Fairmount's contract for the towage assignment and associated project management was awarded by Single Buoy Moorings. The tow required extensive preparations overseen by an integrated tow team which involved Bonga owners Shell as well as AMEC, SBM, Nobel Denton and Fairmount. The preparations also included river tow simulations at South Tyneside College. Fairmount provided crew for the manned tow, with the Towmaster joining them for several weeks of safety induction prior to the voyage.

Last month the 185 tonne bollard pull tug De Hong arrived at Pascagoula, Mississippi USA with the 50,000dwt barge Zhong Ren 3 carrying the 15,000 tonne Murphy Oil Frontrunner SPAR from its build yard at Jebel Ali.

Zhong Ren 3 is the world's largest semi-submersible heavy lift barge. The tug/barge combination completed the 9,700 nautical mile voyage in 60 days. Fairmount's technical team used the Marine Services Tool transportation engineering suite to generate calculations for the loading and environmental conditions together with the motions and loads imposed on both cargo and carrier.

The SPAR was loaded at Jebel Ali in 13 hours using the skid method.

Zhong Ren 3 'scomputerised ballasting system retained full control throughout despite a tight vertical motions envelope which allowed less than one inch at the stern. On arrival at Pascagoula, Zhong Ren 3 ballasted down to 10m water depth above the cargo deck, allowing SPAR to be floated away for delivery to its shore installation.

MJ Information No: 19022