Quebec Shakeup [amended]

See addendum at the end of this article

A major shakeup in the Quebec tug scene can be summarized as "Svitzer out / Ocean in".
Svitzer Canada, part of the multi-national tug operator, a subsidiary of the giant AP Moller-Maersk shipping conglomerate has opted to discontinue its short lived four tug Montreal operation, selling most of its local assets to Groupe Océan.


Ocean had been the sole operator in the Port of Montreal since acquiring the former McAllister business. It appears now that loyalty to Océan was strong enough that Svitzer could not gain traction.

Svitzer Montréal refitting in Halifax shortly before taking up station in Montreal in the spring of 2016. The tug was transferred from Svitzer's operation in the Dominican Republic.

When Svitzer moved in last year, it was largely on the basis of having longstanding relationships with Algoma and CSL and of course to service Maersk Lines one weekly container ship. Whether parent company Maersk's financial belt tightening was a factor or not, there apparently was not enough business to sustain the operation.


Svitzer operated its service in Montreal initially with two tugs, which did double duty, by spending the summer in the high arctic at the Baffinland iron port at Milne Inlet, serving the Mary River mine. Océan originally had the Baffinland contract, and built two 8,000 bhp super tugs, Océan Tundra and Océan Taiga especially for the work, which was expected to extend to year round. When the Baffinland project stalled and ArcelorMittal gained control of the project in 2011 Svitzer wound up with the tug contract. The completed Océan Tundra found some work as an escort tug out of Quebec City, but construction of Océan Taiga was slowed down and only completed in 2016 due to a lack of demand for the vessels.

Svitzer Nerthus and Svitzer Njal after fitting out in Halifax, are almost ready to sail for their first season at Milne Inlet.

Svitzer Njal and Svitzer Nerthus were brought back to Canada by Svitzer in 2016, but at 5,000 bhp, they would only be able to work seasonally in the far north (July - October). As ice class tugs however, they are quite suitable for year round work in Montreal. They will be fulfilling the Baffinland contract this summer too, but at the end of the season they will become Océan tugs.

Baffinland had originally planned a year round rail line operating to a port on Steensby Inlet, which would be accessible to larger ships and presumably require larger tugs for year round service. It now seems they will build the rail line to Milne River instead, replacing the present 100km tote road for trucks. This will allow the mine to reach its 12 mn tonnes per year shipping target. They also plan to bring in ships of up to capesize, which will also require larger tugs.

Of the four Montreal based tugs, only Svitzer Cartier was not built by Eastisle Shipyard in Georgetown, PE. The Chinese built tug is the only Voith-Schneider tug in the lot.

Svitzer acquired two more tugs for Quebec work. Svitzer Cartier, a Chinese built V-S tug initially arrived to provide additional tug service for Port-Cartier, where ArcelorMittal has a major iron ore and grain port, and two aging V-S tugs of its own.  Svitzer Cartier apparently did not work out well at Port-Cartier and was transferred to Montreal. Its fate is unknown at this time, but may be acquired by Océan. (see Addendum)


Océan has now also acquired the tug contract for Port-Cartier and will be moving two of its tugs there later in the year, replacing the ArcelorMittal owned tugs Brochu and Vachon. V-S tugs, they were adept at working in the tight confines of Port-Cartier, but Océan has no V-S tugs of comparable power, so it will interesting to know what tugs they will be using. They will have several tugs coming back from Newfoundland now that the Hebron gravity base project is complete.


Earlier this year Océan was awarded the operating contract for the V-S tug Pointe-Comeau, based in Baie-Comeau, and owned by Cargill Grain. The tug was under Svitzer (and previously Eastern Canada Towing) management since it was built in 1977. In fact predecessor copmay Foundation Maritime managed the Cargill owned Foundation Vibert from when it was built in 1961. It became Point Vibert under ECTUG management until replaced by Pointe-Comeau. 


The fourth Montreal tug, Svitzer Montreal (ex Caucedo) at 4500 bhp ASD will be sold to Océan and could be used in any one of several ports served by Océan. Three of the four tugs should be a good fit in the Océan stable, since they were built by Eastisle in Georgetown, PE to the same basic design as eight of Océan's tugs. (see Addendum)


Océan now has a tight lock on all St.Lawrence River ports, as the exclusive tug operator with tugs based in Sept-Iles, Port Cartier, Baie-Comeau, Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, Sorel and Montreal.

