Towlines January 2011
The first of four new tugs ordered by Vancouver based Seaspan International, from Sanmar Denizcilik in Turkey, arrived at the owner’s base in North Vancouver in early January. Bearing the temporary name Seaspan Terminal III, the 28m ASD tug completed the long delivery voyage from Turkey after two months at sea. All four vessels will be built to the Sanmar ‘Terminal’ design developed by Robert Allan Ltd for production by Sanmar and based on the RAstar 2800 design. The first two tugs, of 70 tons bollard pull, will be completed from ‘stock’ and adapted where necessary to suit the customer’s requirements. The second pair will embody several modifications, including more powerful engines to achieve 80 tons bollard pull. Seaspan Terminal III will be renamed Seaspan Raven before entering service and will be joined by its three sisters during the summer and late autumn of this year. (MJ – October 2010)
A recent influx of new tonnage in the fleet of URS of Antwerp has resulted in the redeployment of the twin screw shiphandling and coastal tugs Schelde 10 and Schelde 12. The 28.48m vessels, built in 1987 and 1988 respectively, have similar hulls but were completed in different yards and have different main engines. With bollard pulls of 38 to 40 tons, they are the remaining survivors of the Schelde Towage company taken over by URS in 2000. Schelde 10 and Schelde12 have been taken over by the associate company Smit Terminals to operate in Monrovia under the Liberian flag.
Kotug has sold the ZP Danimarka, one of their two remaining Italian built tractor tugs with Deutz main engines and Z-Peller propulsion units. Built in La Spezia in 1988, the 26.8m tug has been part of the company’s fleet in Bremerhaven for some years. The tug has been sold to Nouvelle de Remorquage Travaux Maritime of Toulon and renamed Toulonnais XV11. Late in December the vessel left Rotterdam for Toulon as cargo aboard the heavy lift ship Super Servant 4. ZP Danimarca is one of a number of older tugs being replaced by Kotug as new tonnage becomes available.
From J P Knight (Lowestoft) Ltd there is news that the Emergency Towing Vessel (ETV) Anglian Prince has been withdrawn from its long term station in Stornoway and put into ‘warm-layup’ in the Humber for commercial reasons. Anglian Prince has been replaced by the company’s anchorhandling tug Anglian Earl. The latter is frequently used as a relief vessel to cover routine maintenance and docking periods and complies fully with the conditions of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency ETV contract. Anglian Prince, the older of the two vessels, can be reactivated at any time should the need arise. The entire UK Coastguard ETV fleet is currently under threat following the Government Spending review. MJ – November 2010.
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