McNally tug operations

 McNally Construction Inc has two projects underway in Halifax harbour at the moment and brought in some more "plant" today, June 22.

The longest running project is the extension to the pier at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. After preparing the seafloor and building a mat, McNally built several cribs which are now in place and filled. At that site the tug D.D.Kaufman (see December 21, 2023) tends to the scows and crane barge used in the work.

Meanwhile at Halifax Shipyard there is also a new pier project underway in its initial stages. That involves dredging contaminants from the seafloor before building the mat and then building and installing cribs.

 The dump scow Pitts No.1 and the crane barge Canadian Argosy at Halifax Shipyard.

PittsNo.2 and another crane barge possible Idus Atwell also set up for dredging.

The dredged material is transported to the IEL dock in Woodside where it is prepared for disposal inland. The IEL dock is owned by the Province of Nova Scotia's development agency Nova Scotia Business Inc. The adjacent Mobil dock (which may also be government owned) is the primary settling area. Irving Shipbuilding Inc also leases most of the area to transfer ship components fabricated at Woodside, to the Halifax Shipyard.

The contaminated material is transfered from the shipyard in the dump scows Pitts No.1 and Pitts No.2 and unloaded by crane and bucket. Initially the tug Mister Joe was shifting the scows, but another recent McNally acquistion, the tug W.A.Reid is now doing the work. It is a sister of the  D.D.Kaufman mentioned above.

 Built by A+B Industries in Amelia, LA in 2016 the 630 bhp twin screw tug was initially named Belinda B for Weeks Marine Inc of Cranford, NJ. Weeks purchased McNally in 2017 and they transferred the tug to McNally in 2022. It was registered in Toronto and renamed November 22, 2022. It steamed from the New Jersey area via the Hudson River and Erie Canal to Lake Ontario and then to McNally's yard in Point Anne, near Belleville.

In late May of this year it departed for Halifax "day tripping" between ports since it has no sleeping accommodation. Stops included Brockville May 25, Valleyfield, Sorel-Tracy, Quebec City, Cacouna, Matane, Gande Vallée, possibly Miscou Island, Summerside, Strait of Canso (likely McNally's base in Point Tupper) arriving in Halifax June 7. 

Today, June 22, the tug Mister Joe arrived from Point Tupper, towing the scow McNally Flat Scow No.1.

 The scow was built in 1997 by Steel Style Inc, New Windsor, NY, and comes in at 431 gt with dimensions of 35.41m (116.7 ft) x 12.17 m (39.928 ft). It was registered in Toronto by McNally in 2007. I have not been able to trace any previous names or owners, but Weeks may be a possibility.

Mister Joe is the classic Russel built tug from 1964. Originally the Churchill River it worked in Hudson's Bay then Newfoundland and was renamed by McNally in 2001. They rebuilt the tug in 2014 and again in 2019 with a new wheelhouse, from the original drawings, but with better windows.

It is a twin screw tug of 750 bhp and has towed McNally plant all over eastern Canada. In 2023 Kiewit Corporation acquired Weeks Marine and thus McNally. However there has been no indication of identity change, except some Kiewit inventory numbers appearing on some (as yet unidentified) work boats.

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Welcome back Mister Joe

 There was another visit from a McNally Construction tug today. This time it was the Mister Joe, a 1964 vintage tug, often seen in Halifax over the years. Built as the Churchill River by Russel Brothers in Owen Sound, ON it operated in Hudson Bay until coming south to Newfoundland in the 1990s. It was then bought by Beaver Marine in 1998. When Beaver was acquired by McNally Construction Ltd of Hamilton, ON, they renamed the tug after their founder in 2001.

The Mister Joe has been in and out of Halifax frequently ever since, and is generally based in Point Tupper, NS but has also worked on the Great Lakes. It underwent a major refit in 2013-2014 when its wheelhouse was rebuilt to the orginal plans, but with modern glazing. McNally carried out the work in house at their Point Anne, ON base.

Today's visit was very brief, just long enough to tether its tow to the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) pier and head back to sea.  The tow appears to be the Beaver Neptune a semi-submersible barge used to build concrete cribs. The cribs are slip-formed concrete caissons, which are floated off the barge then sunk in place and ballasted full with gravel.

