Fraser River News

SAAM Towage has acquired a new tug, the SAAM James Point, that arrived in Vancouver, Canada after completing its loading operation onto the cargo ship BBC Moonstone in Halong Bay, Vietnam.The Damen ASD 2312 design tug was acquired from the Dutch company Damen and built at its Song Cam shipyards in Vietnam. Measuring 23 meters long and 12 meters in beam, it boasts 70-ton bollard pull capacity, Kongsberg azimuth thrusters and two CAT 3512C IMO Tier III main engines, which enables…

Founded in 1958 as an extension of the Stradiotti family businesses, North Arm Transportation has grown to be a significant fuel company on the BC coast. Over the years, the company fleet has expanded and evolved. With tugs in a range of size and power, as well as cargo and fuel barges, the company services the coast out of its headquarters in Vancouver on the North Arm of the Fraser River. They also have facilities on Mitchell Island in the Fraser and at Masset on Haida Gwaii.

The British Columbia Government has joined Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and FortisBC to establish the first ship-to-ship LNG marine refueling – or bunkering – facility on the west coast of North America.The use of LNG to power the world’s ocean-going vessels is forecast to expand and B.C. is well positioned to benefit from this growth.According to industry standards, replacing diesel fuel with LNG has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 20%. Because FortisBC’s Tilbury facility runs on clean B.C. electricity, LNG produced there could reduce GHG emissions in marine shipping by up to 26%.LNG-fueled…

Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) provider FortisBC has joined SEA\LNG, a multi-sector industry coalition accelerating the widespread adoption of LNG as a marine fuel.Peter Keller, Chairman, SEA\LNG, said: “We’re pleased to welcome FortisBC to the SEA\LNG coalition. Our North American member network grows as the appetite for LNG as marine fuel expands across the globe.”FortisBC brings to the coalition nearly 45 years’ experience in LNG production in Western Canada. It owns and operates two LNG facilities on the west coast; its Tilbury LNG facility began operations in 1971, while it’s Mount Hayes facility on Vancouver Island launched operations in 2011.Douglas Stout…

Canada's Island Tug and Barge (ITB) christened the second of two new ATB tugs, the Island Regent, at its headquarters in Burnaby.The Island Regent was designed by acclaimed Robert Allan Ltd. naval architects and marine engineers of Vancouver, B.C. to be paired with ITB’s double-hulled oil tank barge, the ITB Reliant, as an articulated tug and barge (ATB), said a press release from the subsidiary of Tidewater Canada.Bob Curcio, Tidewater President and CEO said: “The first ATB, the Island Raider and ITB Resolution, has performed exceptionally well in its first year of service. We are excited to have the Island Regent and ITB Reliant joining it soon.

Canada-based provider of oil cargo transportation services Island Tug and Barge Ltd informed that s new ATB push tug the Island Raider has entered service pushing the double hulled refined petroleum products barge, ITB Resolution.The Island Raider is the first of two, twin Z-drive, ATB push tugs for service on the West Coast of North America. Constructed at Island Tug’s Annacis Island Shipyard on the Fraser River, the Island Raider is connected by an articulating pin system to the ITB Resolution which was retrofitted with pin ladders and stern extensions for connecting to the new tug.According to Robert Allan Ltd, who designed the tug…

Island Raider, the newest articulating tug in Island Tug and Barge’s (ITB) fleet, was christened September 28, during an afternoon ceremony at ITB’s headquarters in Burnaby, B.C.The new vessel is first of two in a series built by on-site at ITB’s Annacis Island facility along the Fraser River. The Island Raider, along with its sister the Island Regent (delivery February, 2019), was designed by renown Robert Allan Limited naval architects and marine engineers of Vancouver, B.C. to be paired with ITB’s double-hulled oil tank barge, the ITB Resolution, as an articulated tug and barge (ATB).

