TOWLINES

The 140 tons bollard pull

Maersk Leader

and

Maersk Lifter, built in 1987

and

1988 respectively, were due to be taken over early this month. With 12,000 bhp engines capable of burning heavy fuel

and

with the possibility of increasing bunker capacity the vessels are expected to fit in very well with the current ITC fleet.

The single screw tug Lowgarth, renovated

and

operated for a short time by an Essex UK based owner, has been sold to Fendercare Marine Ltd UK

and

is expected to be used in conjunction with the company’s business in West Africa. Lowgarth was originally one of a series of similar shiph

and

ling tugs built in the mid-1960s. It is a vessel of 152 gross tons, powered by a 920bhp Ruston diesel.

D. Little Engineering Ltd of Milford Haven has made the 1,285bhp tug Intrepid B available on the coastal

and

marine civil engineering market. Intrepid B was completely rebuilt by McDuff Shipyards in 2002, originally to work in the difficult environment of Cardigan Bay under contract to the Ministry of Defence. The 27m single screw vessel has an 8.9m beam, a large open stern

and

work deck, a powerful crane

and

a bollard pull of 20 tons.

The major Belgian dredging

and

reclamation contractor, Jan De Nul Group, has placed an order with Damen for a total of three workboats. One vessel will be the first of the newly developed Damen Stan Tug 1606, the successor to the popular Stan Tug 1605 design of which over 100 units were built. The remaining pair will be of the Damen Fast Crew Supplier 1605 type designed for the transportation of 20 persons at speeds of up to 30 knots. All three vessels will be delivered in the first quarter of 2007 from Damen yards in the Far East. Jan De Nul Group will operate the vessels in the Dubai region.

By JACK GASTON