Tugs & towing news - Towingline.com

12 TH VOLUME, NO. 31 DATED 07 AUGUST 2011 

BUYING, SALES, NEW BUILDING, RENAMING AND OTHER TUGS TOWING & OFFSHORE INDUSTRY NEWS 

TUGS & TOWING NEWS 

JENSEN COMPLETES TUGBOAT DESIGN WORK FOR HARLEY MARINE 

(SEATTLE; August 1, 2011) - Jensen 

Maritime Consultants, Inc., recently 

completed the custom design work for 

the Bob Franco, a new Azimuth Stern 

Drive (ASD) tugboat for Harley 

Marine Services. The vessel - 

measuring 120 feet in length and 35 

feet in width - is one of the first to be 

powered by Tier III CAT C175 

engines, which have lower emissions 

than Tier II models, making it a more environmentally friendly option. Construction on the vessel 

is underway at Diversified Marine, Inc., in Portland, Ore., and is expected to be completed in 2012. 

"The construction of a tugboat that meets Tier III emissions compliance is a great step forward in 

environmental protection for our industry," said Jensen's Johan Sperling, vice president. "It was 

important for us to design a powerful and capable tugboat for Harley, but also one that takes care 

of the environment in the process." Bob Franco, which will be home ported in Seattle, will have a 

crew capacity of 13. The vessel is the fourth in a series of these tugboats designed by Jensen. The 

first three were designed and built for Western Towboat in Seattle. Once construction is complete 

on the Bob Franco, it will be used to assist barges delivering supplies to rural communities in 

Alaska. As such, the tugboat was designed with highly capable Z-Drives, which offer increased 

maneuverability when working with vessels in the many narrow channels and fast tides of Alaska. 

Additionally, the tug is designed to more easily move alongside barges to help them dock safely in 

nearly any condition. "Being selected to design this tugboat was an honor," said Sperling. "We look 

forward to seeing it in action and know that Harley Marine Services will be very pleased with the 

design, quality and performance." Harley Marine Services has been recognized for its 

environmental initiative, commitment and stewardship. Since 2009, they have been awarded four 

major environmental awards: the 2011 Marine Environmental Business of the Year for 

Environmental Initiative from the Port of Seattle and Propeller Club of Seattle; first place for 

Environmental Initiative in the 2010 WorkBoat Environmental Awards; the 2010 EPA 

Environmental Quality Award (the first Marine Environmental Award from the EPA); and third 

place for Environmental Management System in the 2009 WorkBoat Environmental Awards. 

Some of the environmental initiatives have included an aggressive overhaul and replacement 

program to upgrade tugboat engines to reduce NOx emissions, a new generation of patented barge 

mounted Vapor Recovery Units that exceeds all air quality requirements, and a very robust 

Environmental Management System which has been implemented in all segments of the company. 

Harley Marine Services has attained International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 

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Environmental Certification for all subsidiary companies including tugs, barges, shops and offices, 

in addition to ISO 9001 Safety Management System and American Waterways Operators - 

Responsible Carrier Program. Harley Marine Services is a full service marine transportation 

company providing quality services along the United States West Coast, Alaska, New York/New 

Jersey Harbor and the U.S. Gulf. Services provided include the transportation and storage of 

petroleum products, ship assist and escort, and the transportation of general cargo. Harley Marine 

companies aim to set the benchmark for quality operations by outstanding safe, responsible, 

reliable and efficient performance in the marine transportation and petroleum industries. For more 

information, please visit www.harleymarine.com. (Source: Jensen Maritime Consultants) 

ON OIL AND CANVAS 

Advertisement 

Maritime painter Willem 

Eerland has made on oil and 

canvas a beautiful painting of 

L.Smit & Co‟s Internationale 

Sleepdienst Maatschappij – 

Rotterdam Ocean Going 

Salvage Tug Zwarte Zee. This 

Zwarte Zee was the third for 

Smit under this name. The 

famous pre-World War II tug 

was built in 1933 at the L. Smit 

& Zoon – Kinderdijk Shipyard; 

Netherlands under number 

872. The tug escaped, after the 

War started, from Vlissingen in 

1940 to Spithead; UK with the 

under construction at the Schelde Yard torpedohunter Isaac Sweers. During the Second World 

War Captain Teun Vet and his crew saved many allied merchant vessels from torpedo attacks. The 

Zwarte Zee stationed in the Bermudas has attacked the U512. On July 24 th 1945 she returned to her 

homeport Maassluis. In 1961 she was renamed Zwarte Zee III and in 1962 with the arrival of the 

new Zwarte Zee into Ierse Zee. The British Admiralty were so impressed by the Zwarte Zee that 

they based the Bustler Class of tugs on her design. Also the United States Navy built 49 tugs of her 

V4-M-A1 type, for more about this type click here, according the specifications of the Zwarte Zee 

and was the largest V-tug built by the Americans during World War II. (Painting: Willem Eerland 

- www.tableau-maritimecards.nl) 

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TWO OLDIES SPOTTED 

Last week two oldies were spotted in the Ijmond area. On the picture is seen on the right the tug 

Hendrik-Klaas and on the left the tug Birgit both owned by Waterman Scheepvaart. The Hendrik- 

Klaas is the former Zuidpool from Piet Smit built in 1956; Netherlands. The Birgit is the former 

Poseidon from L.Smit & Co built in 1957. (Photo: Hans Windhorst-Hawitug) 

NEVSKY SHIPYARD HOLDS LAUNCHING CEREMONY FOR 

MULTIPURPOSE SALVAGE VESSEL SPASATEL KAVDEJKIN 

Last Friday. July 29, a launching 

ceremony took place at “Nevsky 

Shipyard”, LLC The second 

multipurpose salvage vessel 

“Spasatel Kavdejkin” (Yard 

Number 702), capacity 4 MW, 

project MPSV07 was launched. 

