Fairplay deploys Starlink while overhauling emergency towing vessel

Fairplay Towage has docked its emergency towing tug Nordic in Bredo Dock in Bremerhaven, Germany, for comprehensive maintenance work and to upgrade its satellite communications. 

“Over the next few days, the propellers will be polished, the main engine will undergo a complete overhaul, and the crane will be dismantled,” said Fairplay. “In addition, Nordic will be equipped with Starlink, the latest Internet technology for optimal connectivity at sea.”

SpaceX’s Starlink provides low-latency and high-speed connectivity using a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites, supporting crew and operational communications. Flat-panel antennas will be installed on Nordic, enabling crew to use this service once the 2010-built vessel is brought back into operation.

The 3,375-gt, 78-m emergency towage vessel is usually stationed at an offshore position north of the East Frisian island of Norderney, halfway to Heligoland, Germany.

Nordic has two Rolls-Royce Power mtu BR8000 M71L engines with 20 cylinders in V formation, each with 8,600 kW of power, driving two controllable pitch propellers, each in a Kort nozzle. It has two Berg BFTT 417 bow thrusters of 800 kW and another at the stern for additional manoeuvring.  

According to Fairplay’s specification sheet for Nordic, it has a bollard pull of 201 tonnes, a top speed of 20 knots, and a Lintec crane with a safe loading of around 7 tonnes at 16 m.

Fairplay owns another seven vessels providing emergency towage and coastal protection in the North and Baltic seas.