WITH a sprinkle of eagle down, the smash of champagne bottles and several powerful horn blasts, Seaspan Marine welcomed three new tugboats with serious muscle into its fleet late last month.
The christening of the Seaspan Eagle, Osprey and Kestrel - three of four massive new tugs built for the company in a Turkish shipyard - marked the only triple-commissioning in Seaspan's 126-year history.
Dignitaries including Washington Marine owner Kyle Washington, Seaspan CEO Jonathan Whitworth, Squamish Nation chiefs and leaders from most of the port's marine businesses gathered on the dock at Lonsdale Quay June 28 to welcome the tugs into service.
At 28 metres long, and between 5,000 and 6,000 horsepower each, the vessels were built for serious business.
"They are the beasts for the port," said Whitworth, in a speech to the gathered dignitaries. "If you want to know why they look so big and beefy and strong, it's because they are."
Whitworth said the tugs are the largest and most technologically advanced in B.C. waters. They will be put into service as escort boats for oil tankers.
Designed by the Vancouver-based Robert Allan naval architects, the new vessels were built in the Sanmar Denizcilik Shipyard in Istanbul. Seaspan snapped them up after a deal between the shipyard and an original customer fell through.
The tugs made the 9,650-mile journey across the Atlantic and through the Panama Canal up to Vancouver under their own power. The Seaspan Raven - commissioned last year - was the first of the four boats to arrive.
On board the Seaspan Eagle, Capt. Dan Westmoreland said the technology onboard the new tugs is "light years ahead" of what used to exist. "It's comparing your old black and white TV to an LED flat screen," he said.
The four new tugs are in a class by themselves compared to the 2000-to 3000-hp tugs that make up the rest of Seaspan's fleet, he said.
The boats will work with a crew of between three and five on board.
