Whitby to the rescue

When the ferry Princess of Acadia lost power on November 7, it was making its approach to the Digby, NS terminal and ran aground by the stern, not far away. The ship regained power and was able to berth at the dock two hours later. After several days of diver surveys, investigation and perhaps repairs, the ship was able to sail again on November 10.
Nowhere in the media coverage I saw, was the name of the tug Whitby mentioned, but it was on the scene and appeared in several media photos, alongside the ship's stern as it finally reached the dock. Normally the nearest tug to Digby is in Saint John, NB - several hours steaming time away.
Granted Whitby is not powerful, (474 bhp) if it figured in the "ungrounding" or was used as a precaution while the ship finally reached its berth I do not know, but its presence was fortuitous. Its owners, McNally Construction Ltd are finishing up work at the Digby terminal and it was only by chance that the tug was in the neighbourhood.
Built in 1978 for McNamara Construction, the tug worked in Halifax on the Halterm extension in 2010-2011 and left Halifax for Digby aboard the Canadian Argosy March ,11, 2013..

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McNally triple tow

McNally Construction used three tugs to tow a concrete crib from the work site to the Fairview Cove container pier on Tuesday October 15. Bagotville took the lead, towing Oshawa, which was towing the crib. Jamie L brought up the rear pushing the crib for a time. As they neared the destination, Jamie L turned and repositioned as a brake to help position the crib.

[Power lines in the foreground  were unavoidable, due to a crime scene investigation underway closer to the water.]

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McNally - still working pier 6, pier 9 and Fairview Cove

Three McNally tugs in Halifax involved with pier expansions at Fairview Cove and Halifax Shipyard. One new concrete crib, built by McNally, will soon be placed at Fairview Cove to extend the pier. They are currently using Derrick No.3 to place steel sheet piles in the area.
Meanwhile using pier 9c as a base McNally is building cribs for the Halifax Shipyard pier 6 expansion. So far five cribs have been positioned.  Derrick No.1 and the semi-submersible Beaver Neptune are in use along with the previously shown Dexter scows and workboats.
McNally's tug Jamie L seems to be the tug most in use, but Oshawa can also be seen from time to time. Bagotville does not seem to be very busy by comparison.

1. Oshawa gives Jamie L a tow while floating off a concrete crib at pier 9 September 17.

2. Jamie L makes up to tow Derrick No.1 from pier 6 to pier 9c.

3. Tow under way, September 20.

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McNally tug on the move

McNally Marine's Sandra Mary sailed at dawn this morning with the barge Beaver Kay to carry out some cable work. The tug is a rare caller in Halifax, we usually see Mister Joe. Both tugs are built to the same design, but Sandra Mary is single screw and Mister Joe is twin screw. Both are products of the Russel yard in Owen Sound, ON.

Sandra Mary heads out through the sea smoke as the sun rises behind Macnab's Island this morning.

Following recent movements of the Mister Joe, I see that it was upbound in the St.Lawrence Seaway on November 22 with he dredge William P. Dilly and again on Nov 29 with the scow Derrick No.1.

See this blog of April 22 for photos of both tugs.

McNally tugs at Port Hawksbury

A rare assembly of McNally Construction tugs greeted me in Port Hawksbury on April 20.

1. Sandra Mary, Jerry Newberry and Mister Joe together.

Largest of the trio was the venerable Jerry Newberry, built in 1956 as Foundation Victor for seasonal service at Sept-Iles. In 1973 it became Point Victor for Eastern Canada Towing and in 1977 became Kay Cole for Pitts Construction. It passed to McKeil and acquired its current name in 1995. McNally acquired the tug from McKeil and it has been employed towing all over eastern Canada and into Hudson's Bay.

It is now reported to be for sale. It is a single screw tug with a 1280 bhp Fairbanks Morse.

Mister Joe, a 1964 product of Russel-Hipwell in Owen Sound, is a familiar sight in these parts and also ranges far and wide including Labrador. Its original name was Churchill River which it carried until 2001. It is a twin screw tug of 750 bhp.

2. Sandra Mary with a fresh copat of paint.

The pleasant surprise for me was Sandra Mary, also a Russel tug, built in 1962 as Flo Cooper (also for Pitts Construction) A slightly larger version of the Mister Joe, it has 1260 bhp. It usually works on the Lakes but also ranges as far as Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. In fact it just came down through the Seaway April 6 towing the barge Quensa. With fresh paint, it looks quite splendid.