The ownership of the Canadian firm Island Tug and Barge has changed with the purchase by the U.S. parent company Tidewater Inc. The firm is now known as Island Tug.The second tug, with the hull and superstructure completed and with the Cummins K38s installed still requires more work, was also launched in early May of 2018.The vessels were built in a warehouse on the Fraser River. With no launching facility and a railway track between the yard and the steep bank of the river, it took some innovative heavy lifting.

Over the last few years, as the design output from Robert Allan Ltd. to the global tugboat community began to border on the prodigious, we were often asked, “How many tugs has your company designed?” Until very recently we really did not have a good handle on that number, so the answer was usually either “a lot” or “many hundreds”, neither of which were particularly illuminating. So a search was begun late in 2016 to review our archives and try to determine the tug tally much more precisely. Would we rival Helen? Where did it all begin?

Over the years Vancouver, BC based Island Tug and Barge (ITB) has refurbished and repowered older vessels and completed new vessels. The company is currently working on its most ambitious and innovative project to date. In its Annacis Island Shipyard, located undercover in a pair of huge leased warehouses on the Fraser River, ITB is building two tugs that will be paired with two of its existing barges. The two boats are built with pins for use in an articulated tug and barge application.

“We don’t usually remove the heads at mid-life on the Cummins engines,” Randy Beckler, Shore Engineer for Seaspan Marine, explained in reference to the 2003 launched Seaspan Venture’s third like-for-like repower. The repower was completed in the first week of February 2016. The Seaspan Venture, like her sister the Seaspan Tempest, had a pair of Cummins KTA38 M0 engines when new builds. These engines were changed out at over 40,000 hours. In 2016, the second set of engines had around 42,000 hours.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is deploying a team of investigators following the girding and sinking of the tug Sea Imp X in the North Arm of the Fraser River, British Columbia. The occurrence took place yesterday at approximately 20:00 PDT. The TSB will gather information and assess the occurrence. It is publishing selected data pertaining to accidents and reportable incidents from its Marine Safety Information System (MARSIS) for use by professionals and the public to advance transportation safety. The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline, railway and aviation transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.

The Ledcor Group of Companies announced that it has taken delivery of six new cargo barges to serve clients in southwest B.C. Ledcor said its marine division has grown significantly since its inception in 2012 and is on target to double its fleet size by 2016, bringing its fleet totals to nine tugboats and 23 barges. "Ledcor continues to invest in its marine operations, allowing us to expand and diversify to meet the needs of current and future clients," said Mark Houghton, Chief Operating Officer for Ledcor's Marine Operations.

“We use 10,000 pound anchors on the nets,” said Keith Carpenter as he explained the complexities of this traditional salmon fishery. Carpenter is the president of Lummi Island Wild, the organization that manages and markets the catch from several reef nets. Carpenter was explaining the need for the 12-inch moon pool and heavy winch located forward and midships on the deck of the newly launched Galactic Ice. “When we have to move an anchor we will send down a diver to attach a line.

Today, software developer Helm Operations announced that it has signed Pacific Pilotage Authority (PPA) Canada to its Helm CONNECT Preventive Maintenance software. PPA operates five pilot boats and provides complete pilotage services for all ports on Canada’s west coast including Vancouver and those within the Fraser River. Ekkebus continues, touching on a core element of Helm software’s purpose. Ron deBruyne, CEO and Founder of Helm Operations is proud to have Helm CONNECT serve PPA and says. Helm CONNECT is designed to be intuitive in every way. Helm works closely with workboat personnel when building the product through direct consultation with real life users, like port engineers, crew and shore-based personnel.

Port Metro Vancouver said on Thursday that operations had resumed at most port facilities shut down by a shipping container fire the day before, but that its Centerm container terminal was still closed. The chemical fire, which prompted a massive emergency response late on Wednesday and shut down a large portion of Canada's biggest port, continued to smolder at the container yard just east of downtown Vancouver. "Fire officials have isolated the fire and continue to monitor the container," said Port Metro Vancouver spokesman John Parker-Jervis in a statement, adding that there is an 100 meter (330 feet) exclusion zone in place around the burning container. He added that operations had resumed at all other port facilities on the south shore of the Burrard Inlet.

