TOWLINES

The all-female crew are manning the Svitzer Monte Cristi and as the vessel’s chief engineer Crisi Marysabel says: “Many things that we presume to be done through physical force, in reality, only require technical intelligence and the right tools”. Crisi is led by captain Maria de los Santos and serves alongside fellow chief engineer Marysabel Moreno and sailors Paloma Loreanni Torres and Juana Custido.

The towing industry is gearing up for Tugnology ‘19, the biennial two-day technical conference looking at technological advances and innovations on tugs, and tugs alone.

The conference, organised by The ABR Company Ltd will be held at the ACC Liverpool on 14^th and 15 May and it is anticipated that over 400 delegates will be attending from 35 countries, an increase of 15 per cent on the previous Tugnology conference held in Rotterdam in 2017. The conference will be attended by MJ and details of Tugnology ‘19 can be found at www.tugsandosv.com

In the year of its 125^th anniversary Williams Shipping is reflecting on its successful involvement with the £3bn IFA2 electricity interconnector between Normandy in France and Hampshire in England.

Williams’ workboats Willendeavour and Willdart were mobilised for the delicate task of floating six export cables positioned inside six 650m long HDPE pipes into place, carefully filling and connecting them to the horizontal drilling assembly for pulling to the shore landing site. The work, carried out in shallow water and requiring precise timing due to tides was project managed by Boskalis.

Around the same time that Boskalis announced the sale of its stake in SAAM Smit Towage it was business as usual for its towing fleet with the naming of two new tugs in Vancouver Harbour.

The RAstar 3200 escort tugs SST Grizzly and SST Orca were showcased to guests watching from a luxury harbour cruising vessel before each tug was blessed in a ceremony led by dignitaries from the Squamish First Nation and COSCO Shipping. Following formalities SST Orca provided the obligatory tug ballet demonstrating its manoeuvring and firefighting capabilities. We wish safe sailings for the pair which have become the largest and most powerful escort-rated tugs in the region.