(In 2012 Océan won the Iron Ore Company of Canada contract at Sept-Iles held by Svitzer and predecessors since the 1950s. It also bought ECTUG's two Sept-Iles icebreaking tugs.)

Océan also operates tugs on the Great Lakes to serve Hamilton, Toronto and Oshawa and a small tug in the port of Goderich.


Business prospects for the port of Montreal in particular appear to be on the upswing, as the port shows increased container and tanker traffic. The St.Lawrence River can now accommodate much larger ships. although draft restriction still apply.

Svitzer is now reduced back to three tugs at Point Tupper, NS: Point Chebucto, Point Valiant and Svitzer Bedford. The rather surprising move to Montreal was a bit unusual for Svitzer, a company noted for negotiating long term terminal contracts, rather than speculative ventures into unknown territory.

.

Addenda:
 Since posting this blog more information has come to light.
1. Océan is not acquiring Svitzer Montréal The tug is not ice rated (it was built for the Dominican Republic) and thus will be re-assigned by Svitzer.
2. Océan has indeed acquired the Svitzer Cartier and will  be sending it to Ile-aux-Coudres for refit by Industrie Océan. This leads me to assume that it will assigned to Port-Cartier. At 5400 bhp it would certainly provide more power than the two 3600 bhp tugs in place there.
3.Océan will be supporting the Port-Cartier contract with two V-S tugs. Unknown at present what those tugs will be, however:
Océan has one other V-S tug:  Océan A. Simard ex Alexis Simard, 3290 bhp. It has been working on the Hebron project in Newfoundland, and seems a likely candidate for Port-Cartier.
At present Océan Arctique is supplementing the two ArcelorMittal tugs in Port-Cartier and will presumably remain there.

.

Océan on the move again

Groupe Océan is making tug news again with acquisitions and sales.

1. Pointe aux Basques and Pointe Sept-Iles  reported sold.

I have received reports from several sources that Groupe Océan has purchased Pointe aux Basques and Pointe Sept-Iles from Svitzer Canada. As previously reported, the two tugs were idled when Svitzer's contract with the Iron Ore Company of Canada was not renewed. Svitzer, and its three predecessors, Ectug, MIL Tug and Foundation Maritime, had provided tugs in Sept-Iles since 1956 (and possibly earlier), and these twin screw icebreaking tugs were built to work there. The contract ended August 1, 2013.
Groupe Océan became well established in Sept-Iles the past few years, with their tugs supporting construction, dredging and ship-lightering in the bay.  They now provide tug service at both Pointe-Noire and at Sept-Iles. They also chartered Océan Arctique and Océan Stevns last summer with an option to buy, and have stationed them in Sept-Iles.

2. Point Valiant in refit, Lunenburg.

Pointe Sept-Iles found work in Belledune, NB and is presently filling in at Point Tupper while Point Valiant is in refit at Lunenburg. Pointe aux Basques arrived in Halifax October 10 and has been idle ever since.
Océan had previously reported that they would be assigning two tugs to Bull Arm next year, so these may be the tugs they will use.

Meanwhile Groupe Océan has listed the tug/barge combination Mega and Motti with Marcon International ship brokers. I hear that Océan bought the combo for a contract, which was subsequently cancelled. The transatlantic delivery of the pair last winter and spring, was a bit of a marathon, with extended stops in the Las Palmas and Hamilton, Bermuda.
Full particulars on the pair may be found on Marcon International's web site:  http://www.marcon.com/marcon2s.cfm?SectionGroupsID=20&SectionListsID=20&PageID=24&Action=Detail&File=HB42678

Also on the For Sale list are Océan Delta and Océan Foxtrot. These two are among the senior citizens in the Océan fleet, and with newer tugs available and on the way, they will have to go.

