TOWLINES

Smit Lamnalco has taken delivery of and will soon deploy the SL Kiwi, the second Damen STug 2208.The 39.4 tonne bollard pull tug will join sister ship SL Kittiwake, delivered late in 2012, to support single point mooring operations. In keeping with its sister ship, SL Kiwi was finished with several client-specific features including a deck crane, fuel oil separator and open stern. The vessel was completed at Damen Gorinchem and delivered by heavy lift ship. Smit Lamnalco is a leading provider of towage and associated marine services to the oil and gas terminal industry, with more than 190 vessels and over 3,000 staff worldwide.

Fairmount Glacier, a deepsea tug from Fairmount Marine, Rotterdam, recently recovered the bulk carrier Cassiopeia Star drifting in mid-Atlantic with main engine problems. The 205 tonnes bollard pull tug was contracted by Tsavliris Salvage to assist the173m, 32,328dwt bulker that had been bound for Mexico loaded with barite ore in lumps. After steaming at full speed for 1,720 miles, Fairmount Glacier met the casualty and made a towing connection in heavy weather. Cassiopeia Star was delivered safely from mid-Atlantic to Las Palmas, a distance of over 1,950 miles.

The Seattle based Foss Maritime Company is putting additional resources into the construction of the three Arctic class ocean-going tugs at its Rainier Shipyard in Oregon – (MJ May 2013). Work on the 40.23m Ice Class vessels is of particular importance in view of the company’s growing involvement in oil and gas projects associated with the Alaska and Arctic regions. The Foss Rainier shipyard has been expanded to build the new tugs. Fabrication areas have been increased and additional staff hired. The first steel was cut and the keels laid in July 2013. Construction is proceeding on these highly sophisticated vessels with the first scheduled for delivery in December 2014 and the remainder at one year intervals. With a workforce of approximately 1,000 employees, Foss now has 175 people working in Alaska and the Arctic, serving oil and gas, mining and other sectors.