Design Bureau is “Marine 

Engineering Bureau-Design- 

SPb”, JSC. A solemn launching 

ceremony of the lead 

multipurpose salvage vessel 

“Spasatel Karev” took place on 

November 23th, 2010. Chairman 

of Board of the Directors of the «North-Western Shipping Company» -Vladimir Kasjanenko; 

Director on Shipping and Shipbuilding of «T.A. Management» – Rishat Bagautdinov; Managing 

director of the «North-Western Shipping Company» – Al‟bert Vygovsky; Deputy Director of State 

Marine Rescue Service – Sergej Belov; Director General of Nevsky Shipyard – Andrey Polushko 

and other official persons took part in the celebratory ceremony devoted to this significant event. 

In their speeches addressed to both the staff of Nevsky Shipyard and the participants of the 

ceremony, the guests of honor expressed gratitude to workers of the Shipyard for their work. At 

the next stage of Launching ceremony there was vessel christening which was held by Father 

Evgeny, the Priest of the Bogojavlensky Cathedral in Schliesselburg. Natalya Kurbanalieva – Head 

of Legal Directorate of «T.A. Management» became the godmother of the vessel, “Nevsky 

Shipyard”, LLC is constructing a series of three multipurpose salvage vessels with high ice class in 

accordance with the State Shipbuilding Contracts signed in 2009 and 2010. The vessels are being 

constructed as a part of carrying-out of the Sub-program “Marine Transport” of the federal target 

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program “Development of transport system of Russia (2010-2015)”. According to the abovementioned 

program 4 more vessels of the same type are to be built. As soon as the construction is 

completed, the vessels will be delivered to “State Marine Pollution Control and Salvage and Rescue 

Service of RF” (Gosmorspassluzhba) in order to ensure rescue and emergency readiness for 

different tasks such as providing salvage services to people and vessels in distress, rectification of 

the consequences of accidents at sea in given search-and-rescue areas of Russian Federation. 

Principal features: length overall – 73,0m, deadweight at max. draught – 1171 t. The vessels are 

intended for “Gosmorspassluzhba” to enlarge state rescue fleet capable to perform underwatertechnical, 

diving and rescue works at depth up to 60m. (Source: NSSZ) 

RENAMED SMIT TRINIDAD IN ROTTERDAM 

On the last day of July the Smit 

Dane arrived in the 

Wilhelmina Harbour in 

Schiedam; Netherlands. The 

Smit Dane is the former Smit 

Trinidad built on the Damen 

Shipyard Galati under number 

511532 and delivered to her 

owners on May 30, 2008. The 

Smit Dane is a Damen ASD 

2810 type tug with a bollard 

pull of 60 tons. She has been 

operated in Kleipeda, Lithuania 

from Augsust 2008 till now. On 

the 7 th September 2009 she was 

sold to Towmar Smit Baltic UAB – Kleipeda and renamed Smit Dane with call sign LY2338. 

(Photo: M.Brakhage) 

PURAU RETURN TO HER BASE 

The 1986 built Lyttelton Port Company 

tug Purau (Imo 8600155) returns to her 

berth after assisting the bulk carrier 

Patliputra to berth. Note the snow on the 

hills behind her. The sunny day was still 

very cold. The New Zealand tug is built 

on the Nagasaki Zosen K.K. – Nagasaki; 

Japan under number 1007. In July 1986 

she was delivered to Lyttelton Port 

Authority with call sign ZMV7861. In 

June 2003 she was rebuilt with new 

stacks, repainted blue to match 

Lyttelton‟s new tug Blackadder. She is 247 grt and 74 nrt. Her length is 31.25 mtrs with a beam 

10.55 mtrs and a depth of 3.27 mtrs. She has two six cylinder Niigata main engines type 6L25CXE 

and develop a speed of 11 knots. (Photo Alan Calvart) 

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NB 571651 

Last week the newbuilding Damen 

Shoalbuster 3210 yard number 571651 

was seen sailing from Hardinxveld- 

Giessendam with destination the 

Rotterdam Europoort for her technical 

trails. The vessel is built on stock. The 

vessel has a length of 32 mtrs a beam of 

9.1 mtrs and a draft 4.4 mtrs. The two 

Catepillar 3512C develop a total output of 

2460 kW and delvered a bollard pul of 49 

.3 tons and a speed of 11.4 knots (Photo: 

Ruud Zegwaard) 

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photos or articles that may be of interest to the Tugs Towing & Offshore 

interested people at sea and ashore. 

Send your press releases, news, articles and/or pictures to 

jvds@towingline.com 

SAFETY DEAL WITH TUG OPERATOR 

5/21 

UK company Ocean Safety has been 

awarded a contract by Svitzer UK to 

supply and service ISO and SOLAS 

lifejackets, pyrotechnics, survival suits 

and other safety equipment to the 

company‟s UK fleet of 80 vessels. Ocean 

Safety says that the contract confirms it 

as the preferred supplier to Svitzer UK‟s 

towage, salvage and emergency response 

fleet. It will also provide and service the 

Jason‟s Cradle man overboard recovery 

system, manufactured for commercial


operators in harsh marine environments. Ocean Safety will distribute consignments to Svitzer 

though the company‟s 13 terminal offices in UK ports. “We are delighted to have won this contract 

from Svitzer UK,” comments Ocean Safety Sales Director, Mark Hart. “We are pleased that Svitzer 

has put its confidence in our high level of experience and expertise.” (Source: The Motorship; 

Photo: Mercator Media) 

QATAR SHIPPING TO PROVID AND OPERATE HARBOUR TUGS,BOATS 

AND MOORING GANGS FOR MESAIEED PORT 

Qatar Shipping will provide and operate harbour tugs, pilot boats and mooring gangs for Mesaieed 

Port for 20 years from August 2014, according to a statement. Qatar Shipping, which owns and 

runs a fleet of vessels operating in sectors including crude oil, petrochemicals and liquefied 

petroleum gas, already operates the harbour tugs, pilot boats and mooring gangs at Mesaieed Port. 