 McNally has the contract to remove the old timber pile pier and build a new pier at the BIO. Fleet mate and near sister tug Sandra Mary was featured here August 24, 2023 when it towed in other plant for the project, including the Derrick No.4 and scow with small tug D.D.Kaufman. It was here again September 9 with the crane scow Idus Atwell. It then departed for Point Tupper directly.

The Sandra Mary did not hang around Point Tupper very long, for it was reported earlier this week departing Sorel, QC for McNally's main yard in Point Anne, ON, near Belleville, towing the tug Bagotville. Reports indicate that the Bagotville, built in 1964, and laid up for a few years, will be scrapped, but that remains to be seen. McNally has done some significant rebuilds over the years.

Bagotville in Halifax in 2013.

I reported Bagotville's history here on May 11, 2013. It has spent very little of its life in salt water, and aside from the last couple of years in layup it has been well maintained. Bulwarks take a beating in its kind of work, but they can be replaced. 

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Big Tow, Little Tow

 The last two days in Halifax have seen the extremes of towing operations - big and little.

First the big tow:

BOA Barge 34 carrying the topsides structure from the decommissioned Deep Panuke gas field, departed this morning, December 12.

The tug Atlantic Kestrel took the lead and was later joined by Atlantic Kingfisher. Assistance getting away from the dock was provided by Atlantic Hemlock and Atlantic Larch (the latter also accompanied the tow) with Atlantic Elm going on ahead to Sheet Harbour.

Atlantic Kestrel has been standing y at Pier 9C, except for a refueling move, waiting for this project.

Atlantic Kingfisher is a UT-722L type tug / supplier, built by Halifax Shipyard in 2002.

Then the little tow:

The McNally Construction tug Mister Joe sailed yesterday, December 11, bound for Port Hawksbury, NS towing an unidentified dump scow.

The classic tug, built as the Churchill River by Russel Brothers of Owen Sound, ON in 1964 has been well cared for, including rebuilding with new engines and a new wheelhouse built to original plans. It travels widely in eastern Canada, following the company's marine construction projects. 

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Welcome back Mister Joe and Oshawa

 McNally Construction's tug Mister Joe arrived this evening towing the crane barge Canadian Argosy with the small tug Oshawa. These vessels are regulars in Halifax to support heavy marine construction projects. They work out of McNally's eastern base in Point Tupper, NS.

Mister Joe is a twin screw product of Russel  Brothers in Owen Sound, ON, built in 1964

Built as Churchill River for the Hudson's Bay Co it worked in the north until the 1990s when it went to Newfoundland,. It then worked at Bull Arm until 1997 when it passed to Beaver Marine. McNally acquired Beaver in 2001 and it became Mister Joe. It has since been re-engined, and had a new wheelhouse built to the original pattern but with better windows.

Companion on many construction projects is the Oshawa built in 1969 in Whitby, ON by original owners, McNamara Construction. It is also a twin screw vessel.

McNally Construction won the contract to dismantle and rebuild the Svitzer Canada (former Foundation Maritime) piers on the Halifax waterfront. The wooden pile structures in very poor condition, and will be demolished. New structures will be built to accommodate a marina, but they will not be of the size of the current piers which date back to the glory days of Foundation Maritime and before.

Steam up on Foundation Francis on the south side of the dock. On the north side is the newly delivered Point Victor. Foundation Josephine II sits at the salvage pier. Also readily identifiable is the Banscot with portholes outlined in white. A couple of Glen class tugs and the Banstar or Bansun line the pier. 1956 or 1957 photo.

The photographer just managed to catch the chimney painted like a Foundation Maritime funnel in the foreground.

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The Narrows - the place to be

For a short stretch of time this morning [ 9:47 -10:21 AST], the Narrows was the place to be to see some tug and workboat activity.

Siem Commander arrived to tie up at pier 9C south.

Since joining Secunda Marine from parent Siem in July, the boat has been kept busy replacing Trinity Sea on Secunda's Exxon Mobil contract. That work involves decommissioning the Sable Offshore Energy Project gas installations. The seven platforms will all be removed and the 22 wells capped by the end of next year.

