TOWLINES

The deepsea tug VB Antartico, operated by the Boluda Group, sank on the evening of 15 May some 70 miles off the northern coast of Portugal while towing the concrete floating dock Tarifa 1 from Cartagena to La Coruna. All eleven crew members were rescued unhurt by ships nearby, the LNG carrier Arctic Voyager and tanker UCT Elizabeth. VB Antartico (ex: Shoei Maru No 82 , ex: Santania, ex: VB Indico) is a twin screw vessel of 55m built in1977 and powered by Wartsila main engines of 9,000 bhp, giving it a bollard pull of 110 tons. It has been reported that the tug lost power in heavy weather, collided with its tow and subsequently sank.

DMS World, a Damen Stan Tug 2608 owned by Damen Marine Services BV (DMS) of the Netherlands, was recently sold to T Muller BV of Dordrecht and renamed En Avant 1. The twin screw DMS World was completed by Damen Shipyards, Gorinchem in September 2005 and operated as part of the DMS fleet, initially in Dubai. A tug of 26.09m in length overall, the vessel is powered by two Caterpillar 3512 BTA HD main engines generating a total of 3,509 bhp and 48 tons bollard pull.

On the morning of 6 May the ill fated ASD tug Fairplay 22 left the Netherlands in tow of the French tug Courbet bound for Thessalonika in Greece. The tug was involved in a tragic accident while assisting the ferry Stena Britannica at the Hook of Holland and capsized with the loss of two members of its crew. After all the necessary investigations were completed, virtually all identification was removed (with the exception of welded on names fore and aft) from the damaged tug while it was laid up in the Waalhaven. No details of a new owner or the intended future of the vessel have been released.

The Danish towage organisation Svenborg Bugser has purchased the tug Hunter A (formerly Sea Regent and Sea Profit) from owners in Bahrain. Built in 2008, by Forward Marine in Sibu, Malaysia, the vessel is 31m in length with a breadth of 9.5m and draft of 3.5m. A twin screw propulsion system is powered by two Cummins KTS 50M2 main engines, each delivering 1,600 bhp to drive two fixed pitch propellers turning in Kort nozzles. This arrangement gives the tug a certified continuous bollard pull of 40.62 tons and maximum speed of 12 knots. Hunter A is equipped with a bow thruster and a double drum towing winch. The tug is currently being upgraded and will join the Svenborg fleet under the Danish flag.