TOWLINES

North is a vessel of 30m long overall, with a beam of 8

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6m and draft (aft) of 3

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50m

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It is classed by Bureau Veritas 1 3/3 E Tug for Unrestricted Service

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The tug is a product of the Kian Juran – Miri shipyard and was one of a series of similar vessels

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It was launched as the

Donga North 9

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The first of the tugs, to be named Union Onyx, is expected in July and the second vessel in August of this year

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Both are likely to be deployed in Zeebrugge to replace existing, less powerful vessels

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Crowley Maritime Corporation has purchased Jensen Maritime Consultants, a firm of naval architects and marine engineering specialists known for their work in tug design

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The company has more than 45 years experience spanning all aspects of boat and vessel design and engineering, including fishing boats, fireboats, patrol boats, ferries and tugboats

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Jensen, which has 19 employees, will remain an independent company with its offices in Seattle and will continue to serve its current clientele while supporting Crowley

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J P Knight (Caledonian) Ltd has purchased an additional Japanese built ASD tug to join their recently updated fleet of four powerful tugs for shiphandling and coastal towage

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Completed in June 2007, this virtually brand new 34m vessel is powered by Niigata 6L28HX main engines developing 6,000bhp and ZP-41 CP propulsion units with controllable pitch propellers

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This latest addition to the JPK (Caledonian) fleet is fully equipped for shiphandling and coastal work and for fire fighting to FiFi 1 standards

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The vessel has been renamed Keston and is currently on its delivery voyage from Japan to Invergordon with a Redwise delivery crew

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Robin Middleton, the UK’s former SOSREP (Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage & Intervention), has joined the training team of British casualty media response consultancy TRS

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Robin stepped down from the SOSREP post at the end of 2007 after a highly successful eight years during which he responded to over 700 incidents

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He will contribute to TRS training for shipowners’ Emergency Response Teams in Europe and elsewhere in the world

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The TRS team is further strengthened with the addition of James Herbert, a former award winning BBC broadcast journalist and at one time Head of Group Media Relations at Royal Dutch Shell plc

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James will assist in delivering training and responding to marine casualties

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