Dominion Diving's general duty workboat Halmar was returning from Bedford Basin after delivering a pilot to the anchored bulk carrier Salarium. The self-unloader was moving to National Gypsum on departure of the Algoma Verity [see Shipfax].

Also returning from the Basin, the Dockyard tug Glenside completed a security patrol to Birch Cove. Although the research barge is not there now, a flat deck barge has been moored in its position, and requires periodic checking.

Glenside is showing some rust on her strongback / stern rail from some recent towing work.

The tug Mister Joe returned from pier 42 with the split hull hopper barge Pitts No.12 after delivering another load of ballast rock.

J.F.Whalen came out to assist the barge alongside as the outbound Algoma Verity was fast approaching the Narrows.

McNally's work on extending pier 42 southward is nearing completion with the cribs almost completely ballasted. The Port has also let the contract for the cope walls, and McNally is beginning to pack up some of its plant.

The tug Whitby has been loaded aboard the crane barge Idus Atwell both of which were brought in from the Great Lakes last spring for this project.

Although it is a research vessel, the CCGS M.Perley is certainly a workboat. Built by Meridien Maritime Reparation Inc in Matane, QC in 2012, the 210 grt vessel is used for nearshore fisheries research and usually lays up for the winter at the BIO in Dartmouth.

The vessel's specs are outlined at: https://inter-j01.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fdat/vessels/vessel-details/120

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Mister Joe

The tug that has probably been featured in this blog more than any other is the Mister Joe. It has appeared in at least dozen posts, but continues to be of interest because of the variety of work it does.

Owned by McNally Construction Inc, the tug attends to the various dredging and marine construction projects around Atlantic Canada. Halifax has had its fair share of those projects over the years, and Mister Joe has been present for most of them.

Its latest assignment is to tend to the dredging at the Southend Container Terminal (Halterm) where the dredge Derrick No.3 is busy filling a pair of dump scows.

When a scow is fully loaded Mister Joe tows it (on the hip) the length of Halifax harbour to a disposal site in Bedford Basin. The scow S.11 is the former D.P.W.No.77, built in 1977 by McNamara in Whitby, ON.
 

 


The dump site, off Africville, is a cove formed by fill from various excavation sites around Halifax. The dredge spoil will eventually be covered with that excavated material, which is largely shale.

 

A recent subscription only news service referred to Mister Joe as "ancient". By that term I am sure they just meant "old" [OED: ancient: having existed, lived, long].


As one who has now entered the hallowed halls of seniordom, I attach a different slant to words related to age, and bristle at the implication that "ancient" somehow connotes decrepit, which certainly is not the case with Mister Joe. [ nor me, I hope. However I also take exception to its antonym, "spry"!] 

There is no denying that Mister Joe was built by the esteemed tug builders Russel Brothers, in Owen Sound, ON in 1964. It was delivered to its owners, Rupertsland Trading Co (Hudson's Bay Co) for service in Moosonee, ON as Churchill River. It worked all around Hudson's Bay for close to thirty years and was fitted with a sort of turtle back cowl over its foredeck to protect against seas and icing.
When the Hibernia offshore development began, a construction facility for the gravity base was established at Bull Arm, NL and the tug was acquired by Churchill River Tug Ltd of Manuel's, NL and without change of name worked around the construction site until 1997.

Ownership was transferred to Beaver Marine Ltd in 1997 and when McNally took control in 2001 the tug was renamed Mister Joe after the company founder.

Its original pair of 342bhp Cummins engines lasted until 2002. [Russel Bros had the eastern Canada license to sell and service Cummins engines, through their company Russel-Hipwell Engines Ltd].
A pair of new GM engines giving 750 bhp were installed at Brenton Gray's boatyard in Sambro [now CME.]
Then in 2014, the tug was taken to McNally's repair yard in Ontario and had its wheelhouse replaced with a new structure, built to the original drawings from 1964, but with improved windows and fittings. At the same time its accommodation was also refitted.

