TOWLINES

Mr Steven Trice, a crewman on the tug Endurance, was attempting to attach a replacement towline to the motor cruiser SiriusM. The MAIB said: “Steven’s attempt to transfer from Endurance to SiriusM when both vessels were under way in rough seas and in darkness was extraordinarily dangerous. It was a desperate and ill- considered measure brought about by the use of poor towing practices, a disregard of the weather forecasts, and a lack of planning, risk assessment and emergency preparedness.” The report is available on the MAIB web site.

It’s with some sadness that we report the death of Allan G Mcllwain the founder of A.G.Mcllwain Ltd – Naval Architects and Marine Designs of Vancouver BC. Mr Mcllwain passed away in April on Keats Island, BC at age 82. He had a long career in boat and shipbuilding and later naval architecture where he was responsible for hundreds of vessels including tugs, fishing boats, barges, water-taxis, and yachts for use in BC and elsewhere. Mcllwain designs remain popular in the timber trades and shiphandling tugs. Of special significance was the design of the iconic shiphandling tug Smit Tiger Sun, a 21.7m ‘compact’ built in 1999 with a bollard pull of 64 tonnes. It is fitting that a decision was made recently by Smit Canada to reinforce their fleet with three more tugs of the same, uprated design.

The well-known sister tugs Husky and Retriever from the fleet of Heerema Marine Contractors have now been sold, after being replaced by the new tugs Bylgia and Kolga. Husky and Retriever were built in 1978 and 1982 respectively and were identical 61m anchorhandlers fitted with a pair of MAK 16M 453K main engines generating a total of 12,000 bhp to achieve a bollard pull of 160 tonnes. After a spell in dry dock the pair were renamed Maro and Roma by their new owners WAV (West African Ventures), a 100% Nigerian company established in 2000 and now a leading indigenous provider of offshore engineering services and a host of related activities.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) has placed a 10-vessel order with the Damen Shipyards Group. The purchase confirms the state-owned operator’s strategic shift from chartered in to owned tonnage. Following a global tender Damen will supply ten ASD 2810 shiphandling tugs built to the ‘standard’ design and incorporating fire-fighting equipment and winches fore and aft. Seven tugs will be delivered by the Damen Galati yard in Romania and three from Damen’s joint venture Song Cam yard in Vietnam. All ten will be delivered by the end of this month.

There is news that the Fowey Harbour tug Cormilan, recently damaged after hitting a rock, (Towlines – June 2014) will be replaced. Since the accident Fowey harbour has been restricted to using only their remaining tug Morgawr, limiting the size of vessel the harbour can accommodate. With the cruise ship season imminent a replacement vessel is critical. It is understood that a replacement has been found but no information on the vessel has been released. The damaged Cormilan has been towed to Falmouth to await a buyer.

By Jack Gaston