3. Note the extra strong backs and cut down bulwark on the stern of the Jerry Newberry. Sandra Mary has an almost open stern.

McNally operates a large yard in Point Tupper, across the harbour from Port Hawksbury, and is currently refitting a number of scows and construction barges.

McNally sells to Weeks

1. Whitby at work on July 11 at the Halterm extension.

2. Carl M swings around the Canadian Argosy at Halterm July 11.

3. Mister Joe arriving in Halifax in May.

As reported in Shipfax, McNally Construction has been purchased by Weeks Marine, Inc of New Jersey. McNally will continue to operate under its current name as a wholly owned subsidiary.

As the largest marine construction operation in eastern Canada (Ocean Group is probably a distant #2) McNally has a substantial fleet of work barges, scows, dredges and about 20 tugs.

There is unlikely to be any outward change in the look of the fleet in the near future, but some of the older plant is certainly due for replacement.

One of McNally's hard working tugs is Mister Joe, built in 1964 by Russel-Hipwell in Owen Sound, ON as Churchill River. After a career in James Bay and Hudson Bay, it worked on Hibernia for a time, before its acquisition of Beaver Marine (a McNally subsidiary that was folded into the larger company) in 2000. The twin screw tug of 750 bhp is named for Joe McNally, one of the company founders.

Smaller tugs include Carl M, built in 1957 as Louis M (renamed in 1975) and acquired from the now defunct McNamara Construction rates 475 bhp. Whitby (also a former McNamara tug) was built in 1978 and rates 474 bhp.

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Tugs at Rest

Sunday morning saw the tugs Whitby and Carl M at pier 24 with the dredge Canadian Argosy and the dump scow FDJV 2. A big blow the night before had called a halt to dredging operations off the Halterm container pier, and so it was a day for rest and repairs.

The two tugs are in 24 hour a day operation moving the dredge from position to position and taking the scow to the dump site. Whitby is the more powerful tug and it does most of the heavy work while Carl M shifts the empty scow, runs back and forth to shore and assists in dredge moves.

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Oldie from the Archive

1. Douglas Reid getting away to work on Halterm, August 22, 1970.

All the tug activity at pier 42 Halterm has been largely invisible this week, since the dredge is working along the pier face. Pile driving is starting on the extension, but it may be a while before more crane barges are at work.

Back in 1969-1970 when Halterm was built, there was also tug activity, and I posted one of my photos on Shipfax October 19, 2009, of the tug Douglas Reid.

It was built in Cleveland, OH as Racine by Great Lakes Towing Co in 1914, and declared surplus in 1940. A.B.MacLean of Sault Ste. Marie, ON, bought the tug and ran it until 1950 when McNamara Construction acquired It., In 1954 they rebuilt the tug to work on the St.Lawrence Seaway project, and converted it to diesel, built a new deckhouse and raised the bulwarks from the typical Great Lakes style, and renamed it.

The tug worked all over eastern Canada, and wound up in Newfoundland where it was broken up before 1978. Interestingly most of McNamara's assets eventually wound up with McNally, the people working on the present Halterm extension.

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McNally brings in reinforcements

1. S-12, FDJV3, Canadian Argosy, Whitby and Beaver Delta II at pier 9C, Sunday afternoon.

2. Carl M. on a the dredge scow, whose official name is VM/S 87.

3. Whitby swings around Mister Joe, Saturday morning.

4. Whitby secures a fender with Beaver Kay and Beaver Spartan in the background.

McNally Construction has brought in more equipment for the Halterm extension project. They now have another small tug, Carl M. and the dredge scow VM/S 87, to assist in the work. These were towed from Sorel via the Strait of Canso by the tug Mister Joe, arriving Halifax December 9. A crane will be loaded aboard VM/S 87 next week. (The barge owes its name to the Voie Maritime St-Laurent, a.k.a. the St.Lawrence Seaway, for which it was built as S.L.S. 87 in 1958 at Collingwood, ON.) Carl M. dates back to 1957 when it was built as Louis M. A single screw tug of 465 bhp, it acquired its present name in 1975. The M stood for McNamara, the original owners. It was built by Russel-Hipwell in Owen Sound.