This operation is expected to continue until the new contract begins, the company said. “We are 

pleased to be able to build on our longstanding, extensive relationship with QP across a number of 

our business units,” Qatar Navigation‟s chief executive Khalifa bin Ali Al-Hetmi said in the 

statement. Qatar Navigation, which handles cargo, ships petrochemicals and repairs ships, merged 

with Qatar Shipping last year. Qatar, the world‟s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, can now 

produce up to 77 million tonnes of super-cooled gas a year. (Source: arabianbusiness) 

Advertisement 

TUGBOAT PROJECT PE-65 COMPLETE TRAILS 

At the Pella Shipyard on 7 th July 2011 on the tugboat project PE-65 a full-scale trials was 

successfully finished to ascertain the escort parameters of the vessels. The maximum retention 

intensity for escort operations is as follows: at speed of 8 knots is 79.2 tons, at speed of 10 knots is 

81.4 tons. The results, approves by the Russian maritime register of shipping, exceeded the estimate 

design parameters, confirming the wide range of using multifunction escort tug project PE-65 for 

escort and towing of heavy-tonnage vessels as well as vessel‟s high stability and maneuverability. 

Technical data: Length overall: 33,5 m, Width overall: 12.1 m, Depth: 6 m, Draught: 4,4 m, Speed: 

13 knots, Bollard pull: 63 tonnes (Source: Pella Shipyard) 

TUGBOAT PROJECT 90600 YN 926 COMPLETE TRAILS 

At the Pella Shipyard on 14th July 2011 the tugboat project 90600 building No 926, is building for 

Russian Navy, has successfully passed the shipyard‟s sea trials. Technical data: Length overall: 28,5 

m, Width overall: 9.5 m, Depth at side: 4,8 m, Draught: 4,3 m, Speed: 11,5 knots, Bollard pull: 39,5 

tonnes. (Source: Pella Shipyard) 

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VANTAGE USED AHT URSUS FOR THE REPOSITIONING OF JU-RIG 

AQUAMARINE DRILLER 

Vantage Drilling Company contracted 

AHT Ursus for the repositioning of the 

Jack-up Rig Aquamarine Driller from an 

offshore location off Kuantan, Malaysia 

to her new drilling location off Northern 

Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonking. The job 

was performed swiftly and uneventful 

and immediate following the release 

AHT Ursus returned high speed to Vung 

Tau, Vietnam to commence her next 

task; the repositioning of the rig Offshore 

Resolute for account of Santos. (Source: 

ALP Maritime Services) 

OLDIE FROM THE SHOEBOX 

Advertisement 

This week I found in my archive 

a picture of the tugboat US Navy 

102. After consulted some 

friends we found the follow 

history of the tug. On the 20 th 

November 1939 she was 

launched by F.Schichau GmbH 

at Königsberg; Germany under 

yard number 1434 as Pellworm. 

She was delivered on 1 st April 

1940 to the German 

Kriegsmarine for the 

Kriegsmarine werft 

Wilhelmshaven. In August 1940 

she was transferred to Unternehmen Seelöwe. On 13 September 1941 she sank at Helsinki 

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(sabotage??) raised and repaired. In 1945 she was taken as war prise by the Allied forces, to LSU/B – 

Labor Service Unit B (USA) and renamed US Navy 102 and used as minesweeper. On 8 th November 

she returned to German Bundesmarine, Maineunterwasserwaffenschule and renamed Pellworm. In 

June 1980 she was renamed Boreas with Panama flag. In 1984 she was arrested at Palamos; Spain for 

drugs traffic. In 1986 foundered as diving wreck near Palamos. The tug has a length of 38,90 mtrs a 

beam of 8,02 mtrs and a draft of 3,25 mtrs. She has a 8 cyl K.H.Deutz diesel of 800 bhp and a speed 

of 12 knots. Thanks to Jaap Bijl for his help and Piet van Damme for the history. (Photo archive: 

Hans van der Ster) 

HAVARIST „TYUMEN-2“ WURDE NACH GLÜCKSTADT GESCHLEPPT 

In den Fall des havarierten 

russischen Frachters 

„Tyumen-2“ (BRZ 3086) 

kommt Bewegung. Am 

Montag wurde das bei einer 

Kollision schwer beschädigte 

Schiff durch Schlepper 

„Parat“ der Brunsbütteler 

Reederei Schramm von 

Rendsburg nach Glückstadt 

überführt. Dort soll jetzt 

etwa bis Ende August 

entschieden werden, ob die 

Reparatur des Schiffes zu 

einem Preis, der nicht den Gesamtwert des Schiffes übersteigt, realisierbar ist. Durch die 

Eigentümer der „Tyumen-2“, die Reskom Tyumen Ltd., Novorossiysk, wurde jetzt der mobile 

Schiffsreparaturbetrieb YMS Sp. zo.o, Gdynia, damit beauftragt, die Reparaturwürdigkeit zu einem 

akzeptablen Preis auszuloten. Die „Tyumen-2“ war am 14. April dieses Jahres auf dem Nord-Ostsee- 

Kanal mit dem entgegenkommenden Container-Feederschiff „OOCL Finland“ zusammengestoßen. 