Océan Delta was Océan's largest tug, Built in Norway 1973 for the International Towing Contractors as Sistella it was renamed Sandy Cape in 1978, and in 1980 came to Canada for Québec Tugs [Quetug], then part of Davie Shipbuilding, which was owned by Canada Steamship Lines. Renamed Captain Ioannis S. (for Capt "John" Styliadis) it worked on the St.Lawrence, on the east coast, towing icebergs and in the arctic and farther afield. When the present Groupe Océan acquired the Quetug fleet they retained the name until 1999 when it became Océan Delta.

3. In Halifax in June 1997, the tug wearing its Quetug funnel marking.

4. In August 1996 it teamed up with fleetmate Océan Foxtrot to assist in the tow the oil rig Spirit of Columbus from Halifax to Quebec City for rebuilding. Foxtrot was carrying the name and wearing the new colours of Groupe Océan

Océan Delta made the headlines a year ago during the ill-fated tow of HMCS Athabaskan from St.Catharines, ON toward Halifax. As lead tug, Delta was plagued by breakdowns, (and I hear a scratch crew). They had to abort the tow in Sydney, NS, after the towline parted and the warship was holed when it made contact with the tug. Atlantic Towing Ltd completed the tow.

Groupe Océan spent a lot of money on the tug over the years, including a re-engining, when its original 5,600 bhp N+H was replaced with a 6,464 bhp MaK in 2000. However large single screw tugs* are becoming dinosaurs, and with a spring delivery of Océan's new Océan Tundra the Delta will be replaced with a much more capable ship. 
[* Marcon categorizes the tug as twin screw in its index, but the actual listing shows it correctly as single screw.]

5. Trading a Halifax grain elevator for Quebec City grain elevator as a backdrop, Océan Delta rests in its home port. It was just about to enter a summer refit. Soon after this photo was taken the Océan funnel mark changed again to a broader black cap and no logo.

For Marcon's listing  of Océan Dleta see: http://www.marcon.com/marcon2s.cfm?SectionGroupsID=20&SectionListsID=20&PageID=8&Action=Detail&File=TG56000

 Océan Foxtrot is an untypical tug for Groupe Océan. It was built as an anchor handling supply tug, with lots of pulling power for its size. Originally Polar Shore it came out of the Cochrane Yard in Selby, England in 1971 for Offshore Marine. With 72 tonnes bollard pull from a pair of Ruston-Paxmans totaling 5,280 bhp, it was considered a powerful vessel in its day. As its name implied it was built for work in northern waters to Lloyds Ice Class 1. 

In 1988 Canadian Marine Drilling bought the tug, renamed it Canmar Supplier VII and put it to work in the Beaufort Sea. Quetug bought it in 1995, giving it the name Océan Foxtrot and initially put it to work as pusher tug, with a special bow fitting. That was removed in Halifax in March 1999.

 

6. Océan Foxtrot with pushing fender. The former Coast Guard landing craft Nanook, then owned by Océan is alongside.

 

7. On a bitingly cold day in Halifax, Ocean Foxtrot carries a bit of frozen spray on its return from a trip to Come-by-Chance, NL in 2003.

 Meanwhile it worked on numerous unusual projects, such as dive support for the Irving Whale salvage in 1995, the Swiss Air crash recovery in 1998, several cable repair jobs, and salvage tows.It has also worked offshore and in the north. I am sure Océan will miss its versatility if it sells.

6. Océan Foxtrot leaving Halifax for a cable repair project. It has been fitted with a slide over its stern roller, and carries a containerized fibrepoptic splicing shop on deck.

For Marcon's listing of Océan Foxtrot see: http://www.marcon.com/marcon2s.cfm?SectionGroupsID=20&SectionListsID=20&PageID=8&Action=Detail&File=SU18438

Being "For Sale" doesn't mean "Sold" so we will have to wait and see what happens to these two tugs. Marcon is also listing McKeil's Tony MacKay - more on it another time.

.

Groupe Océan update

The two Stevns tugs arrived at Ile-aux-Coudres on schedule during the night of August 7. They were hauled out in turn on the marine slip at Industrie Océan for delivery inspection, and perhaps some small underwater work.
I was on the scene the next morning and gave them a quick appraisal. They are in surprisingly good condition, and are impressive tugs despite being overshadowed by the giant Océan Tundra under construction at the yard.