On Saturday, to make room for the arrival of another ship, the barges were moved at pier 9 by Whitby, which has been tending the dredge Canadian Argosy. The scows Beaver Kay and Beaver Spartan were moved north, with Mister Joe moved as a dead ship to the outside of the fleet. VM/S 87 and the dredge Harold M. were moved south. The latter will also have a crane moved aboard next week.

Whitby returned to the Halterm site after these moves and later on Saturday night moved Canadian Argosy and the dump scows S-12 and FDJV3 to pier 9C to shelter from Monday's coming storm.The tug Beaver Delta II assisted in this move, but it will be lifted out next week and replaced by Carl M.

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McNally activity at Halterm

1. Canadian Argosy at work off Halterm.

2. Beaver Delta II (left) sports a new coat of paint.

3. Whitby makes a shore run.

Dredging activity off the Halterm container pier continues, night and day. The tugs Beaver Delta II and Whitby are attending the dredge Canadian Argosy. Whitby is doing most of the work, moving the dump scows to the dump site, and Beaver Delta II assists in moving the dredge and running back and forth to shore and swapping empty scows.

The excellent weather over the past week end allowed for a little painting on Delta II so she now looks quite respectable.

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Mister Joe, also on the move

1. The pilot boat returns to base as Mister Joe tows Harold M inbound, with Gulf Spray attending (it delivered a deck crew to the scow) November 3.

2. Mister Joe tucked in at pier 9 with Beaver Delta II alongside. November 6.

3. Mister Joe, still with Beaver Marine insignia (file photo)

McNally Construction's Mister Joe is hustling to move marine equipment to Halifax. The powerful small tug has been in and out of Halifax several times in the past few weeks and sailed again this morning. Her latest arrival was November 3 with the dredge/scow Harold M. from Yarmouth.

She is now bound for Sorel to pick up a scow for Halifax and will apparently make one more trip to Halifax before the Canso Canal closes on December 1. The tug spent the summer working on a major pier extension in Belledune, NB, but will be in Halifax this winter to work on the Halterm extension project and the pier 9 piling project.

Built by Russel-Hipwell in Owen Sound in 1964 as Churchill River for Rupertsland Trading Co (Hudson's Bay Co), she worked in James Bay and Hudson's Bay until the mid-1990s. She was then sold to Churchill River Tug Co of Manuel's, NL, and worked on the Hibernia gravity base project (including construction of the building dock and harbour, at Bay Bulls.) She arrived in Halifax for the first time on June 7, 1997 when she was purchased by Beaver Marine. Beaver was a McNally subsdiary, but all vessels were integrated into McNally ownership in 2009. The tug was renamed Mister Joe in 2001 after the late founder of the company. A twin screw tug, she was built with 685 bhp Cummins engines and in 2002 she was re-engined with GMs totalling 750 bhp.

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Beaver Delta II

1. Halcyon Bay in DPW colours at Queen's Wharf in 1986. She is fitted with an A-frame for bottom leveling.

2. Beaver Delta II in Beaver Marine colours , lifted out on pier 9 March 5, 1996.

3. After her 1996 refit, in Beaver colours, working off pier 9 May 12, 1999.

4. September 4, 2010, Beaver Delta II sits on pier 9 to wait out Hurricane Earl.

McNally Construction's truckable tug Beaver Delta II has been a fixture off an on in Halifax since the 1980s.

Built in 1959 in Vancouver as Halcyon Bay, the tug was one of a fleet of dredge tenders built for the Canada Department of Public Works. Built to a west coast design, with centre cabin, she ended up in Nova Scotia. The tug remains registered in New Westminster, BC.

When the DPW wound down its fleet, Beaver Marine stepped forward and bought the tug, renaming her Beaver Delta II in 1989. They ran her pretty much as built until 1996 when they carried out a major refit in Yarmouth. She emerged with a forward wheelhouse, and twin funnels. She is twin screw vessel with 320 bhp.

McNally Construction acquired Beaver Marine and repainted the tug in their green colour scheme.

On September 3 the tug was lifted out of the water and placed on pier 9 during the passing of Hurricane Earl. Once he was gone by the tug was lifted back into the water alongside the scow Beaver Kay at pier 9. She appears to be in the midst of a well needed repaint and repair job.