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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Dominion Warrior Corrected

I made an error in my last post regarding the workboat Dominion Warrior. The vessel was built in fact by Neptune Shipyards BV in Aalst, Netherlands. The info I used in my post came from the Transport Canada Vessel Registration website, so apparently was submitted by the owners. Where they got the information is a mystery, but I suppose it is possible they misunderstood some paperwork that was in the Dutch language.

Dominion Warrior is a Eurocarrier 2209 multi-purpose workboat. Last week it was used as a tug to handle a dump barge - a chore it seems to have handled well.

My older posts, back in March, 2018 had the correct builder information, and so do not require correction:

http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2018/03/dominion-warrior-on-way.html

http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-warrior-has-landed.html

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Dominion Warrior

The versatile Dominion Warrior added another arrow to its quiver today as it took over towing responsibility for the dump scow Pitts No.12.

The dump scow job would normally be done by the tug Mister Joe but it is towing the crane barge Idus Atwell to Point Tupper / Port Hawksbury (with the small tug Whitby on deck.) That leaves only the tug J.F.Whalen in Halifax, and in view of today's windy conditions, it would not likely be up to the job of wrangling the dump scow.

The job involves hauling the loaded scow from one end of the port to the other and dumping its rock cargo on the harbour bottom. The rock is then bucketed, by crane barge, into the cells of the concrete cribs that have been sunk in place to extend pier C.

Dominion Warrior was acquired in 2018 and is a twin screw 1200 bhp Multicat with 25 tonnes bollard pull.  Built in 2007 by Dodewaard Shipyard BV in the Netherlands as Coastal Warrior, it is a multi-purpose vessel of a type that has proven quite popular in Euorpe, but is still relatively rare in Canada. In addition to towing and pushing, it can carry deck cargo, including containers, up to 100 tonnes, has a 30 tonne deck crane and 50 tonne winch, all combined on a shallow draft hull of 21.5m x 9m x 2m draft,  that allows for beach landings.

It only takes a few seconds for the split hull scow to drop its load. McNally has two more dump scows in Halifax but both are bottom door types and much more laborious to work. 

Even with the light scow on the hip there is excellent visibility from the Dominion Warrior's bridge.

Once today's high winds subside the crane barge Derrick #4 will be back on the job filling the cells of the pier extension.

Derrick #4 with the tug J.F.Whelan alongside at pier 42 with its clamshell bucket at the ready.

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The Warrior has landed

After a stormy day yesterday that prevented unloading, Dominion Warrior took to the water today from the heavy lift ship Stellaprima.

The new acquisition was shepherded by Dominion's Roseway to the Dartmouth Cove base, attended by Dominion Bearcat and Halmar. Both of these boats have been rebuilt by Dominion's own forces during their tenure with Dominion and it is likely that Dominion Warrior will receive similar treatment before it enters service.

As per the previous post, Dominion Warrior ex Coastal Warrior will expand Dominion's capabilities to support its diving and marine service business by being a multi-tasking vessel with tug / cargo/ and other capabilities.

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