(Source: THB; Photo: J. Braker) 

URAG TUGS EXACT & MIDLUM RENAMED 

In Singapore both Rotor tugs Exact 

and Midlum build for URAG by 

ASL for KST, which were 

cancelled by the URAG and laid up 

for some time in Singapore are 

now renamed RT SAMBA (Imo 

9454321) and RT TANGO (Imo 

9483748) as can be seen at the 

photo. Both tugs are registered 

Malta with call sign 9HA2771 and 

9HA2772 respectively owned and 

managed by Kooren Shipbuilding 

& Trading – Rotterdam; 

Netherlands. The tugs have a grt of 377 tons and are Bureau Veritas classed. (Photo: Piet Sinke) 

8/21


SERIES OF TUGS IN DEN HELDER 

Besides an impressive fleet of platform supply 

vessels the port of Den Helder is frequently 

called by tugs. After the Taurus (Ulrich 

Harms), Thorax (Østensjø Rederi), Svitzer 

Pembroke (Svitzer Marine), Stevns Ocean 

(Nordane Shipping) and the Bugsier 9 and 19 

(Bugsier), last month the Fairplay-31 of 

Fairplay Towage visited Den Helder. The tugs 

often perform rigmove operations and cargo 

and barge transports for the oil, gas and wind 

energy sectors. (Source & Photo: Paul Schaap) 

COUBERT TOWED DAMEN BERGUM NEWBUILDING 

TOWAGE NEWS FROM MALTA 

By Captain Lawrence Dalli 

PANTODYNAMOS WITH IN TOW THE BOULIS 

9/21 

Westcoasting announced the towage of 

the Damen Bergum newbuildng yard 

number 9410. The Tug Courbet from 

Solar Tugs sailed from Nikolaev and 

bound for Harlingen passes last week the 

Bosporus as seen on the picture. As usual 

the towing survey was carried out by Ton 

Oortwijk from Tow Services. (Source: 

Westcoasting) 

The 1971 built tug Pantodynamos 

(Imo 7038642) ex-Fairplay XIV is 

seen towing the 2006 built general 

cargo ship Boulis ex-Nikolaos F 

leaving Grand Harbour, Malta on 

Thursday 28th July, 2011 bound to 

Piraeus, Greece. The Panama flag tug 

with call sign HO4409 is owned and 

managed by Diavlos Maritime Co. 

(Photo: Cpt. Lawrence Dalli - 

www.maltashipphotos.com)


HERAKLES WITH IN TOW THE ALGONTARIO 

The 1980 built tug Herakles formerly 

Aanglian Prince, Salvageman is seen 

towing the former Canadian Algoma 

Central Bulk Carrier Algontario offshore 

Malta on Friday 29th July, 2011 bound 

to Aliaga, Turkey for breakers of which 

she left Montreal, Canada on June 27th 

2011. (Photo: Cpt. Lawrence Dalli - 

www.maltashipphotos.com) 

ACCIDENTS – SALVAGE NEWS 

ANOTHER SHIP GROUNDED AT MUMBAI'S JUHU BEACH 

In a repeat of the 

M V Wisdom 

episode, a muchsmaller 

cargo 

vessel ran aground 

near the Juhu 

beach in northwest 

Mumbai on 

Sunday, officials 

said here. The 

Panama-flagged 

vessel M V Pavit, 

which has a capacity to hold 1,000 tonnes of cargo (as against M V Wisdom's 10,000 tonnes) run 

aground near Seven Bungalows early this morning and was suspected to have drifted on from the 

Persian Gulf, they said. M V Wisdom had got stuck on Juhu beach in June, and could be salvaged 

after about three weeks. "Pavit's crew was rescued somewhere in the Persian Gulf in the first week 

of July. Possibility of sailors being on board is less, as we did not get any SOS. It has possibly been 

drifting all along (since the rescue of sailors)," Director General of Shipping, S B Agnihotri, told 

PTI here. An emergency towing vessel, which was hired following the M V Wisdom episode for 

the entire monsoon season, will be used to salvage the stuck vessel, Agnihotri said. "They will take 

a professional call...as it's a smaller vessel, towing it out will not be very difficult," he said. 

However, he declined to say how long it will take. Wisdom was being towed towards the shipbreaking 

yard in Alang in Gujarat from Colombo, and snapping of some wires attaching it to 

towing ship caused it to drift. As in the case of Wisdom, DGS feels that Pavit too is not carrying 

any cargo or fuel, so hopefully there would be no environmental fall-out. Agnihotri added that 

officials are trying to get in touch with Pavit's Dubai-based owners. (Source: The Economic Times; 

Photo: Royal Navy) 

10/21


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BULK CARRIER RAN AGROUND ALONG THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY 

Bulk carrier Federal St. Laurent ran 

aground near Massena, N.Y., along the 

St. Lawrence Seaway, at about 8 p.m. 

