Named Stanford, Castle Point and Corringham , the vessels will bring the number of tugs managed and owned by Targe to 12.

Construction of all three tugs, of the Damen ASD 3211 type, is well advanced, with one being fitted out at Gorinchem and two in Poland. The 32m stern-drive tugs will be powered by MAK 6M25 main engines delivering a total of 5300 bhp. Power will be transmitted to a pair of Rolls Royce azimuthing propulsion units incorporating controllable pitch propellers.

All three vessels will feature an exceptionally comprehensive fire fighting system.

Targe Towing's MD, Tom Woolley, is delighted that following the recent tendering process and audit by BP Shipping, his team's quality of service, underpinned by pro-active initiative in a bespoke simulator and fire-fighting training for dedicated terminal tugs, has been recognised with the award of a further BP contract. 'Our strength', he says, 'can be found in the people we employ on our ships and the teamwork ethos which has developed between them and our management team. Our combined goal is to achieve the highest possible standards of ship management and operation.'

The Targe management team was instrumental in securing a contract with BP and Rio Tinto at their East Kalimantan coal export terminal in 1991, an operation that still continues. Targe also manage a fleet of three, state-of-the-art tugs at the BP terminal at Hound Point in Scotland, including the Hopetoun , one of the largest terminal/escort tugs in the world.

Targe Towing emerged as an entity following its directors' initiative in creating a dedicated tug service for Peterhead in 1988.

The company was supported in this venture by the fifth-generation Belgian tug owning family, Letzer, who had been co-owners of Nassau Towing and for whom Tom Woolley had worked for the previous decade. The company grew in the 1990's, becoming the principal towage operator in the NE Scottish ports of Peterhead, Aberdeen and Dundee while at the same time specialising in coastal and ocean tows to the Baltic, Black Sea and as far a field as Greenland. Targe continue to service the NE Scottish ports in their own right as an independent operator.

Towage services at the BP Coryton facility are currently provided by Adsteam Towage Ltd. with tugs from their base at Gravesend.