An explanation and an apology

 There is a long tradition among ship watchers to exchange photos at Christmas time showing ships in snowy or icy conditions. I was going through some photos from 1977 and grabbed the photo that was part of my previous post and included it with no identification of the two tugs and the oil rig.

I did not intend to make it a guessing game or a mystery quiz, since I do have the names of all three recorded. So starting in reverse order they are:

The Sedco 704 one of seven semi-submersible oil drilling rigs built by Halifax Shipyards. This one dates from 1974 and was a known as a "mid-water floater" with a rectangular platform supported by columns on pontoons. It could work in water depths to 1,000 ft (later revised to 1,200 ft) and drill depth to 25,000 ft. It had a major drydocking and refurb in 1992-1993 at Verolme Botlek in Rotterdam, which consisted mostly of upgrading welds.

After a period working off Nova Scotia it operated in the North Sea for successor company Transocean. The rig was scrapped in Turkey in 2017.

Background tug, Point Vigour, built in 1962 by Davie Shipbuilding in Lauzon, one of six sister tugs, all single screw, 1,000 bhp. Eastern Canada Towing Ltd acquired the tug in 1973 and it was renamed Point Vigour, they had it had refitted with a Kort nozzle and its single Fairbanks Morse main engine was upgraded.

Also in 1977, Point Vigour posed off the ECTUG dock with another oil rig in the background, the triangular platform Sedco J also built in Halifax.

 In 2007 McKeil Marine bought the tug and renamed it Molly M 1. It is still operating on the Great Lakes and St.Lawrence with the occasional foray into salt water. It will be sixty years old in 2022, but is nevertheless going strong. Two sister tugs, which have remained in Canadian operation, Point Viking and Point Vim are also still operating. The other three were sold foreign and are believed scrapped long ago.

Foreground tug is the Pointe Marguerite one of two tugs ordered by MIL Tug (formerly Foundation Maritime) for service in Sept-Iles, QC. Built by Collingwood Shipbuilding in 1973, they were heavily reinforced for work in ice, and had an icebreaker bow. Powered by a pair of 12 cylinder GM engines, they were rated at 4300 bhp (but often quoted as more than 5,000 ihp). MIL Tug was sold to Eastern Canada Towing Ltd while the tugs were under construction, and ECTUG employed them as planned in Sept-Iles.

Hauled out on the Dartmouth Marine Slip, Pointe Marguerite shows its icebreaking bow. On the adjacent slip Atlantic Towing's Irving Birch superimposes its funnel, lifeboat and mast. That is Sedco 704 in the background again.
 

Tragically Pointe Marguerite was crushed between two ships November 14, 1978 in Sept-Iles Bay and sank immediately with the loss of two lives. Sister tug Point-aux Basques is still in service, now with Groupe Océan as Océan Basques as is the replacement tug, built to essentially the same design, Pointe Sept Iles now as Océan Sept-Iles.

An enlargement of my "Christmas" photo shows the subjects in slighly more detail.

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Tug Zeus and barges

 The tug Zeus arrived in Halifax today, September 24, towing two barges on a long trip. They are en route from the barge builder's yard in Erie, PA to the owner's home port of Newark, NJ.

The tug is an interesting one, as it was built as far back as 1974 and is still serving its original owners, as the first tug in the fleet. Dann Marine Towing LLC of Chesapeake City, MD now has a fleet of more than twenty tugs and a number and variety of barges. The Zeus is a twin screw tug with a pair of Caterpillar engines delivering 2250 hp. According to the owner's website the tug was built by Bobbin Fabricators of Harvey, LA (other records say Houma Welders Inc of Houma LA.) It has an elevated wheelhouse raising the height of eye for the helmsman from 38 ft to 55 ft above the waterline.

The two open hopper barges, named Witte 3301 and Witte 3302 grossing 1360 gt were built by Donjon Marine in Erie, PA for the yard's parent company, based in Hillside, NJ. Starting as a marine salvage contractor, Donjon is also involved in dredging and metal recycling in addition to operating the large shipyard in Erie. The company's founder, J. Arnold Witte is the dean of the American salvage industry. In fact the shipyard has recently completed building an inland rivers type pusher tug named  J.Arnold Witte. 

On arrival of Halifax the tug Zeus handed off one of the barges, Witte 3302, to the tug Atlantic Fir for docking at Pier 9B. Zeus then came alongside the Witte 3301 and docked it at Pier 9B. I understand that tug and tows  will remain in port until the tropical storms Odette and Peter have passed offshore.

As a sort of footnote, it is interesting that the two barges were brought down through the St.Lawrence Seaway separately. Zeus handled the Witte 3301 and the McKeil tug Molly M 1 handled the Witte 3302. The Molly M 1 is the former Halifax based tug Point Vigour ex Foundation Vigour built in 1962. It passed off its tow at the Escoumins pilot station and Zeus then towed both barges.

In 1979 Point Vigour, a single screw tug of 1,000 bhp, with sister tug Point Viking were the prime harbour tugs in Halifax harbour.

