Earlier this year it was reported that Groupe Océan had been awarded the tug contract at Port-Cartier, and that the two elderly tugs would be retired as of September 30. In mid-September Brochu suffered a serious fire and was retired early. Fortunately Groupe Océan was able to send a tug from Sept-Iles to fill in.
Since Océan Yvan Desgagnés andOcéan Ross Gaudrault have taken over operations in Port-Cartier, it has been reported that Groupe Océan has purchased Brochu and Vachon. There is no indication where they will be used, but as of this evening they were still in Port-Cartier with AIS giving a destination of Méchins for the Vachon. Although the Verreault Navigation shipyard there is a competitor of Groupe Océan's own shipyard in Ile-aux-Coudres, Verreault has been maintaining Brochu and Vachon for many years.
When Océan's Océan A. Simard (ex Alexis Simard -11) completed its work in Newfoundland earlier this year, it returned to Quebec for refit and in July was transferred to Hamilton, Ontario.The 3290 bhp V-S tug, originally built for Alcan's operations at Port Alfred in 1980, never really found a home in the Groupe Océan fleet. There was a trial in Baie-Comeau in 2011, but that was short lived.
With two more V-S tugs joining Océan, one has to wonder if they may also head for the Great Lakes where the fresh water and seasonal operation will be kindly to their aging hulls.
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