EST August 1 2011. No pollution or 

injuries were reported, and it has been 

determined to be safe for maritime 

traffic to pass the location where the 

vessel grounded. Vessel grounded near 

the bow well away from the vessel‟s 

fuel tanks, eliminating any potential 

for pollution. At 1500 August 2 vessel 

was refloated and anchored for 

survey, investigation under way to 

determine what caused grounding. A 

tugboat pushes the 670-foot motor vessel Federal St. Laurent. Federal St. Laurent IMO 9110896, 

dwt 34372, built 1996, flag Bahamas, manager Anglo Eastern Shipmanagement. (Source: Maritime 

Bulletin; Photo USCG) 

CARGO SINKS OFF MUMBAI COAST, 30 CREW RESCUED 

Thirty crew members of a Gujaratbound 

cargo ship were rescued on 

Thursday before the vessel carrying 

60,000 tonnes of coal sank off the 

Mumbai coast this afternoon, 

sparking fears of environmental 

pollution. "Panama-flagged M/V 

Rak has sunk 20 nautical miles off 

the Mumbai coast due to ingress of 

water in the cargo hull. We suspect 

that some holes in the ship resulted 

in the seeping in of water," 

Inspector General of Coast Guard 

SPS Basra told PTI. The sinking of 

the 225 metre-long vessel, which was carrying apart from coal about 290 tonnes of fuel oil and 50 

11/21


tonnes of diesel has raised fears of an oil spill. The Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) said it 

received information from the Mumbai port authorities at 0800 hours that the 1984-built vessel 

was "adrift" since the early hours of Thursday at the entrance of the Mumbai harbour. The ship, 

which was on its way from Indonesia's Tutung to Dahej in Gujarat, had a 30-member crew on 

board of Indonesian, Jordanian and Romanian nationalities, the DGS said in a statement. All 

concerned agencies were pressed into service following the receipt of the call and help was also 

taken from private merchant ships, the DGS said, adding 18 of the crew were rescued by an Indian 

Navy chopper and the rest evacuated to a private merchant ship. A Navy spokesman said that the 

Navy and the Coast Guard had swung into action immediately after receiving the distress signal 

from the ship. As the ship was located at the entrance of the Mumbai Harbour, one of the busiest 

in the country, Mumbai Port and the National Hydrographic Officer have been advised to issue 

navigational warning so that the mariners are warned in advance of the danger, the DGS statement 

said. The services of an Emergency Towing Vessel (ETV) hired by the Shipping Coproration of 

India for the monsoon season which witnesses rough seas were also requistioned and efforts made 

to salvage the sinking ship, the DGS said. The sinking of the vessel comes within five days of oil 

tanker MT Pavit (see above) drifting from the Middle East and running aground near Juhu Beach 

unnoticed by the three-tier coastal security comprising the Navy, Coast Guard and Mumbai Police 

and the much bigger cargo ship MV Wisdom beaching near Juhu in June. M/V Rak is owned by 

M/s. Delta Shipping Marine Services, Qatar and classed with Lloyds Register of Shipping, the DGS 

statement said, adding efforts are on to contact the owner and insurer. The DGS statement, which 

was updated at 1330 hours when the ship was submerged by three quarters, said no pollution has 

so far been reported from the site. Coast Guard's oil pollution response vessel Samudra Prahari is 

located close to the ship to keep a tab, it added. Besides this, efforts are being made to mark the 

ship with a marker buoy if practicable and safe, it said. (Source: The Hindu; Photo: PTI) 

INDIAN TENDER TO BUY STRANDED SHIP FOR SCRAP 

South African Maritime 

Safety Authority granted 

a seizure and sale order 

allowing the authority to 

sell the MT Phoenix oil 

tanker. THE high court in 

Pietermaritzburg last 

week granted the South 

African Maritime Safety 

Authority (Samsa) a 

seizure and sale order 

allowing the authority to 

sell the MT Phoenix oil 

tanker that ran aground 

north of Durban last 

month. With more than 400,000l of fuel having been removed, the tanker is not expected to 

present an environmental hazard. But taxpayers may face a big salvage bill as the owners of the 

vessel have abandoned it. Samsa has accepted a tender from Amandla Icon, an Indian scrap 

company, to buy the vessel for scrap, the authority‟s southern region manager Nigel Campbell said 

yesterday. "Amandla Icon‟s bid of $422,000 was the best bid and they also have a tug standing by in 

Durban to get it away," he said. The money will be used to cover the costs of fuel removal and 

12/21


refloating the vessel before it can be towed out of South African territorial waters. Capt Campbell 

said the vessel had accrued a bill of about R8m so far. Since Monday Samsa has on three occasions 

failed to refloat the MT Phoenix, aground on rocks off Sheffield Beach, which is in a residential 

area. Specialists will try to move the MT Phoenix again at the end of the month when the higher 

spring tides return, Capt Campbell said. "On Monday we had some swell, so it was a bit bumpy, but 

we were able to turn her 45 degrees before the anchor chain snapped," he said. There was very 

little swell on Tuesday and none on Wednesday. Recovery crews pumped water into the MT 

Phoenix yesterday to try to weigh it down and keep it stable to prevent the ship from breaking up. 

If the hull breaks, Amandla Icon will no longer buy the vessel for scrapping and Samsa would be 

faced with the "exceptionally expensive" prospect of having to cut the hull up in the water. A 

worst-case scenario cost of as much as $50m has been suggested by Malcolm Hartwell, a master 

mariner and director in admiralty and shipping at legal firm Norton Rose. SMIT Salvage, an 

international salvage specialist, has been contracted to explore options for dealing with the vessel, 

Capt Campbell said. A meeting will be held next week to decide how best to refloat the vessel, 

failing which alternatives such as cutting the vessel up and towing pieces into the sea may be 

considered. Recreational divers have suggested sinking the vessel off the coast to provide a reef for 

diving. Samsa has still not been able to contact the owners of the ship. (Source: Business Day-by 

Nick Smith; Photo: Rogan Ward) 

OFFSHORE NEWS 

Advertisement 

13/21


TOISA SENTINEL IN CAPE TOWN 

RDM COMMENCES WORK ON UTILITY WORKBOAT 

14/21 

The 1982 built offshore supply ship 

Toisa Sentinel (Imo 8002626) at rest 

on her berth in Cape Town harbour. 

