Balder Viking becomes Jean Goodwill

 See today's companion blog Shipfax for news on another AHTS conversion:

http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2020/11/ccgs-jean-goodwill-arrives.html

 

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Back in Business

 An anchor handling tug supplier that was converted to a fishing vessel in 1988 has been converted back again for anchor handling and salvage work.

In May 1995 the Atlantic Surf was hauled out at Dartmouth Marine Slips for refit.

Built back in 1974 as Maersk Tracker by Aukra Bruk AS shipyard in Aukra, Norway, it worked for Maersk in Europe until was acquired by the Nova Scotia Clam Co Ltd in 1988 It was then fitted with dredging gear to harvest surf clams. The vessel was registered in Port Hawksbury and renamed Tracker I then Scotian Surf then Atlantic Surf all in 1988.

In 1992 owners became Grand Bank Seafoods Inc and in 1996 it was renamed Atlantic Surf I.

The ship was sold to Glaciar Pesquera SA of Argentina in 2004, and I have no record of its activities since then. In 2018 it was sold to Parana Logistica SA  and sometime thereafter, possibly as late as 2019,  the fishing gear was removed and it was renamed Atlantic Dama. It is now reported to be back in the tug and salvage business.

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New life for Kenneth A.

 Some more good news for an old tug. The veteran Kenneth A  has not only received a major rebuild, but it has also found steady work.

The story starts in 1950 when Mathieson Welding Services (also known as Mathieson Boat Works) of Goderich, ON built the tug for Island Freight Company of Toronto.  With approximate dimensions of 45 feet x 13 feet, it was powered with a 125 bhp engine giving 10 knots.

Named Kenneth A., it was put to use hauling freight to the Toronto Islands. After several years in that service it was taken over by the Toronto Harbour Commission, later to be known as the Toronto Port Authority (and now called Ports Toronto). It continued as a general duty workboat handling barges and towing as required, retaining the name Kenneth A.

In about 2016 it was purchased by a Nova Scotia buyer and transported to Tiller Marine in Port Dover, ON where it underwent a multi-year rebuild that included re-skinning the hull and constructing a completely new superstructure. It was then transported by truck to Nova Scotia. 

The tug's new owners, Trident Marine of Little Tancook Island, NS have put the tug back to work with a landing craft type barge, the Trident Lander, ferrying material from the mainland, to the islands. The current ferry has no drive on/drive off capability, and can only take small cars hoisted by crane. The Trident Lander can take larger vehicles over its hydraulic ramp.

The company also operates the World War II era standard tug Plainsville.

Kenneth A. has also conducted several tows, including a former Halifax ferry from Sambro to Lunenburg and various salvage and other marine services. The tug has also ranged as far as Halifax with a tow arriving as I write this.

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Old but indestructible, or When I'm sixty-four

 This blog has contained too many notices of old tugs going to the scrappers recently. Tug companies may be cleaning house as they have been carrying worn out vessels on their rosters for too long. However a few durable tugs are still soldiering on at relatively unheard of ages. One of those is the R.J.Ballot, which has apparently answered the Beatles question "Will you still need me....when I'm sixty-four."

R.J.Ballott at the former Coast Guard base, now the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE) in Dartmouth.

Foundation Maritime, that legendary Halifax based towing company, built up a rag tag fleet during World War II. Some of those tugs were replaced by war emergency tugs in the late 1940s, but by the mid 1950s they still had several underpowered and steam driven boats. 

When the newly developing Labrador iron ore mines came into production, new port facilities were built at Sept-Iles, QC that could handle the largest of a new breed of bulk carriers. Along with nearby Baie Comeau, the ports required tugs with power and heft. Foundation went to Davie Shipbuilding in Lauzon (now part of Lévis), QC for what eventually turned out to be nine new tugs. Delivered in the years between 1956 and 1963, and all powered by Fairbanks Morse engines (and all but one, single screw driven) they have provided remarkable service for a variety of owners. 

It is notable that of those nine tugs, three were sold foreign and likely scrapped, and all but one of the rest remain in daily service in Canada. * - see below

The first of what were big ship berthing tugs at the time, is in Halifax now, having transitioned to long distance towing work. R.J.Ballott arrived from Makkovik, Labrador, via St. Barbe with the barge Kaligak loaded with construction equipment.

