Busy times for towage and salvage companies

This month’s review looks at a selection of salvage and general towage tasks completed successfully by operators based in Spain, Japan and Greece.

Shipping’s global reach often requires salvage companies based in one country to respond to incidents on the other side of the world. Larger companies will have regional offices dotted around the world providing local knowledge and connections. Many also have agreements with local regional salvors, tug owners and maritime service providers, allowing a coordinated response.

In times gone by salvors operated their own fleets of salvage tugs, providing commercial towing services while maintaining salvage stations at accident hot spots in between. Various factors, including less demand for rescue tows and salvage response, now often result in the chartering of local vessels sometimes called ‘tugs of opportunity’, the salvors themselves providing specialist equipment and the all-important expertise and manpower.

Traditional tug fleets continue to be in demand, however, for conventional and not so conventional operations.

Boluda

Valencia-based Boluda Corporación Marítima is known for its shiphandling operations with more than 300 tugs available globally. This puts it in prime position to provide services beyond the usual day-to-day handling of ships in ports, and in Le Havre recently Boluda Towage conducted an operation to remove a 4,800t concrete pile from an old floating dock.

Described as “a delicate operation”, Boluda worked with the harbour master’s office, pilotage, Eiffage Construction and ETPO and Boluda’s tugs VB Octeville, VB Yport and VB Gascogne towed the pile away for further dismantling.

Seven Boluda tugs were lso arequired recently to manoeuvre the semi-submersible drilling rig Blackford Dolphin at Astican’s facilities in Las Palmas, with another operation in the Canaries involving Boluda providing towage of the X-30 wind turbine from Las Palmas to the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands.

Boluda acquired Scottish towage company Caledonian in 2021 and has reported a typical operation where its tugs Strathdee and Strathdon assisted the heavy-load vessel Xin Yoa Hua with its arrival at Invergordon, laden with four large WTG jackets destined for the Neart Na Gaoithe offshore windfarm, each jacket more than 80m high and weighing more than 1,900 tonnes.

Additional assistance included turning the vessel through 180^o, enabling further work to be carried out before assisting with its departure.

Nippon Salvage

Tokyo-based Nippon Salvage has a history dating back to 1893, offering a range of maritime services not restricted to salvage.

It operates two powerful salvage tugs, Hayashio Maru and Koyo Maru, multi-purpose work barges and other equipment with a 72m, 3,000gt tug reportedly on order with Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Shimonoseki.

Nippon has provided details of an incident where professional and rapid initial response prevented potentially serious pollution in an important location for the aquaculture industry.

The case involved a collision between the 2,972gt general cargo vessel Xin Hai 99 and another vessel off Kushimoto Port, Japan. Xin Hai 99 sustained a large fracture on its starboard side, breaching number two cargo hold leaving the stern deck almost submerged.

With the vessel at risk of sinking, Nippon Salvage despatched the tug Hayashio Maru along with the work barge Kaishin following a request for bunker fuel removal and patching work.

Removal of the potential pollutants was a priority and Kaishin acted as ‘mother’ vessel. Once the fuel was removed, fabrication of a large steel patch measuring 6m x 6m started on Kaishin.

Later and with a salvage crew standing by on board, Xin Hai 99 was towed the 70nm to Wakayama Port as a place of refuge by the 53tbp tug Masuei Maru No.43.

A few days later installation of the steel patch took place and following dewatering of the flooded cargo hold, the vessel was redelivered to its owner.

Around 90t of bunkers were on the vessel at the time of the collision and the potential seriousness of the situation was clear with the casualty vessel facing the open sea during the typhoon season.

Tsavliris

An example of where salvors engage tugs not owned by themselves was when Greek salvor Tsavliris despatched the powerful 208tbp, Dutch owned and flagged, anchor-handling tug Kolga to assist the 14,000dwt container vessel SC Philly with main engine problems in the Gulf of Almeria, Spain.

In severe weather conditions with winds of more than 50kn, Kolga arrived on scene the following day.

After establishing a towline it arrived safely at Algeciras Roads, Spain three days after the initial call for assistance.