Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Surprise new Canadian tug

A surprise addition to the Canadian flag is the tug Itinerante I, registered in Thunder Bay, ON on December 10, 2012.
Built in 1963 by Gebr. Paans NV, in Moerdijk, Netherlands, it is small tug of 117 gross tons, powered by a pair of MWM Deutz engines giving 1600 bhp through twin screws. a single screw.
A lovely looking tug, it was built originally as Havendienst 1 (Havendienst = Port Service) for the Port of Rotterdam Amsterdam, also with the official name Vulcanus. It worked in the port as a fire tug until 2001, having been repowered and rebuilt in 1989.
After that I am still a little cloudy on its history. I believe it was renamed RPA 4 in about 2002, and may have carried the unofficial name of Vulcanus at one time.
It may laso have carried the name Auke Sr from 2002 to 2010 before acquiring its present name.the name Fire Fight Tug in 2010.
Registered owners are listed as Coastal Cayman Ltd of Toronto, but there is a website for Itinerante Marine which shows an excellent photo of the trim little tug. http://www.itinerantemarine.com/
It seems unlikely that it will put in an appearance in Canada, but it is odd that the Cayman Islands, usually a flag of convenience, would have a tug registered in Canada!
The only other photos I have found of the tug are at:
http://www.debinnenvaart.nl/binnenvaarttaal/afbeeldingen/schepen/sleep_duwboten/havensleepboten/havendiensten02.html
http://www.debinnenvaart.nl/schip_detail/7006/
An older photo, perhaps taken before a rebuilding is at:
http://www.maritiemdigitaal.nl/index.cfm?event=search.getdetail&id=120121617

1 comment:

  1. Here is a picture. It is public domain.
    https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tugboat_Itinerante,_2014_11_28_%2815716613089%29.jpg

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