TUGS & SALVAGE

LARS visits the Netherlands

12 years ago

A recent visitor to the Port of Rotterdam was the 36m luxury motor yacht Lars, a vessel that started life as the ice class tug Zeeleeuw.

'Zeeleeuw' was laid up, unused, until 2010 in the Dutch inland port of Hoorn

It is not unusual for seagoing tugs to be converted into attractive motor yachts at the end of their working lives. The story of Zeeleeuw is however quite different.

The vessel was built in the Netherlands at the Made Shipyard in 1995 for the Dutch tug owner K K Damstra & Zn of Hoorn. A single-screw vessel of 36m in length with a beam of 7.90m and a shallow draft of 2.70m, the tug was constructed from the outset to meet the requirements of BV Deep Sea, Ice Class II.

Originally a six cylinder, turbocharged,1500 bhp Industrie 6D8, with direct reversing, of 1965 vintage was fitted. The engine was coupled to1990mm diameter five blade propeller in a nozzle. Ice guards were fitted and massive twin-rudders. It is understood that the original intention was to produce a vessel capable of breaking thick ice in sea areas such as the Isjlmeer.

Your correspondent saw the tug on a number of occasions and everything about the project gave the impression that it was always intended to be ‘special’. The superstructure and mast was constructed in aluminium and most of the fittings on deck were of stainless steel. Unfortunately the vessel’s completion slowed down and unfortunately was never completely finished. Zeeleeuw was however kept in good condition, moored alongside the owner’s house in Hoorn until its sale for conversion to a ‘super yacht’.

Zeeleeuw was purchased late in 2010 to be transformed into a vessel capable of undertaking seagoing exploration voyages into Arctic waters. The vessel was renamed and extensively redesigned and refitted at the Stemat Shipyard in the Netherlands. A new Caterpillar 3512 C engine was installed and the engine room completely re-equipped for its demanding future use. The superstructure was reshaped, rebuilt, and the empty shell isolated and equipped with a luxurious interior that has accommodation for eight guests and a crew of five.

In a little over a year the transformation was complete and Lars was ready to undertake lengthy voyages to Arctic regions with owners Lars Yacht Charter BV – Holten/Vlissingen.

By Jack Gaston