/10/big-lift-small-tugs.html 
http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.ca/2015/10/halifax-tugger-update.html 

Atlantic Oak was standing by to assist sister tug Atlantic Fir and the barge Oceanus arriving from Newfoundland. More on that tomorrow.

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