Category Archives: tug

Leo A MacArthur w/John J Carrick

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The Articulated Tug/Barge combo Leo A MacArthur / John J Carrick arrived in Halifax last night for McAsphalt in Eastern Passage. Part of the miller group of companies, They operate a terminal for the handling of the liqued components for asphalt.

An Articulated tug an barge is two vessels designed to be more or less permanently connected and operate as one. The Barge connects to the tug via a notch, and the two vessels are held together by large Articulating pins. This setup is more common in the US, where a Tug w/tank barge requires a much smaller crew then a tug with a tank barge of the same size.

For an upclose look, the Captain at the time gave me a tour of the combination, the Tug then Operating under the name Victorious for the same owners.

Sunday Happenings

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(Above) the Tanker Acadian at Anchor in the Inner harbour. (below) MSC Shay in Anchorage 1 for Asian Gypsy Moth Inspection. the ship moved to pier 41 when MSC Japan Sailed.

While MSC Shay was at Anchor, the PCTC Bess departed from autoport (Above)Offering a nice size comparison of the two ships as they passed.(Below)

The Atlantic Elm was also tied up at COVE along side the Barge Atlantic Marlin

W.N Twolan loads machinery

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The W.N Twolan arrived in Halifax in December with the barge NT1802. Today it moved to Fairview Cove to load some cargo onto the barge at the RO-RO ramp. What look to be large motors were loaded onto the barge via SPMT.

The Tug was built by Davie 60 years ago. it spent most of its life in the the fresh water Great Lakes, and more recently spent time laid up. It was purchased by Halls Bay Marine Services of Springdale, NL and refit last year. The owners also own the ex RCN fireboat Firebird, and the tug R.J Ballott formerly known Jerry Newbury.

Polar Circle – long term guest in the Basin.

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Polar circle is an Ice breaking tug. the ship was previously under contract to a Russian Oil and Gas Company, but with sanctions due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the owners cancelled the charter.

The Polar Circle was built in 2006, and is registered in Cyprus.

The ship sailed through the Panama Canal, and was last in New York, sailing for Halifax September 21 to Halifax. Given the ship has no work, they took a leisurely sail, arriving Oct 7th. After spending a day alongside, the tug move to anchor in the basin, where it is presumably looking for employment.

Update on large naval tugs

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Today the feds gave an update on the Large Naval tug project. this project will see 4 new tugs commissioned to replace the current fleet of Glen Tugs currently in use. The tugs are being built by Ocean Industries, at their Isle-aux-Coudres, Quebec shipyard.

The first two tugs (Haro and Barkerville) are scheduled to be delivered by sealift to the RCN’s Maritime Forces Pacific in Esquimalt, British Columbia, in 2022. The other two (Canso and Stella Maris) will sail to Maritime Forces Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2023 and 2024.

The new tugs are named as follows.

  • Naval Large Tug #1 Haro – This name is taken from the Haro Strait, which connects the Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca in British Columbia, and is frequently transited by Royal Canadian Navy vessels proceeding north from Esquimalt, the home of our Pacific Fleet. 
  • Naval Large Tug #2 Barkerville – This name is taken from the Second World War-era Ville-class tug of the same name, which capsized and sank at the entrance of Bedwell Harbour, British Columbia, on December 17, 1945, while towing His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Hespeler to its mooring. 
  • Naval Large Tug #3 Canso – This name is taken from the Canso Strait separating Nova Scotia from Cape Breton Island. This is a region that figures prominently in Canada’s formative history. It also reflects the Royal Canadian Navy’s past with HMCS Canso, a minesweeper that served in the Pacific and Atlantic during the Second World War, and was on hand at D-Day.
  • Naval Large Tug #4 Stella Maris – This name was selected in recognition of the valiant actions of the crew of the tug that came to the assistance of the French munitions ship, SS Mont-Blanc on December 6, 1917, in Halifax Harbour. The tug crew tried to fight a fire on board Mont-Blanc, and recognizing that they had insufficient water to quench the fire, selflessly attempted to tow the burning vessel away from shore. The tug was severely damaged and 19 personnel on board perished when Mont-Blanc then erupted in the disaster known as the Halifax Explosion.  

Siem Hanne Sold.

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Siem Hanne has been sold. The ship is now PSV Hakan, flagged in Panama, and is Istanbul as her destination.

There was some thought that the ship would go back to Siem, Secunda’s parent company with no further work in the Nova Scotia Offshore, but it looks as though it has been outright sold.

The ship had been laid up at COVE with fleetmate Siem Commander. Siem Commander did manage to find some towing work, but has otherwise been laid up at COVE.

Inside Dominion Diving’s New Boats

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I got an inside look at dominion diving new works boats today. They are much larger up close then they appear, and still have that new tug smell (which is like new car smell, but saltier.) The bridge is open and clean, with excellent visibility all around. Thanks to the enormous windows.

Under the Bridge is a small accommodation space, which features a head with shower, 2 bunks, and a small galley. The Engine room is also accessible from the accommodation space, and is quite comfortable to access despite the low headroom. (the boats are powered by twin Volvo Engines)

The 2 new boats are waiting on final approval from Transport Canada inspectors, and a once over from the Volvo Technican before going into service.

Besides showing me the new boats, I had a peak inside the warehouse. Above is President and ROV Superintendent Matt Lohnes (and my tour guide) standing in front of the largest ROV in Canada.

Dominion Diving was featured in the series Lords of the Ocean, which aired this past fall on History. Episodes Deal with events that took place in the past year, Including Reef Ball installation, Expansion of Pier 42, The visit of HMS Queen Elizabeth, The Noble Regina Allen work period, and the offshore wind farm installation off Virginia, along with a bunch of more mundane jobs.

Princess for Sable decommissioning.

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The Boskalis tug Princess put into Halifax fro a brief fuel and supply stop Tuesday, before heading for Mulgrave. The tug will likely be collecting one of the Sable offshore platforms for delivery to the UK Recyclers.

Halifax Fire’s Rescue boat 13 is Passing in the Foreground.

Boa Barge 34 and Deep Panuke Platform

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the tug Boa Odin delivered the Boa Barge 34 to Pier 9. The Barge will be used too remove the production platform for the Deep Panuke offshore gas project. The Platform features jack up legs. Once the platform is positioned underneath the platform, the platform will lower itself onto the barge, and then withdraw its legs from the Seabed.

Nobel Regina Allen is Currently plugging the last well of the project.

Since the platform is still relativity new, a costing trade application was filed to allow the platform to be stored aboard the barge, at anchor in Mulgrave for 1 year.

Boa Barge 36 was used for the installation of the platform in 2011.

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