1. Altough dwarfed by the newbuilding Océan Tundra, Stevns Arctic is still an impressive tug. Note the stern lacks the ice knives of the new tug, however their hull lines are essentially the same.

2. Stevns Océan, the older of the pair, is still in pristine condition despite an ocean crossing.

Following a few days on the slip, the tugs went on to Quebec City where they were repainted in Océan colours and renamed at Océans ship repair base.
Stevns Ocean (built in 2002) has become Océan Stevns, at least for the duration of the charter, and Stevns Arctric (completed in 2005) is now Océan Arctique. The tugs were registered in Ottawa, on August 15. They have been placed under the management of Océan Remorquage Côte-Nord Inc, which confirms that they will be assigned to the Iron Company of Canada contract at Sept-Iles when  Svitzer's contract expires later this year.
Strangely, Transport Canada's web site lists their power as 1850 kW. This is the power of each of their two MaK engines, at roughly 2500 bhp each, totaling 5,000.

3. The business end features this double drum ship handling winch, with anchor windlass.

 

4. The after deck is small, but features a towing winch and a small tugger winch.

.

Mega and Motti - en route

Groupe Océan's recently acquired articulated tug / barge combination Mega and Motti have reached Bermuda. They are hop-skipping across the Atlantic with stops so far in La Coruna, Spain and the Azores.
[reference Tugfax - December 17, 2012: http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.ca/2012/12/ocean-makes-move-into-atbs.html]
The pair were registered in Canada in December, but were soon chartered out under the flag of St.Vincent and the Grenadines for delivery by the Dutch company Redwise. Noted for making extreme delivery trips, Redwise seems to find no obstacles too severe for their experienced crews.
For more on Redwise, including their current deliveries see: http://www.redwise.nl/homepage.html
If you can read Dutch the Captain's progress reports probably make interesting reading:
http://www.redwise.com/page/mega-motti-weblog.html

Quebec Tug News - all good

A sister to Océan Serge Genois built in 2010 is under construction, with a bigger tug to follow.

Groupe Océan seems to be going from strength to strength as it continues to build its fleet. With the recent completion of the dredge Océan Traverse Nord at its Industrie Océan shipyard, work is well underway on another 24m  4,000 bhp fire fighting tug at a cost of $10.6 mn to be delivered in December.
Work will then start on a large 34m 8,000 bhp tug at a cost of $24mn. It will be the first in a series called the TunDRA 100 class. It will be an ice class, escort and sea-going tug, built to work in the North. It will have two Ulstein (Rolls Royce) azimuthing stern thrusters.
Océan has worked in the north for many years, and in mid-August Océan Delta, assisted in freeing the grounded Vega Sagittarius near Nuuk, Greenland.

Despite many new tugs in recent years, such as Océan Keith Rusby (right) Océan still has many noble veterans in its fleet. The 1969 Océan Echo II and the 1973 Océan Charlie are still providing excellent service, largely in fresh water. 

Despite the huge newbuilding program in recent years, Océan still has many veterans in its fleet, and seems to find new work for its new tugs rather than just building replacements for its old ones. The company has its own shipyard and a new maintenance facility in Quebec City, and keeps its boats in tip top condition.

