TOWLINES

Allseas Group’s newbuild cargo barge Iron Lady I (200m long and 58m wide) was towed from Shanghai to Rotterdam by Fairmount’s 207tbp tug Fairmount Alpine achieving an average speed of 6.5kn. The route was via Cape of Good Hope with bunker stops at Singapore, Mauritius and along the African coast.

Meanwhile sister-tug Fairmount Expedition sailed non-stop from Ravenna in Italy to Bulgaria towing Saipem’s cargo barge S42 (pictured) loaded with a 3,407 ton component, part of the 120m high J-Lay tower for one of the world’s largest crane vessels Saipem 7000.

It is sad to report that 22 people have lost their lives after a tug sank in China’s Yangtze River while undergoing sea trials. Local news agencies report that 22 bodies have now been recovered from the 30m long vessel (reported as JMS Delta) which had 25 people on board when the accident happened. Three Chinese crew were rescued following the accident with differing reports of the nationalities of the remainder of those lost which included a number of foreigners.

Singapore-based shipbuilder Sembcorp Marine Ltd reported that the tug, which its subsidiary Jurong Marine Service Pte Ltd had planned to charter, sank during a sea trial.

Maaskant Shipyard (Stellendam), part of the Damen Shipyard Group has received certification from Bureau Veritas for ISO 9001:2008 management standards (aligning quality and management systems with internationally recognised standards). BV inspectors spent four days at the yard undertaking their final review and certification of the yard’s quality assurance system. Feedback was reported to be excellent and the next goal for Maaskant Shipyard will be achieving ISO 14001 certification.

The yard has a broad portfolio of activities including both newbuild and shiprepair work and previous completions include four Damen ATD 2209 tugs and a lighter barge for UK based Serco Denholm and a series of three research support vessels for Rederij Groen bv Scheveningen.

A tug from the fleet of Boluda Towage and Salvage has come to the assistance of a disabled general cargo vessel in heavy weather conditions, 1,200 miles from Las Palmas. Boluda’s 10,064bhp deepsea tug VB Artico responded after the vessel, the Pirgos (6,789gt built 2014) suffered a breakdown of its main machinery. The vessel was towed to Las Palmas with no damage or injury to vessel and crew reported.

VB Artico is one of a famous series of seven tugs and barges originally built in the 1970s to transport rock in the Middle East. They have subsequently dispersed to other owners but are still a fine reminder of an era when dedicated ocean-going tugs were aplenty.

By Peter Barker