The vessel made a bunker call and is 

en-route from Montevideo to 

Singapore. The vessel is registered 

Liberian flag with call sign A8ES6. 

She is owned by Toisa Ltd. – Piraeus; 

Greece and managed by Sealion 

Shipping Ltd. – Farnham; U.K. She 

has a grt of 4,208 tons and a dwt of 

2996 tons and is Lloyd register of 

Shipping classed. (Photo: Aad 

Noorland) 

Richardson Devine Marine (RDM) 

has begun work on a new 

generation 35-metre utility 

workboat for the Offshore 

Unlimited Group. Designed by 

Incat Crowther, the vessel is under 

construction at RDM‟s facility in 

Hobart, Tasmania, and due for 

delivery in February 2012. At 35 

metres long, the catamaran is 

capable of transporting 125 tonnes 

of deadweight, including up to 50 personnel. Powered by twin Caterpillar C32 ACERT engines 

each rated 1,234kW, the vessel has a service speed of approximately 19 knots, with a fuel capacity 

of 37,000 litres enabling a range of up to 3,300 kilometres. Sleeping and service facilities are 

provided for up to 32 personnel in 15 cabins, located over three decks. The aft deck, measuring 

over 160 square metres, is arranged for multiple uses and includes a moonpool for survey 

operations. There is a hydraulic remote deck crane capable of lifting 12 tonnes at 3 metres, and 2.1 

tonnes at 13 metres. The aft deck is structured to suit a removable luffing A-frame with a safe 

working load of 20 tonnes. (Source: Baird) 

MOSVOLD CANCELS ANOTHER VESSEL AT BATAMEC 

Mosvold Supply has cancelled another anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel at Otto Marine‟s 

Batamec shipyard. Singapore-listed Otto said Mosvold Supply III had cancelled Hull No. 7049 and 

demanded refund of payments and interest totaling $29.4m. It is the latest vessel to be cancelled by 

Mosvold out of a series of four it ordered from Batamec. “The company is currently being advised 

by its lawyers on its next course of action,” Otto said. Otto will be reversing the profits booked on 

the deal and this will impact its 2011 full year financial results. (Source: Seatrade Asia)


COSLS SEISMIC VESSEL SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES OPERATIONS IN 

SOUTH CHINA SEA 

Recently, Seismic vessel HYSY718 of COSL 

has fulfilled the 3D seismic acquisition 

operation in Chevron block 53/30 in the 

South China Sea. The contract for Chevron 

53/30 seismic acquisition service is the 

largest-ever single-block deep sea 3D seismic 

acquisition project of COSL. Since the 

project was launched on September 15, 

2010, HYSY718 fleet has, according to 

Chevron‟s high standards and rigorous 

requirements for project safety and quality 

control, overcame adverse factors such as severe sea conditions, serious fishery effect and short 

survey line, with the close communication and collaborative and painstaking efforts of all 

departments of the fleet, through a series of measures, strict self-discipline and fight bravely, the 

operation has been finished successfully. The successful operation has further upgrade the 

competitiveness of COSL, laying a solid foundation for the company to develop the international 

geophysical market. (Source: COSL) 

FD REMARKABLE ON TRAILS 

The Rosetti Marino newbuilding 

yard number 104 Platform Supply 

Vessel (PSV) FD Remarkable (Imo 

9499682) commenced yard trials in 

Ravenna. The PSV is built for 

Fratelli D‟Amato. The vessel has a 

length of 74.97 mtrs a beam of 16 

mtrs and a draft of 5.85 mtrs. Her 

two General Electric 16V228 main 

engines develop a total of 7,480 bhp. 

The FD Remarkable is RINA classed. 

(Source: Rosetti Marino; Photo: Lorenzo Succi ©) 

Advertisement 

15/21


THE MOST EXPENSIVE ACT OF PIRACY SO FAR 

According to Wikileaks, the release of the 

Italian flagged tug Buccaneer (Imo 

8015831) may have been the result of 

what amounts to the biggest ransom 

payment so far, consisting of a cash pledge 

to the Somali Transitional Federal 

Government worth US$18.5 million. At 

the time there were accusations that the 

barges were carrying toxic waste, but this 

was denied by the ship operators. 

Although flagged in Italy, Buccaneer is 

American owned. Wikileaks alleges that 

the tug was released amidst a series of claims and counterclaims concerning the ransom, whether it 

was paid and if so how much. The Somali pirates said they were paid $5.7 million (€4m), which 

was vehemently denied by the Italian government. Wikileaks says that pressure was brought on 

the pirates by the Transitional Federal Government at about the same time that the Italian 

government pledged to donate $18.5m (€13m) to Somali „institutions and the peace process‟. 

Additional money was paid by the Italian Development Corp, which Wikileaks suggests is also 

linked to the release of the tug. Buccaneer was captured by Somali pirates in April 2009 while 

towing two ocean-going barges through the Gulf of Aden. The tug and tow were taken to an 

anchorage off the coast of Somalia. (Source: Ports & Ships Maritime News) The Buccaneer is the 

former Smit-Lloyd 72 from Smit-Lloyd BV – Rotterdam. She was built in 1981 at Tille 

Scheepsbouw BV – Kootstertille; Netherlands under number 226 (red) 