Quebec veteran still at work

On  a July 1 weekend trip to Quebec I was pleased to see a veteran tug once again. The annual maintenanace dredging at Rivière-du-Loup was well underway with the dredge Océan Basque 2 and the  small tugs Océan Uannaq* and Océan Nigiq handling a pair of dump scows. Lashed to the dredge was the tug Service Boat No.2 ex Weymontachingue, built back in 1934 by Canadian Vickers Ltd  in Montreal.
Ordered by the Shawinigan Engineering Co, along with sister tug R.F.Grant they were 65 footers, of 90 gross tons, and were for use on the St-Maurice River in log towing operations, with ownership passing to the St-Maurice Boom & Driving Co Ltd of Trois-Rivières.
(Weymontachingue is the name of a First NatIons reserve on the upper reaches of the St-Maurice River, north of La Tuque-http://itouchmap.com/?c=ca&UF=-575821&UN=-812732&DG=RESV)
In the 19xxs Three Rivers Boatmen bought the pair and rebuilt them for use on the St.Lawrence. With new deckhouses, they measured 74 gross tons. Weymontachingue was renamed Service Boat No.2 but R.F.Grant retained it name. Three Rivers Boatmen operated the pilotage and tug service in Trois-Rivières, and serviced the nearby anchorages with boatman services.
When Three Rivers Boatmen acquired Sam Vézina Inc., providers of pilotage and boatman service in Quebec City, Service Boat No.2 went there. Eventually Groupe Océan bought Three Rivers Boatmen and Vézina. When acquired Dragage St-Maurice the tug was assigned to support dredging operations and marine construction. R.F.Grant seems to spend all its time in the Beauharnois area, above the power dam, but Service Boat No.2 travels the waters of the St.Lawrence.
The two modern tugs Océan Uannaq* and Océan Nigiq were built in 2008 by Industrie Océan at Ile-aux-Coudres and were initially used for barge lightering at the Baffinland iron  mine project in the arctic. They ferried the first test loads of ore out to waiting ships. Since that project has been on hold, the tugs have been lashed up to dump barges. At 770 bhp and twin screw they are more than up to the job.
Most Océan tugs are now owned by Location Océan Inc., and leased or chartered to the various Océan divisions for work.

1. Dredging silty sand is an annual requirement at Rivière-du-Loup. Océan Basque 2 has been the dredge for the last few years.

2. This year the tug Service Boat No.2 is lashed to the dredge for the frequent moves required to work around the ferry slip.

3. Some of the tug's riveted construction is still visible around the bulwarks aft.

4. The tugs Océan Oannaq and Océan Nigiq are connected to the dump barges, but do not compensate for the barges' draft. The tug is on an even keel when the barge is loaded. 

5. When the barge is empty, the tugs are well up at the bow, but still appear to perform well, even in choppy conditions. Rivière-du-Loup is totally exposed to westerly winds, with a fetch of well over 20 miles to the nearest land in that direction, explaining the heavy silt build up.  

* SEE COMMENT

André H and tow at Mulgrave

1. Groupe Océan's André H. at Mulgrave, NS on Saturday.

Groupe Océan's André H. (ex Point Valiant, Foundation Valiant) has recently made a trip into its old familiar territory. In its days with Foundation Maritime and Eastern Canada Towing it did many coastal trips to Nova Scotia, but in recent years has been based in Trois-Rivières, with a spell in Sept-Iles last year.

At the end of March Groupe Océan acquired the assets of Dragage Verreault (see Shipfax for more on this)  and since then have been moving the plant from various points to the Industrie Océan shipyard in Ile-aux-Coudres, QC.

The dredge Rosaire and hopper boat I.V.No.14 were laid up in Meteghan, NS, and André H. was dispatched to pick them up, arriving in Meteghan on April 17 and sailing on April 18. I tracked to tow on AIS the best I could and predicted that they would reach the Canso Lock on April 20 in the early afternoon if they maintained their speed of 7.5 knots. I set out to meet them there , but they did not show up before dark on the 20th.

As you will see from the photos, they experienced a bit of an issue with the I.V.No.14 and tied up in Mulgrave. I was able to see then there on the 21st, while repairs were underway.

2. The hopper boat I.V.No.14 had some trouble en route, and repair crews are at work.

Point Valiant was built in 1963 as a larger version of the six boat order that included Foundation Vim and Foundation Vigour (now McKeil's Molly M.1). Point Valiant was intended as a small seagoing tug, and is an excellent seaboat. It is a twin screw vessel, with two Fairbanks Morse engines of 900 bhp each.

In 1995 it was sold to Three Rivers Boatmen, which later became part of Groupe Océan.

3. Although 13 years old when this photo was taken, the tug was in its original configuration. It was not fitted with a towing winch when built, and had a small derrick for handling towing and salvage gear.