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McNally back again

A tug that has been in and out of Halifax for many years is back again. Mister Joe is a jack of all trades for McNally Construction Ltd, towing their floating plant all over Atlantic Canada, including Newfoundland, and into the Great Lakes. With the award of the Halterm  expansion dredging contract to McNally the tug is back again, first with a pair of dump scows and last night with a crane barge. The two scows do not not bear any visible names, but the crane barge is Derrick No.4 and on its deck is another of McNally's tug/workboats, J.F.Whalen.

The J.F. Whalen was built in 2013 by Chantier Naval Forillon in Gaspé and is a twin screw boat of 540 bhp. It is equipped with push knees and its wheelhouse is demountable for road transport. A sister tug, D.L. Stanyer was built at the same time and is based with McNally's Ontario fleet.

The Derrick No.4 dates from 1963 when it was built by Marine Industries Ltd in Sorel, QC for Dufresne Construction Inc as C-304. They renamed it M-28 in 1966. Ownership passed to Canadian Dredge and Dock in 1972 and they renamed it Derrick No.4  It began to show up in Atlantic Canada in the mid-1990s working for Beaver Marine, which was eventually folded in to McNally. Although the various cranes have changed over the years, the barge itself looks much the same with a moderate size deckhouse and two spuds.

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Winter tow for Mister Joe

Winter towing is fraught with issues, not the least of which is freezing spray. Even if temperatures moderate, weather is still the major issue, particularly with small tugs on coastal voyages.

McNally Construction's Mister Joe arrived in Halifax on Friday on the first leg of a tow from Port Hawksbury, NS to Saint John, NB. There are very few ports to put into along Nova Scotia's eastern and southern shores, and Halifax was the first port aslong the route to provide shelter from predicted high winds and seas.


Mister Joe resumed the tow today, but once outside the shelter of the harbour, they found there was too much strain on the towing gear and so they put back in this afternoon.

Mister Joe has shortened up the tow as it approaches pier 9.

The tug slacks the line and in an adept bit of ship handling.....

...makes up on the bow of the scow, allowing two deck hands to scramble aboard the icy deck, and another to work the towing winch to bring in the bridle and ...

... with the scow "on the hip" moves in to its berth.

There will be another try tomorrow, and if all goes right the next stop will be Shelburne, NS.

Mister Joe was built by the once prolific tug builders, Russel-Hipwell of Owen Sound, ON, in 1964 as Churchill River for the Hudson's Bay Company and worked in Hudson Bay for thirty years. It was sold to Newfoundland owners in the 1990s, then to Beaver Marine in 1997. When Beaver was taken over by McNally Construction the tug was renamed after company founder, Mister Joe (McNally) in 1999. It was re-engined in 2002, with a pair of GMs giving 750 bhp to twin screws. In 2013-2014 it was given a major rebuild, which included a new wheelhouse built to the same pattern as the original, but with better windows.

The tug can be seen all over eastern Canada, ranging from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Coast and Newfoundland, supporting McNally's various dredging and marine construction projects.At sea it works with a crew of five.

Mister Joe prepared for winter work with its accommodaiton ventilators wrapped and duct taped.

The dump scow is ballasted down for the trip with a couple of dredge buckets and some large concrete blocks in the pockets.

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Mister Joe on the move

McNally Construction's hard working tug Mister Joe made a brief visit to Halifax today. First job was to move the crane barge Canadian Argosy (951 grt, built 1978 Collingwood), from its anchorage near the MacKay bridge, in an inlet that I call Turple's Cove, to Pier 9 C with the assistance of the tug Oshawa.

Canadian Argosy has been in Halifax for a few years as McNally built various piers. Most recently it has been working on crib building for HMC Dockyard's new Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship jetty.

Mister Joe dates from 1964 when it came out of the Russel-Hipwell shipyard in Owen Sound, ON as Churchill River. McNally susibiary Beaver Marine acquired the tug in 2000 and renamed it in 2001.  It was also repowered in 2002 with a pair of GMs rated at 750 bhp, driving twin screws and extensively rebuilt, with a new pilot haouse identical to the original in 2013-2014.

Oshawa was built in 1969 by McNamara Marine in Whitby, ON and is 472 bhp twin screw.