HALLIN SUBSEA VESSEL DROPS ANCHOR IN AUSTRALIA TO UNDERTAKE 

SIGNIFICANT CONTRACT 

Hallin Marine subsea operations vessel 

Carlisle has arrived in Australia to 

undertake a significant contract on the 

North West Shelf. Supporting air diving 

services on a major field development, 

the initial work is scheduled for 110 days 

with a further series of options to extend 

beyond that. SOV Carlisle is a 76 metre 

long DP 2 subsea support vessel built in 

2006. Equipped with a 50 tonne crane 

and accommodation for up to 126 people, 

the vessel has been deployed by Hallin in 

a wide and varied range of successful projects. These include ROV operations as well as saturation 

and air diving using Hallin‟s in-house design diving systems. The Carlisle has also successfully 

acted as a flotel, accommodating personnel involved in the hook-up of an offshore facility in the 

harsh environment offshore Sakhalin Island. The vessel‟s adaptability makes it ideally suited to 

construction support, IRM and even shutdown support work. Hallin has already positioned two 

workclass ROVs in Perth, and will also station mobile saturation and air diving systems in the 

country to support its vessel operations. In addition to the Carlisle, Hallin is also preparing the SOV 

16/21


Windermere for deployment to Australia later this year. Launched mid-2010, the Windermere is 

designed and built to Hallin‟s specification and optimised for construction support and IRM 

operations. Facilities onboard the 80 metre long vessel include a 15 man saturation diving system, 

two workclass ROVs, a 50 tonne/1500 metre rated crane, high-efficiency Voith Schneider dieselelectric 

propulsion and accommodation for up to 120 people. Since its launch, the Windermere has 

worked on projects throughout SE Asia. It will now become Hallin‟s core Australian asset, with a 

principal focus on saturation diving and ROV support. “We knew from the start that Hallin‟s 

business model would work in Australia,” comments Simon Hird, Hallin‟s Country Manager for 

Australia. “We operate a very modern fleet of vessels, none of which is older than five years. We 

design and build our own dive systems at our manufacturing facility in Singapore. We also design 

and build our own workclass ROV systems, C-ROV, to complement our fleet of third-partymanufactured 

vehicles. This enables us to match each client‟s needs instead of a client having to 

charter a larger vessel than is in fact required, simply to access a saturation diving capability.” 

(Source: Hallin Marine) 

ZALIV COMPLETED HULL PROJECT SX 134 

JSC Shipyard Zaliv completed 

works over next shipbuilding 

order for Norwegian holding 

Ulstein Hull AS. The seismic 

research vessel project SX 134 

became the sixth built by Zaliv 

by order of this company. Kerch 

shipbuilders commenced works 

over this vessel in February 

current year, and the vessel 

laying in the dry dock occurred 

on May 10 and on July 27 the 

vessel was solemnly launched 

from the dock. The hull delivery 

occurred with strict keeping of contractual terms and the quality of works execution have been 

evaluated by the company inspectors to be high. At the present moment Zaliv continues 

construction over three more shipbuilding projects also ordered by holding Ulstein. It is scheduled 

that until the end of 2011 works over two of them shall be completed. (Source: Zaliv) 

Advertisement 

17/21


TRANSHIP EXPANDS FLEET 

Recently, Tranship BV took over 

the management from Subsea 7 for 

the DP2 survey vessel Kommandor 

(ex Kommandor Subsea). The 

vessel is currently moored at the 

Orskov yard (see photograph) in 

Fredrikshavn, Denmark, and is 

expected to start working under 

the new management half August. 

The Kommandor is a 68 meter 

long vessel, built in 1986 in 

Denmark, and equipped with two 

ROVs for subsea inspections. 

(Source & Photo: Tranship) 

SHIP CRASH BLAMED ON TECHNICAL SNAG 

A technical glitch on board an £18.5million offshore vessel caused a three-ship collision at 

Aberdeen harbour, an accident report said yesterday. Earlier this year, the SBS Typhoon, a 243ft, 

3,660-tonne vessel owned by Aberdeen-based SBS Marine, struck the Vos Scout head-on, forcing 

her into the Ocean Searcher. Vos Scout, a 137ft emergency and rescue ship, was extensively 

damaged during the incident at Trinity Quay on February 26. (Source: Press and Journal) 

WINDFARM NEWS 

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Jumbo Shipping has successfully transported 51 monopiles from EEW's manufacturing plant in 

Rostock, Germany to Barrow in Furness in the UK. The monopiles‟ final destination was DONG 

Energy's Walney Offshore Wind Farm 2, which is being built some 15 km off Walney Island, 

Cumbria, in the Irish Sea. Walney 1 and Walney 2 will each comprise 51 turbines with a total 

capacity of 367.2 MW. The development includes foundations, turbines, export- and array cables, 

offshore substations and onshore connection to grid. When the project is completed, 

approximately 320,000 homes, or one and a half times the number of households in Cumbria,


could be provided with clean 

electricity in the years to come. 

Walney 1 began generating power in 

January of this year, with 

construction of Walney 2 

commencing in March. Crane 

barges, jack-up vessels and tugs are 

working out of ports in the East Irish 

Sea area, primarily Barrow and 

Mostyn harbours. When Jumbo‟s 

contract was awarded, the first 

shipment was only seven weeks 

away, during which time Jumbo 

engineered all shipments and 

designed and manufactured saddles for the monopiles. Within this short period of time all was 

ready and approved by the Marine Warranty Surveyor. Jumbo's HLV Fairpartner, a 13,278 dwt 

J1800 Class vessel fitted with two 900 ton cranes, made six consecutive voyages carrying eight 

monopiles at a time, two in the hold and six on deck. The largest monopile weighed 806 metric 

tons and measured 68 meters in length and 6.5 meters in diameter. The 144m LOA vessel can sail 

at 17 knots. In order to improve the delivery schedule, DONG Energy asked Jumbo to employ 