Océan finds work for Escorte

1. In the camber at Pointe-au-Pic with the Manoir Richelieu hotel in the background.


2. Operating stern first, she arrives at Cap-à-l'Aigle with a spoil scow.

3. Removal of the orginal funnel improved visibility to the stern.

4. Escorte stands off Pointe-au-Pic at dusk, after a day's work.

Groupe Océan of Quebec City, has found work for its excellent small tug Escorte. After several years of service at their Hamilton, ON operation it was replaced this year by Océan Golf, and was reported to be for sale.

However I saw it in action this summer assisting the dredging fleet with some barge handling work. The tug was tasked with handling the barges Milne Inlet and Mary River to carry contaminated dredge spoil, which was then pumped ashore for treatment and disposal. This operation took place at both the Pointe-au-Pic, QC and Cap-à-l'Aigle, QC wharfs, in preparation for new wharf ownership and future development.

Escorte was built by Jakobson's Shipyard in Oyster Bay, NY in 1967 for the US Navy, as Menasha and was assigned the USN number 760. It and sister tug Mascouta, 761, now Atlantic Towing's Atlantic Aspen, were reported to be experimental, since they were were the first USN tugs built with Voith propulsion, and developed a modest 675 bhp. (There exists some confusion about the actual ancestry of the tugs, since the USN had YTBs or YTMs of the same name built at the same yard a few years earlier. This pair were definitely more like YTLs or YTSs, since they measure only 120 gross tons.)

After naval service they showed up on the United States section of the St.Lawrence Seaway in about 1989, still in USN colours. They were soon repainted in St.Lawrence Seaway Development Corp colours of black hull and green deck house, and did see service in the Snell-Eisenhower lock areas, and even with ship assist work at Cornwall, ON. Menasha was sold to John Fedek of Ogdensburg, NY in 1991. Vandalized and sunk in August 1992 it was raised by Donald Gordon of Courtwright, ON, who took possession of the vessel in payment. He operated the tug for a time out of Sarnia, repainting the deckhouse blue. He must have liked the name because he renamed his next acquisition Menasha (ex W.C.Harms-97, Ruby Casho-88, Hamilton-86, W.C.Harms-54, 132 gross tons, built 1949, 900 bhp)

In 1995 MTL Marine Tug Inc of Montreal (part of Three Rivers Boatmen) acquired the tug, and she was again repainted - this time with white deck house. Her plain black funnel acquired the red and white vertical bars of 3RB, and she was renamed Escorte, with "Tractor Tug" painted on her bulwarks.

After Groupe Océan took over 3RB, she worked out of Trois-Rivières for a time, then in 2002 was sent to Quebec City for a refit. There her funnel was removed and replaced by exposed exhaust pipes (improving visibility aft) and of was again repainted, this time in Groupe Océan colours of the day. Those have since changed, but the tug is essentially unaltered since then.

As with all Groupe Océan tugs, she is maintainred in spotless condition, and looks to be in excellent condition. Long may she run!

.

Recent redeployments at Groupe Océan

With its large fleet of tugs, Groupe Océan of Quebec City can be expected to move its tugs around from port to port as needed. However, most tugs are permanently assigned to specific ports due their particular capabilities. However this spring there have been the following redeployments:
1. Escorte from Hamilton to refit at Industrie Océan in Ile-aux-Coudres. (She is still listed for sale on brokers sites.) In this photo she is shown at Trois-Rivières, QC in the colours of Three Rivers Boatmen, a company taken over by Groupe Océan. Ahead of her is the Norton class Robert H ex Heatherton, since sold south.

2. Océan Yvan Desgagnés (not pictured) from Quebec City to Sept-Iles for Océan Remorquage Côte-Nord. (Her place in Quebec City will be taken by the newly delivered Océan Ross Gaudreault when it enters service this month.) Océan now has three tugs in Sept-Iles (versus two for Svitzer), the others being Ocean Raymond Lemay (pictured on trials in Halifax in 2006) and André H (the former Point Valiant, Foundation Valiant)

3. André H. shown in Trois-Rivières, has been based in Sept-Iles for the last two years.

4. Laprairie returned to Hamilton at the opening of the Seaway season, after a spell icebreaking in the South Shore Canal - a job she was built to do originally. She is shown here in the SSC with the Seaway scow V/MS 488 shortly after Océan acquired the tug from the St.Lawrence Seaway Authority. Her icebreaking bow is in full view. Océan has since changed is fleet colour scheme.