Kvichak Marine delivered two all-aluminum 36.6’ Crew / Pilot Boats to Tymac Launch Service, Ltd. of British Columbia, Canada. The vessels were designed by Kvichak for the specific use of transporting 12 or fewer passengers for BC coast pilots, government officials, ships agents and surveyors, longshoremen, repair crews etc. The areas of operations include Vancouver Harbor, Indian Arm, Howe Sound, the Fraser River and Southern Gulf of Georgia Strait. Powered by twin John Deere 6090SFM85 diesel engines rated for 425 bhp and ZF 305-3 marine gears.

The Canadian Lifeboat Institution (CLI) has taken delivery of a Tyne-class lifeboat from UK's RNLI and renamed the rescue vessel 'Fraser Lifeboat', informs the Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia. The Fraser Lifeboat originally entered service in 1987 as Famous Grouse for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). During her first career, the Tyne-class boat is credited with 363 launches leading to the rescue of 475 people and the saving of 37 lives. She was carried to Vancouver on board the vessel Star Lima due to the generosity of Grieg Star Shipping and following which the boat has been extensively overhauled to ensure reliability for her new role.

Catherwood Towing's owner, Ernie Catherwood, adds another tugboat to his 14-boat fleet that operates in and around Canada's Fraser River. The 39-year old boat was at a shipyard undergoing a scheduled Canadian Steamship Inspection. Ernie had marine surveyor Mark McAllister and his port engineer Trevor Sexton check the boat out, and they reported the boat sound with excellent 1/2-inch hull plating. But the old 12V149 Jimmies were tired, although their big Lufkin gears had recently been rebuilt and were in good shape.

Mill Log Marine announces Thordon Bearings components are now available in British Columbia. Mill Log Marine, Burnaby, BC (www.milllog.com) announced that Thordon Bearings Inc. (www.thordonbearings.com) has collaborated with its Burnaby, BC distributorship to represent Thordon’s environmentally friendly state-of-the-art polymer products in Western Canada. “Mill Log Marine’s reputation, expertise and knowledge of the marine market gives us great confidence in knowing that our products will be strongly supported in western Canada”, added Axel Swanson, Technical Sales Representative, Thordon Bearings Inc. Don Lindsey, Director of Sales & Marketing for Mill Log Marine stated…

Catherwood Towing operates a fleet of tugs on the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada. Owner Ernie Catherwood has built the fleet over the years and has recently been repowering with Cummins engines. In the spring of 2009 Ernie Catherwood took delivery of his first new-build with Cummins KTA19 main engines from Sylte Shipyard Ltd. The Sea Imp IX is 53.6 ft overall with a hefty 22 ft beam and a 9.75 ft draft. As were several of the boats already in the fleet, the new boat was built to a design by West Vancouver based A.

Samson Tug Boats Inc. launch the 'Kootenay', a BC-locally built tugboat for operations on the Fraser Fiver. Not only is she a local design – she is locally built. The 5,000hp tug, designed by AG McIlwain, was launched from the North Vancouver shores at ABD Shipyards. While it is not uncommon to find 5,000hp tugs in harbours across the globe, the Kootenay is remarkable in that she is less than 20 metres long. Other tugs of similar horsepower and performance are much larger and are not nearly as nimble.

Vital access channels in the Fraser River in Steveston & Ladner will be kept navigable by a US$ 10-million joint dredging contract. Economic activity in the area will be facilitated as a result of unprecedented collaborative work bringing together a $10 million joint commitment by Port Metro Vancouver, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the Corporation of Delta, and the City of Richmond. "Providing clear, safe, local navigation channels is enormously important to our communities…