HLV Jumbo Vision to transport the last three monopiles. This 7,051 dwt H 800 Class vessel 

measures 110.5m LOA, has two 400 ton cranes, and can sail at 14.5 knots. The transport 

engineering plus design and fabrication of the stoppers for the sea fasting of these monopiles was 

done within only two weeks‟ time. At Barrow in Furness, the discharging of the monopiles was 

done round the clock in order to make the port stay as short as possible. Jumbo‟s shallow draft 

vessel entered the port during high water, after which the dock gate had to be closed and no 

marine traffic was possible. Each discharge operation of eight monopiles was completed within 36 

hours. By transporting as many as eight monopiles per voyage, Jumbo was able to complete the 

project in a substantially small number of voyages and thus reduced the project‟s environmental 

impact. (Source: Maritime Journal; Photo: Mercator Media) 

NEW WIND TURBINE VESSEL JOINT VENTURE 

Canada‟s Teekay Corporation has entered a joint venture with Danish company A2SEA to develop 

a new type of vessel for the installation of wind turbine foundations. The aim of the co-operation is 

to design, deliver and operate floating transportation and installation vessels that can work in the 

deeper more challenging sites that the industry faces, and can cope with new-concept turbine 

foundations such as tripods and jackets. The venture is based on A2SEA‟s background in offshore 

installation and Teekay‟s experience of operating large vessels controlled by dynamic positioning 

(DP). Both companies are planning to jointly develop the floating design through a technical study 

and subsequently deliver a vessel to the market by 2014. “We believe that we have found the 

concept that will drive down the cost of foundation installation and will also reduce the 

installation time,” says Kaj Lindvig, chief sales officer for A2SEA. “By having a floating installation 

vessel, we are able to carry pre-assembled foundations straight out to site, we are very excited by 

this venture and the prospect of developing a pioneering foundation installation technique.” 

Teekay will own and operate the vessel while A2SEA will provide project management and 

operational expertise. (Source: Baird) 

19/21


YARD NEWS 

ROLLS-ROYCE WINS CONTRACT TO DESIGN AND EQUIP TWO ANCHOR 

HANDLING VESSELS FOR NORWEGIAN COMPANY 

Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, 

has won a £50 million contract to design and 

equip two anchor handling vessels for 

Norwegian company Farstad Shipping. The 

Rolls-Royce UT 731 CD vessels are designed to 

work in extreme environmental conditions and 

carry out operations in water as deep as 3,000 

metres. The order includes a fully integrated 

equipment system from Rolls-Royce, including 

deck machinery, vessel control systems and a 

diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system. This 

will be fitted on both vessels to maximise efficiency, reduce fuel burn and cut emissions. Atle 

Gaas¸, Rolls-Royce, General Manager – Sales – Offshore Service Vessels, said: “We are extremely 

proud to continue our strong relationship with Farstad Shipping by supplying them with additional 

cutting edge marine technology. Rolls-Royce support vessels are equipped to meet the future 

challenges of deepwater offshore operations.” The vessels will be built at STX OSV Langsten yard 

in Norway, with delivery between April and June 2013. (Source: Rolls-Royce) 

Advertisement 

ROLLS-ROYCE LANDS NEW ISLAND OFFSHORE ORDER 

Rolls-Royce has won a GBP20 million (US$33 million) order to design and equip two UT 776 CD 

offshore service vessels for Island Offshore. The two UT 776 CD vessels will be built by STX OSV 

at its Brevik shipyard in Norway, with delivery scheduled for 2013. These are the ninth and tenth 

UT 776 CD vessels will ordered by the operator to date. The vessels will transport essential supplies 

to and from offshore oil and gas platforms. In addition to the ship design, the order includes a fully 

integrated and highly efficient diesel-electric power and propulsion system featuring four Rolls- 

Royce Bergen engines to power two Azipull thrusters. The ships will also feature a DP system, a 

comprehensive range of deck machinery and a bulk handling system for the safe loading of cargo. 

(Source: Baird) 

20/21


MARCO POLO BATAM SHIPYARD GETS $3.8 MILLION NEWBUILDING 

ORDER 

Singapore's Marco Polo Marine Ltd. (MPM) has secured a new shipbuilding contract to construct 

two towing tugs and two deck cargo barges for PT. Pelayaran Nasional Bina Buana Raya Indonesia 

for apporoximately S$4.6 million (about US$ 3.8 million). MPM subsidiary Marco Polo Shipping 

Co. Pte Ltd. has just completed the acquisition of a 49 percent equity stake in BBR. Besides 

engaging in ship agency functions (such as clearing of customs) and ownership of tugs and barges, 

BBR also undertakes the provision of chartering, re-chartering and transhipment services of vessels 

to its customers in Indonesia. Construction of the two towing tugs and two deck cargo barges is 

expected to begin in September 2011 at the Marco Polo Marine shipyard in Batam, Indonesia. The 

vessels are scheduled for delivery to BBR in June 2012. On completion and delivery, the] 

Indonesian flagged vessels will be deployed by BBR to ferry various commodities within Indonesia 

for its customers. Marco Polo Marine Group CEO Mr. Sean Lee commented, "We are pleased to be 

able to use our shipbuilding facilities in Batam to support the fleet expansion at BBR so as to 

capitalise on the growing opportunities for the transportation of commodities in Indonesia. This 

contract will increase the capacity utilization of our Batam shipyard and contribute to the 

profitability of the Group's shipbuilding activities in the following financial year." (Source: 

MarineLog) 

WEBSITE NEWS 

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Last week there have been new updates posted: 

1. Several updates on the News page posted last week: 

Resolve Salvage & Fire (ASIA), PTE LTD. Begins Removal of Wreck‟s 

Jensen Completes Tugboat Design Work for Harley Marine 

Boskalis acquires € 200 million port contract in Brazil 

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