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Displaying items by tag: Tug Deilginis

#DUBLIN PORT TUGS SOLD – Ben Eadar becomes the final member of an older generation of tugs to be sold having belonged to the Dublin Port & Docks Board (DP&DB) which was later to become the Dublin Port Company, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 17-tonnes bollard pull (tbp) Ben Eadar (built 1973 / 198grt) was sold to ARPA & Co. of Setubal, Portugal, though ironically she may be towed to her new working grounds.

She was the oldest of the trio alongside her fleetmates Cluain Tarbh (1991/268grt) and Deilginis (1997/335grt).

They were eventually replaced when the first of a pair of newbuilds entered in 2009. The Deilginis therefore was the last tug commissioned by the DP&DB. In addition they were the last tugs named after Dublin Bay coastal suburbs spelt in Irish. Deilginis is a translation for Dalkey, Cluain Tarbh for Clontarf and Ben Eadar for Howth.

The 35tbp Cluain Tarbh was renamed Elliot in February after her transfer to new owners T.P. Towing in Gibraltar while the 37tbp Deilginis remains in Irish waters.

She made a delivery voyage several weeks ago to Killybegs to start a new career with Sinbad Marine Services. The newcomer replaces another Voith Schneider tug the Carron of 24tbp which was sold to the Forth Bridge Consortium.

With only 13,000 working hours clocked-up on Deilginis main Caterpillar engines, she is however to undergo an upgrade to install new piping and wheelhouse electronics amongst other alterations.

Currently the Deilginis is classified with Bureau Veritas and has a notation of coastal waters but Sinbad intend to upgrade this to Limited European Area (LEA) waters so to increase a greater operational role.

She joins the multi-purpose Sinbad fleet which provide coastal towage, berthing assistance, oil spill recovery, fire fighting and dredging assistance.

Published in Dublin Port

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!