Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Svitzer Pemboke

Global tug provider Svitzer will strengthen it's UK fleet and emergency towing capabilities in the south Wales Port of Milford Haven with a newly reaquired tug, while freeing up another to support its London operations (see related story). 

Svitzer, which is part of the Danish giant A.P. Moller-Maersk, has announced the purchase of a Svitzer Pembroke to support (tanker story) terminal operations in Milford Haven, UK.

The addition of the Svitzer Pembroke to the UK fleet will free up the 86-tonne bollard pull ASD tug Svitzer Ramsey for relocation to London to cater for expected growth at the River Thames and River Medway.

The Svitzer Pembroke was originally built for Svitzer at Zamakona Shipyard, Spain, but in 2014 the vessel was sold, and has operated under the name Boa Odin for the past eight years. The 100-tonne bollard-pull ASD tug has both aft towing winch and firefighting capabilities. This makes the Svitzer Pembroke uniquely suited to supporting Svitzer’s Terminal activities at Milford Haven and strengthens the existing fleet’s emergency response capability.

The arrival of the Svitzer Pembroke in Milford Haven allows Svitzer to redeploy the Svitzer Ramsey to London, where escort tugs with bollard pull from 80 tonnes and upward, plus fire fighting capabilities, are becoming increasingly important for serving customers effectively on River Thames and River Medway.

Commenting on the acquisition, Kasper Karlsen, Chief Operating Officer, Svitzer Europe and interim head of Svitzer in the UK said: “With the purchase of Svitzer Pembroke, we simultaneously accomplish two key goals. Increasing our minimum 80 tonnes bollard pull fleet in London from 6 to 7 tugs allows us to better meet current and future customer demands there. At the same time, we are able to strengthen our ability to provide emergency services and towing at Milford Haven. We are very pleased to once again have Svitzer Pembroke in our fleet.”

The newly reacquired tug has already arrived in the UK and will return to service in the coming months.

Svitzer currently operates more than 70 tugs in the UK and has around 650 employees.

The UK has been the launching off point for the company’s EcoTow project, with Svitzer’s entire fleet London, Felixstowe, Southampton and Scotland switching to low carbon biofuels. The service is set to be rolled out across the remaining ports in the UK and across Svitzer’s global operations.

Published in Ports & Shipping

The Half Ton Class was created by the Offshore Racing Council for boats within the racing band not exceeding 22'-0". The ORC decided that the rule should "....permit the development of seaworthy offshore racing yachts...The Council will endeavour to protect the majority of the existing IOR fleet from rapid obsolescence caused by ....developments which produce increased performance without corresponding changes in ratings..."

When first introduced the IOR rule was perfectly adequate for rating boats in existence at that time. However yacht designers naturally examined the rule to seize upon any advantage they could find, the most noticeable of which has been a reduction in displacement and a return to fractional rigs.

After 1993, when the IOR Mk.III rule reached it termination due to lack of people building new boats, the rule was replaced by the CHS (Channel) Handicap system which in turn developed into the IRC system now used.

The IRC handicap system operates by a secret formula which tries to develop boats which are 'Cruising type' of relatively heavy boats with good internal accommodation. It tends to penalise boats with excessive stability or excessive sail area.

Competitions

The most significant events for the Half Ton Class has been the annual Half Ton Cup which was sailed under the IOR rules until 1993. More recently this has been replaced with the Half Ton Classics Cup. The venue of the event moved from continent to continent with over-representation on French or British ports. In later years the event is held biennially. Initially, it was proposed to hold events in Ireland, Britain and France by rotation. However, it was the Belgians who took the ball and ran with it. The Class is now managed from Belgium. 

At A Glance – Half Ton Classics Cup Winners

  • 2017 – Kinsale – Swuzzlebubble – Phil Plumtree – Farr 1977
  • 2016 – Falmouth – Swuzzlebubble – Greg Peck – Farr 1977
  • 2015 – Nieuwport – Checkmate XV – David Cullen – Humphreys 1985
  • 2014 – St Quay Portrieux – Swuzzlebubble – Peter Morton – Farr 1977
  • 2013 – Boulogne – Checkmate XV – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1985
  • 2011 – Cowes – Chimp – Michael Kershaw – Berret 1978
  • 2009 – Nieuwpoort – Général Tapioca – Philippe Pilate – Berret 1978
  • 2007 – Dun Laoghaire – Henri-Lloyd Harmony – Nigel Biggs – Humphreys 1980~
  • 2005 – Dinard – Gingko – Patrick Lobrichon – Mauric 1968
  • 2003 – Nieuwpoort – Général Tapioca – Philippe Pilate – Berret 1978

Featured Sailing School

INSS sidebutton

Featured Clubs

dbsc mainbutton
Howth Yacht Club
Kinsale Yacht Club
National Yacht Club
Royal Cork Yacht Club
Royal Irish Yacht club
Royal Saint George Yacht Club

Featured Brokers

leinster sidebutton

Featured Webcams

Featured Associations

ISA sidebutton
ICRA
isora sidebutton

Featured Marinas

dlmarina sidebutton

Featured Chandleries

CHMarine Afloat logo
https://afloat.ie/resources/marine-industry-news/viking-marine

Featured Sailmakers

northsails sidebutton
uksails sidebutton
watson sidebutton

Featured Blogs

W M Nixon - Sailing on Saturday
podcast sidebutton
BSB sidebutton
wavelengths sidebutton
 

Please show your support for Afloat by donating