Based in St Helier this earlier vessel has given sterling service, working around the Jersey ports and neighbouring islands.

But the new vessel, destined to bear the same name, will transform and extend the services undertaken by Jersey Harbours, a subsidiary of the governing body - the States of Jersey.

With four times the power of the earlier tug, the new vessel is one of the new generation of Damen Shoalbuster 2609 vessels, with a good towing performance and a wide range of facilities for lifting and dredging with a towed plough. A twin-screw shallow draft vessel of 26.02m with a beam of 9.10m, the tug will be fitted with two Caterpillar 3508B TA main engines producing a total of 2200bhp. In keeping with other vessels of its type it will have a powerful 140 tonnes/ metre hydraulic crane, a large clear working deck, stern roller and bow thruster.

The new Duke of Normandy will be capable of assisting the new breed of large ferries to berth in bad weather and deal with emergencies such as drifting vessels and oil pollution around the Channel Islands. With her shallow draft, she will be able to approach a casualty in danger of grounding to make a towing connection, unlike larger tugs from France and the UK that are often of limited use in the shallow local waters. Major savings are expected, particularly in the maintenance of buoys and seamarks, dredging and general port maintenance tasks.

Equipment will be fitted to enable the vessel, using her crane, to lift and replace buoys and their sinkers much more efficiently than before, using less man-power and obviating the need to hire in resources from elsewhere. The tug will also be used for charter work and to carry out similar tasks for the other islands.

Using the tug to carry out dredging is likely to result in a decrease in the frequency of major harbour dredging operations. The towed plough will enable bed levelling to be carried out and silt to be moved out through the harbour entrance.

This could reduce the need to dredge St Helier harbour to once every 15 years instead of the present 10.

The hull of the new vessel was constructed in a Polish shipyard at Kozle and has been towed to the Netherlands to be fitted out Damen's Hardinxveldt shipyard.

On announcing the order Deputy Harbour Master Captain Peter Moore said; 'When we went out to tender some 13 yards approached us, but it was not difficult to choose the Damen proposal. The Shoalbuster is a tried and proven design and so 95% of the new Duke is virtually off the shelf, saving us both time and money'. The old Duke of Normandy will be taken in part exchange by Damen and has already appeared in their sale lists.

The new Duke of Normandy is due to be delivered to Jersey Harbours in June and will be displayed at seawork . Some crew retraining and familiarisation will be carried out, initially at the Damen yard, explained Capt Moore, and both Commodore Shipping and Huelin-Renouf have readily agreed to co-operate with us in practising the berthing of large vessels.