The vessels have been renamed ‘AHTS Boulder’ and ‘AHTS Blizzard’ respectively and are now in service in the ITC fleet. Both vessels have been upgraded and put under the Dutch flag to fit them not only for the anchor handling role but also ITC’s core business, which is long distance deepsea towage. AHTS Boulder is currently working on charter to Italian offshore company Saipem and will shortly be joined by the AHTS Blizzard. The 70m sister ships were built in the Netherlands in 1987/88 and are powered by MAK 8M35 main engines, developing a total of 10,738 bhp for a maximum bollard pull of 143 tons.

URS, the major Belgian tug company has two new ASD harbour tugs of 65 tons bollard pull under construction at the Turkish Dearsan Shipyard in Istanbul. The tugs are of the Robert Allen RAmparts 3200 design, with a length of 32m and beam of 11.6m. To be named ‘Union Anaconda’ and ‘Union Python’, the vessels are scheduled for delivery in April and August of this year. URS also have two compact 25m ASD tugs of 60 tons bollard pull close to completion at Astilleros Armon in Spain. These will be followed by four more ASDs of 65 tons bollard pull of the ‘Union Emerald’ type and later by four 36m seagoing tugs of 80 tons scheduled for delivery by the same yard in 2009-2010.

International towage contractor Fairmount has launched the fifth and final vessel of its series of new 16,320 bhp, 205 tons bollard pull deep sea tugs. Named ‘Fairmount Expedition’, the tug was floated from the building dock at the yard of the Niigata Shipbuilding Company in Japan on 10 February. The first tug in the series, ‘Fairmount Sherpa’, was delivered in May 2005 and along with its sisters has completed a number of major towage operations around the world.

Following the sale of his main business, the Yarmouth Shipping Company Ltd, to DSB Offshore Ltd last year, broker and consultant to the towage industry Tony McGinnity continues to undertake valuations, project and advisory work. He now trades under the banner of McGinnity & Partners Limited, an associate company of some 30 years standing. He can be contacted by telephone at  +44 (0)1983 721989 and email at: tony@mcginnitypartners.co.uk.