It is the same barge that R.J.Ballott towed out of Halifax on October 3, 2019

The tug, built in 1956 as Foundation Victor has had a long career with several owners as Point Victor, Kay Cole and Jerry Newberry and is still going strong at 64 years of age. It has been noted in this blog many times. Enter the name in the search box, or for a complete record see: R.J.Ballott

This Tim Randall photo shows Foundation Victor in its orginal colour scheme.

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* Foundation Valiant, later named Point Valiant (i) and André-H. was broken up in recent months at Quebec City. See this recent post

Point Vigour ex Foundation Vigour  is still at work as McKeil's Molly M 1.

Point Viking ex Foundation Viking  works for Construction Polaris Inc of Sept-Iles, QC.

Point Vim ex Foundation Vim works for Les Barges de Matane Inc of Matane, QC.

Point Valour ex Foundation Valour works for Thunder Bay Tug Services at Thunder Bay, ON.

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Roxane D. - retired

 Another elderly tug from the Groupe Océan fleet has been sold off. This time it is a World War II standard tug - one of the last TANAC types still in existance. 

Built in 1945 as TANAC-V-220 by Standard Bridge in Trenton, ON it was one of hundreds built for civilian use overseas. Tugs completed after war's end carried the letter "V" in their names. A few of the tugs remained in Canada, and found work for government or were sold. This tug kept its name for many years but was renamed Peetee by McNamara Construction in the 1970s, and Bonnie JB when it joined Pitts Construction, which was later taken over by Bannister Continental. It was then sold to Arcade Dredging in Notre-Dame-de-Pierreville, QC where it was renamed Roxane D.

 Roxane D. refitting in Notre-Dame-de-Pierreville. In the background is the Marie-Lou the former National Sea Products steam trawler Cape Brier converted to a bottom dumping spoils carrier along with sister vessel Cape Sambro which became Marie Sol.

Groupe Océan eventually took over the dredging companies in the Trois-Rivières area and kept the tug in the fleet without change of name. 

Roxane D. towing a dredge scow in the Trois-Rivières area of the St.Lawrence River.

The tug has now been sold privately as a  live aboard in the Sorel-Tracy area.

 

R.F.Grant - a gift - (REVISED)

 Another elderly tug has been removed from service to become a static display. Built by Canadian Vickers Ltd in Montreal in 1934 R.F.Grant has carried the same name for its entire career.

The tug was built for the Shawinigan Paper and Power Comapny, then moved to the St.Maurice Boom and Driving Co Ltd . It was used on the St-Maurice River timber drives. When that work was discontinued it was acquired by Three Rivers Boatmen (Les Remorqueurs de Trois-Rivières). They installed the new superstructure and a new engine. 

Groupe Océan acquired the Trois-Rivières business and incorporated the tug into their fleet, moving it to Quebec City. A sister tug, Weymontichingue had a similar history, but was renamed Service Boat No.2 by Three Rivers Boatmen. 

Groupe Océan has now given the R.F.Grant to Parc Maritime St-Laurent for use in a display at St-Laurent, Ile-d'Orleans where the tug often wintered over. It will be placed on the restored haulage ways at the old shipyard site as an example of the wintering vessels from past years.

REVISION: I finally got around to scanning a photo from my collection that gives a better view of this good looking small tug:

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Atlantic Teak - RIP

 A long serving member of the Atlantic Towing Ltd fleet has been scrapped during the past year. Atlantic Teak was acquired in 1979 in Singapore, where it had been built in 1976 as Essar. A twin screw vessel of 2300 bhp and 28 tonne bollard pull it was equipped with a huge towing winch.

The winch was put to good use when it towed a barge from Singapore to Saint John where the tug was renamed Irving Teak. It was put to work towing Irving Oil barges and traveled throughout the Atlantic region delivering fuel.

Tied up at the old Irving Oil depot in Woodside, with the barge Irving Seal . 

(Very far off in the background is Irving Maple towing Irving Sealion.)

It became Atlantic Teak in 1995 when the entire fleet was renamed. The tug traveled widely towing cargo barges and sometimes did ship berthing work in Saint John, NB, most recently in Belledune, NB. It also worked summers ferrying supplies to Rankin Inlet from ships anchored in Hudson Bay or from Churchill.

I often wonder what the engineer was taking a picture of - maybe me?

As Canadian tug fleets are disposing of older craft, they must be in the market for replacement vessels. With only one Canadian shipbuilder interested in building tugs (Groupe Océan's Industrie Ocean yard) it seems likely that competitors will be making acquisitions abroad. 

At least two companies have already done so - Dominion Diving and Picton Terminals. Watch this blog over the coming weeks when their tugs are delivered.

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