Redwise tug deliveries

A recent change in the world of tug construction, and indeed other small ship types, is the trend to build the vessels in countries offering cheaper labour costs than in the home region of the selected builder and perhaps the customer itself.

The Norwegian offshore industry is an example where construction costs locally are high, in turn leading to semi-completed hulls being built by yards with lower costs in other countries and towed to the prime yard’s facilities for completion. At the smaller end of the tug world, complete tugs are now often constructed at yards many thousands of miles away from where the vessel will spend the rest of its working life. As an example, one look at the global presence of Damen Shipyards indicates how advantages are now taken of better economic circumstances along with the opportunity to build vessels for what may be a new market region.

Whatever the distance of course the product will need to be delivered to its eventual destination and, as mentioned above, the new owner may not have resources to undertake the task and it is here that companies such as Redwise come in.

Based in Bunschoten-Spakenburg The Netherlands, Redwise were established in 1906 and active in the ship delivery and ship and crew management sectors with a long track record of delivering vessels on their own keels as their recent activities demonstrate.

Earlier in 2015 a total of four tugs and six barges, with two double tows were delivered by Redwise from Asia to destinations in West Africa, Mexico and the United States via Cape of Good Hope. They also recently completed a nineteen day voyage for Oldendorff Carriers towing the mobile transfer station Pride of Marampa from Tenerife to New Amsterdam.

The tug involved was recently purchased by Oldendorff Carriers and is a Damen Stan Tug 2208 with the new name of Christopher, previously flying the Smit flag as Huberta. The tug is now to tow the crane barge Volga to its next port of employment manned by a Redwise crew fixed on a lump sum contract. Christopher had previously towed a number of barges (two at a time) from Curacao in 2006, four Redwise crews being employed to shuttle the barges.

Daily, some 130 to 150 Redwise seafarers are engaged in either delivering vessels, filling in for owners’ crews or part crewing vessels for third parties. One of Redwise’s Dutch masters, Captain E. Wiechmann will be engaged by Oldendorff Carriers following redelivery of the next tow to assist with training the owner’s crew while operating the new offshore loading station.

By Peter Barker