As the crew transfer RIB Ocean Clipper set off from Castletownbere, Co. Cork, this morning, it passed the newest addition to Atlantic Marine & Towage’s fleet, following its impressive delivery voyage around Africa, writes Jehan Ashmore.
When the RIB was offshore of Bere Island, where the owners are based, the 30-ton bollard pull (bp) tug newcomer Ocean Shoalbuster was nearing completion after more than a two-month-long voyage from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, having almost circumnavigated Africa, the world’s second-largest continent.
Prior to its final leg to Ireland, Ocean Shoalbuster departed Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, on 26 March, on a course along the fringe of the Bay of Biscay bound towards Brittany before veering offshore of the Scilly Isles yesterday and heading for the southwest port on the Beara Peninsula.
As Afloat previously reported, Ocean Shoalbuster departed the UAE in late January and finally concluded its delivery before 0900hrs with the tug’s inaugural arrival to Castletownbere, where it berthed amongst some of its fleetmates interspersed by the local whitefish-based trawler fleet.
As the former MSC Nikki, it was acquired by Atlantic Marine & Towage from Scottish-based owners who deployed the versatile tug to the UAE, from where it predominantly served for the past two decades, working on large and high-profile projects such as The World. In addition to projects throughout the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the Maldives, and India.
The delivery voyage from the UAE by Ocean Shoalbuster began on 26 January from Free Port, Abu Dhabi, on the Persian Gulf, with the first leg reaching Port Victoria, the Seychelles, on 6 February, from where Afloat tracked the 215-ton tug before it continued the next leg across the Indian Ocean to South Africa, having passed the Cape of Good Hope. The maritime landmark, significantly discovered by Europeans in the 15th century, which led to opening the first all-water route to Asia via the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
This leg to Cape Town involved almost two weeks until its stopover on 27 February to enable bunkers, pick up supplies, and give the crew (with quarters for up to 6) a break before resuming its delivery voyage with another long leg through the vast expanse of the South Atlantic Ocean.
Since its stopever to the continent’s most southern nation, Afloat caught up with Ocean Shoalbuster when offshore of West Africa along the border of Mauritania and the Western Sahara. This was followed more recently with the newcomer tracked approaching the Canary Islands, as alluded.
With the acquisition of a Damen Shipyard Shoalbuster 2206 built to their design as reported, Atlantic Marine will have a most capable vessel, which are multi-purpose, designed to work in shallow, as well as deeper waters. Its diverse roles range from towing, mooring, pushing, anchor-handling, dredge support, supplying, and other supporting activities.
Ocean Shoalbuster brings the total fleet to 15 vessels, with the largest, the 62-ton (bp) Ocean Challenger, currently also berthed just metres away along with some of the fleet, as others are working elsewhere. Among them is the Irish-built crew transfer newbuild Ocean Transfer in Barry, Wales, and further to the east on the English Channel is the 21-ton (bp) Ocean Battler at Dieppe, France.
