The Canadian workboat owner has expanded its fleet with two multipurpose tugs from Damen Shipyards
Halifax, Nova Scotia-headquartered Dominion Diving needed extra capacity for the services it provides shipping in the region including pilot transfer, towage, line handling and dredge support.
The company turned to their regular broker ACL Shipbrokers in its search for the optimal vessels for these operations in eastern Canadian ports.
Dominion was looking for IMO Tier II vessels with specific low emissions and high power for multipurpose operations in Canada and ACL identified two secondhand Damen Stan tug 1205 design that met their criteria. This design of vessel has 447 kW of power, producing a bollard pull of 9.5 tonnes.
This is up to triple the average current bollard pull in vessels of equivalent length and type in Canada, said Dominion managing director Robin Lohnes.
“Dominion’s fleet is not only painted green, we are going green with emissions reductions while increasing vessel output power,” Mr Lohnes told Tug Technology & Business.
ACL Shipbrokers worked closely with Damen Shipyards to offer two of these high bollard pull multipurpose vessels at a competitive price, ex-yard. Damen co-ordinated transport of these vessels – Dominion Rumbler and Dominion Enforcer – on a barge to Halifax at the end of November and early in December 2020.
These vessels will be used for North Atlantic all-weather, 24-hour harbour pilot transfer, scientific ocean research and development support.
They have shallow-water, extreme-duty towing and push boat capabilities and can be used to support dredging and as safety, standby rescue vessels with custom-designed and fixed personnel rescue davit apparatus.
Dominion will also use these vessels for line boat services to post-Panamax tankers, bulk carriers, container ships and cruise liners.
ACL managing director Alec Laing said, “we were tasked with finding small but powerful multipurpose vessels with towing capacity” for Dominion.
“This is exactly how we like to work with clients,” Mr Laing said, “Specific vessel searches where we can use our detailed market knowledge, broad network and imagination to achieve the best possible commercial solution,” he said.
Dominion operates a fleet of eight other multipurpose vessels, including five built for tug operations, personnel transfer, diving support and towing – Halmar, Dominion Phoenix, Dominion Bearcat, Big Steel and Roseway.
It operates multicat Dominion Warrior, Canada’s first Eurocarrier type vessel, supporting oceanographic survey, diving and towage and two vessels supporting hydrographic survey and diving - Dominion Pursuit and Dominion Victory.
Dominion Rumbler and Dominion Enforcer were unloaded on 7 December. Also on the barge for delivery to Dominion was another tug, Saint Georges, which is destined for Quebec owners. These tugs were towed across the Atlantic on barge Jacob Joseph C by 2013-built oceangoing tug Amy Lynn D.
This Shoalbuster 3209 design tug was working in the Middle East under name of MSC Allianz Explorer in January 2020, but changed its name when it was sold to Ontario-based Doornekamp. It will be mobilised after this tow to the Wolfe Island area to operate in eastern Lake Ontario.
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