On July 2 the ex-Portland Dock # 4, now the
Grand Bahama Shipyard Dock # 2, departed Portland,Ore., bound for it's new home at the Grand Bahama Shipyard Ltd. in Freeport, Grand Bahama. Under a marine
management contract with Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBSY), Seaspan has chartered the
Global Towing Alliance Ocean Going Tug "De Yue". The 'De Yue' is a 20,800 bhp, 200-mt BP, twin screw deep sea salvage tug owned by Guangzhou Salvage of China and is uniquely suited for a tow of this magnitude due to her high BHP and her large bunker capacity.
The 'De Yue' is expected to take approximately 170 days encompassing approximately 20,000 NM with an average tow speed of about 5.5 knots. Routing is specifically designed to avoid major weather patterns in each of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. The tow will stop for bunkering in four locations, currently intended to be Davao, Djibouti or Singapore, Suez or Cape Town, and Gibraltar or Fortaleza, depending on the final routing of the tow and conditions encountered en route.
As of this time, the tow route has two options 1) to cross the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope for entry into the Atlantic or 2) to transit the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean for entry into the Atlantic. A final routing decision will be made later in the tow.
The first leg of the tow, a 17 hour transit of the Columbia River and over the Bar at Astoria, was very smooth and completed without incident. All parties involved in the smooth transit of the Columbia River by the 'De Yue' and the Dock from Oregon are to be thanked for their efforts;
Cascade General Shipyard, Foss and their four assist tugs the 'Daniel Foss - 2,300 HP Z Drive Tractor', 'America - 2,800 hp VS tractor, P.J. Brix - 3,000 hp Z drive Pusher' and the 'Lewiston - 3,000 hp Pusher', the Columbia River Pilots and the Astoria Bar Pilots.