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Molly M 1 in Lunenburg

The classic, and much traveled, tug Molly M 1 is lying in Lunenburg after completion of work in the Saint John, NB area with the barge OC 181.

 With the Lunenburg Academy building as backdrop, Molly M 1 lies alongside the Lunenburg Foundry pier, showing off her tugboat red deckhouse.

The barge OC 181 has been modified bow and stern for a construction project. Built in 1972 by National Bridge in Nashville, TN, it came to Canada in 1994 for work on the Confederation Bridge project.

Built in 1962 as Foundation Vigour, one of six 1,200 bhp sister tugs, it roamed over eastern Canada, often towing a barge, until 1968 when MIL Tug + Salvage took over the Foundation fleet. Smit+Cory took over management in 1971 and in 1973 with the formation of Eastern Canada Towing it became Point Vigour. With ECTUG it worked mostly as a harbour tug in Halifax, but did stints in Port Hawksbury and covered ship movements in Liverpool and Sheet Harbour.

In the original ECTUG livery, the tug had a gold stripe around the deck line.

It changed paint schemes several times over the years, as Smit+Cory, then Cory, then Wijsmuller and finally Svitzer owned ECTUG, however the best looking was the Smit+Cory/ECTUG version with a gold hull stripe.
In 2006 it was sold to McKeil Workboats of Hamilton, ON, for operation by Nadro Marine Services of Port Dover, ON, on and renamed Molly M 1 in 2007.

Powered by a Fairbanks Morse engine, driving a single screw in a fixed nozzle, the tug has taken up its wandering ways and again roams all over Eastern Canada wherever work takes it. Under the current ownership it has changed very little. Most noticeable are the aluminum watertight doors in the wheelhouse, replacing the original varnished wood doors.

Berthing the bulker Balao at pier 25-26 in 1980. In 1982 a Kort nozzle was fitted, increasing bollard pull from 18 to 26 tons. The engine was also uprated to 1500 bhp at that time. Ballasting the tug slightly by the stern improved the "bite" of the prop.

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Tows can go wrong

 
Things can go wrong with tows, and I have covered a few here. I am not pointing fingers - it is a fact of life, but there are factors that can be pointed to as possible causes.
One big tow that went wrong, but without permanent damage, took place in 1980. On September 17 the Quebec tug Capt. Ioannis S. (now Océan Delta, see previous post) set out from Quebec City towing two retired Great Lakes ships, Helen Evans and Thornhill. Destination was the scrap yards in Mamonal, Columbia. Things went well until just off Halifax when the controllable pitch mechanism on the Capt. Ioannis S. went into reverse and severed one of the tow lines. 

The result was one ship in tow and another on the loose, and this was more than the Capt. Ioannis S. could handle by itself. Point Valiant (ex Foundation Valiant)(now André H.- see today's Shipfax) went out to assist on September 22. The crew was able to recover the severed tow line, which was hanging down in the water, and did not have to use the emergency pick up line. Fortunately conditions were calm - but foggy.
Capt Ioannis S. still had Thornhill on a string and was able to tow it in, arriving early on September 23, then stood by the as Point Valiant brought Helen Evans in later the same day.

Once in port Ectug mobilized its harbour fleet to bring the ships alongside. Point Viking, Point Vigour, and Point Valour all assisted.

The tug and tows remained in Halifax until October 16 when the fotilla set sail  and reached Columbia safely October 30.

Remarkably all these tugs remain in service today. Point Vigour is now McKeil's Molly M 1, Point Viking works in Quebec for Construction Polaris and Point Valour is stationed in Thunder Bay, ON.

News Flash: The newly elected Liberal provincial government of Nova Scotia says it will go it alone to start removal of the wreck of Miner, which has littered a beach on Scatarie Island since its tow line parted two years ago. It will chase the Conservative federal government for compensation later - good luck with that.

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Molly M 1 completes marathon tow

As reported earlier the veteran tug Molly M 1  (ex Point Vigour, Foundation Vigour) was engaged to tow a barge to Nunavut.  The 1962 built tug, now operated by Nadro Marine, had the barge S/VM 86 and a cargo of crane repair material and equipment to tow from the Welland Canal area to Iqaluit.
On August 28 the tug was on its return leg, passing St-Joseph-de-la-RIve. QC when I managed to catch some photos just at sunset.
The tug and tow passed up the St.Lawrence Seaway August 30 and returned safely to base.
A remarkable feat for a 50 year old, single screw, 1,000 bhp tug!

Molly M 1 pulling for all she's worth against a very strong falling tide. 

Tug and tow.

The barge has a cargo of Mammoet crane components and repair parts and equipment, and a small work boat/ landing craft. 

Christmas Greetings

Tugfax will be a taking a few days off over Christmas. Have a Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for 2011.

In the spring of 1987 ice from the Gulf of St.Lawrence swept into Halifax (which never freezes over.) The tug Point Vigour was called in to divert ice from the propeller of the Russian ship Elton, loading flour at pier 22. The ice moved in an out with the tides and after few days disappeared out to sea.