5. Océan Golf from Sorel to Hamilton for Ocean Ontario. The twin screw tug is seen here in refit at Industrie Océan at Ile-aux-Coudres last summer. Built in the UK in 1959 as Stranton, but brought to Canada as Helen M.McAllister, she was repowered and fitted with a new wheelhouse in 1996-97.

6. (Not Pictured) Océan A. Simard (the forner Alexis-Simard of Rio Tinto Alcan) was recently re-registered in Montreal, leading to the expectation that she will be based in that port. At last report she was in refit at Ile-aux-Coudres.

.

Another new tug for Quebec?

KST, the developers of the patented Rotor tug, have sold a "design package and technical details" for a model RT 110-37E tug to Groupe Océan of Quebec. Expected delivery is the end of 2012.

The Rotor tug, which is the brainchild of the tug operator Ton Kooren, is essentially a tug with three azimuthing drives. Two of the drives are mounted forward, like a tractor tug and one is mounted aft. The tugs give the performance and handling to meet or exceed that of a V-S tug, but using the simpler technology of the azimuthing drive.

Following the delivery of the first three RT tugs to Kooren's own tug company, Kotug, about twenty have been built, of various designs and are in use by different tug operators, primarily in Europe.

Although the idea has been somewhat slow to catch on, the undeniable benefits are there for the operator that needs the power, and breaking force, combined with extreme maneuverability.

The Océan tug is of a new design, and the particulars are as follows:

LOA: 37 meters (this is a big tug!)
Bollard pull: 110 tonnes
Speed: 15 knots (hull has bulbous bow)
Propulsion: three engines totalling 7,000 bhp approx.

It seems likely that this tug would use three engines of similar size to those in its ASD 5,000 hp twin engine tugs. The similar technology and commonality of parts, etc., would be a distinct advantage to Océan.

This is a tanker escort tug, and will be available on the St.Lawrence River for large crude oil tankers, but also for gas tankers, when and if the gas port is built near Quebec City. The speed of 15 knots allows the tug to keep pace with the ship, and to provide the stern escort and braking forces necessary to stop or redirect very big ships.

There is no mention on KST's site about where the tug will be built, but it almost certainly will be at Océan's own shipyard, Industrie Océan at Ile-aux-Coudres, QC. That yard has just completed building two ASD tugs, and would be up to the challenge.

For more on Rotor tugs and KST - see their website: http://www.rotortug.com/scripts/homepage.php

There is also a section on this particular design, showing a model of the RT-110-37E: http://www.rotortug.com/scripts/developments.php

.

Tug News from Quebec

Groupe Océan of Quebec City is conducting trials on the new tug Ocean Serge Genois at their shipyard Industries Océan at Ile-aux-Coudres, QC. The new tug is based on the Robert Allan design originally used to build Ocean Jupiter and Ocean Intrepide , and well as the Point Valiant and a fourth tug exported to Mexico. The design was modified for a second generation, of which Ocean Georgie Bain was delivered last year. It is distinguished by a larger wheelhouse.
All these tugs were built at Ile-aux-Coudres, and are ASD types, with 4,000 bhp high speed diesel engines. Ownership of the Ocean Serge Genois is vested with the Industries Ocean yard, of which M. Genois is the guiding force.

Meanwhile at East Isle Shipyard in Georgetown, PE, the first of two new buildings for Groupe Océan has been named Ocean Yvan Desgagnes. The 5,000 bhp ice class ASD tug is still under construction and will be delivered later in the year. Interestingly the tug is named for Yvan Desgagnés, scion of the well known shipping family from St-Joseph-de-la-Rive, QC. Transport Desgagnés and its many subsdiaries is no longer controlled by the Desgagnés family and Yvan Desgagnés is now well known for his work to promote the Musée Maritime de Charlevoix at St-Joseph-de-la-Rive.
Ownership of the new tug is listed as Location Océan Inc., which is the rental arm of Groupe Océan. It is thus anticipated that the tug will be leased to a third party and operated on its behalf by Groupe Océan. This was expected to be a Baffinland iron mine, but that project has been delayed.