Once the first move was completed the same tugs move the spud scow VM/S 87 from Turple's Cove to alongside Canadian Argosy.

 Later in the day Mister Joe sailed with VM/S 87 for Saint John, NB. Also built by Collingwood Shipyard, but in 1958, the scow was originally named S.L.S. 87 for first owners the St.Lawrence Seaway. Later the name was translated to French-  VM/S standing for Voie Maritime St-Laurent. McNally acquired the scow in about 2010. It measures 422 grt, and was not assigned a hull number by the builders.

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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.

Changing of the Guard at pier 9 C

As work at pier 9c shifts from dredging to pier construction, there was a change of contractors and tugs were at work.
Harbour Development Ltd completed the dredging April 30 and their Atlantic Tamarack shifted all the scows and dredge from pier 9c to pier 7. (See also Shipfax) In order to get all the craft sorted out in the right order, Tamarack moved Swellmaster out of the way them back into place. Atlantic Tamarack has been handling most of the dredging scow work, although Swellmaster did some of the early work.Now that their part of the contract has been completed, the tugs and plant will be doing maintenance until the next jobs come along. Most dredging is done in the late summer and fall because spring run off (freshet) is continuing to deposit silt in places such as Saint John.

1. Atlantic Tamarack goes about its business while Atlantic Willow stands by for the ferry Highlanders to leave drydock.

2. Tamarack had to move Swellmaster twice to get all the plant arranged at pier 7.

On May 1 McNally Construction Inc took over the site and Mister Joe arrived with the tug Whitby and pile driving scow Derrick No.3 Ever on the move, Mister Joe returned almost immediately to Port Hawksbury, leaving Whitby here. McNallly's Carl M. has been here all winter and idle at pier 9 with other plant that was working on the pier c contract.



3. Mister Joe arrives on May 1 with Derrick No.3 on the hip. Whitby is hidden behind the scow.

4. Mister Joe departs light tug for Port Hawksbury.

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.

Mister Joe, Beaver Kay and Whitby - oldies but goodies

1. Mister Joe gets underway from pier 9 towing Beaver Kay.

2. On deck is Whitby, much in need of hull cleaning.

3. The barge is on a short tow line until clear of the harbour.

4. Beaver Kay was built as YD 251 a steam derrick for the naval dockyard. What looks like a gun tub as the top of the derrick was a fire monitor. Photo October 10, 1995 at pier 35.

After a hard summer's work the various dredging and marine construction fleets are getting ready to go into the barn for the winter.

This morning the tug Mister Joe sailed form Halifax towing the Beaver Kay with Whitby on deck. Yesterday a crane was offloaded from the Beaver Kay and positioned on the new pier C extension at Halterm where it will continue the work from the land side. Whitby was also working steadily on the pier C project, but will not be needed now.

These vessels all belong to McNally Construction Inc, which, since July is a wholly owned subsidiary of Weeks Marine, Inc of Cranford, New Jersey.

Mister Joe started life as the Churchill River in 1964 at Russel-Hipwell Engines in Owen Sound ON. Built for the Hudson Bay Company it worked for them in the far north until sold to work on the Hibernia project. It moved to Beaver Marine in 1997 and was renamed when Beaver was integrated into McNally. It is a twin screw tug of 750 bhp.

Whitby was built in 1978 by and for McNamara Construction. McNally took over that operation and the tug has worked all over eastern Canada. It is also twin screw with 474 bhp.

The senior citizen in the bunch is Beaver Kay. Built in 1953 by Geo. T. Davie & Sons Ltd in Lauzon, QC, it was the steam crane YD 251 and worked in the HMC Dockyard in Halifax until 1995. Beaver marine acquired it in that year and removed the crane derrick and all the steam machinery, leaving a small portion of the deck house. It was registered for the first time in Halifax December 17, 1996 and named Beaver Kay. It is a very wide (115 feet long x 60 feet wide) and stable hull, and makes a good working platform for some very big cranes for dredging, pile driving and other work.

The little flotilla is headed for Point Tupper where McNally has its maintenance base. Whitby needs a good shave and a haircut, and there is work to do on Beaver Kay too. Mister Joe usually keeps running until December.

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