# Tug "De Da"



## WayneS

I've recently been curious about the tug De Da, an ocean salvage/rescue tug 98 meters long, with 20,800 bhp. I notice that she towed the liner Norway (ex-France) halfway around the world to the shipbreakers, and about ten years ago was used in a tanker salvage operation off the Oregon coast, under gale conditions, with assistance from three other tugs.

She is said to be the biggest tug in China. Is there a bigger one somewhere?


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## tony Allard

Yes there is, it is made in Germany its called uranus, she has a bollard pull of 280 tons, has 4 main engines that produce 24500 bhp. Uranus has a sister as well.

there was another tug called Fotiy Krylov it was the largest tug in the world, but not since Uranus was built, Fotiy Krylov is still in service with Tsalviris a towage company in Greece i remember.

a pic of the Uranus is below.


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## tony Allard

The De Da, is with the towage company Svitzer-Coess.
the website is www.svitzer-coess.com


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## jdaioc123

*Worlds Bigest Tug*



tony Allard said:


> The De Da, is with the towage company Svitzer-Coess.
> the website is www.svitzer-coess.com


 
Far Samson The world’s most powerful offshore vessel ever built. With a bollard pull 423 tonnes. Far Samson year built:2008 delivered 09
121.5 M long 26 M beam
Gross tonnage: 15,620 + cargo 6,130 tonnes ice class- 1B
operations as supply vessel, trench digger ETC
max speed 20 Kts
machinery: rolls royce 35 900 BHP 2x Bow thrusters 1200KW stern thruster 1800 KW


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## Supergoods

It is true that some of the lagest Anchor Handlers are more powerful than the largest dedicated tugs however they are not rigged for ocean towing (Note the stern frame for handling anchors.)
Often the towing connections on the drilling rigs they would be expected to tow are not sufficiently strong to allow use without major modification.
Had lots of discussions with rig designers on this topic who seemed lost in the cheapest and minimal design modification method is best theory.
Ian


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## WayneS

Supergoods and others, thanks for the info. I found a picture of Far Samson's stern on the web, and it doesn't look at all like an ocean rescue/salvage tug stern. Two decks, the upper with no gear visible to me save an A frame and a crane; the lower with a roller which may or may not have something to do with anchor handling (I'm not a professional seaman) but doesn't look like typical tug gear at all. (Maybe I should rethink this phrase "typical tug gear.")

But there's also a site which mentions her towing a barge.

The Marine Traffic and Shipspotters sites do not classify her as a tug, but the only mention of a particular piece of work that I found is of a barge tow. Must have been a mighty big barge. There's lots of reference, though, as a poster notes above, to her being used for trenching and the like.


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## todd

A small picture of the 'De Da'....sorry I couldn't find anything larger.

Jim


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## todd

A couple more of 'DE DA' in different colours.

Jim


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## tony Allard

the *far samson* it's not a salvage tug at all it was NOT designed as a tug.

The Far Samson is a multifunctional subsea service vessel that entered service in 2009. The ship is the world's strongest offshore vessel with a bollard pull of 423t. Designed by Rolls-Royce and manufactured by STX Europe, the ship can perform a multitude of tasks including pipeline trenching in the North Sea.

it may have a good bollard pull, but i dont see that as a tug at all.


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## Blackal

One major factor in selecting a vessel for a long tow - is the ability to burn heavy fuel.
Most (if not all) of the North Sea AHTS vessels are designed to store and burn Marine Gas Oil / Diesel Fuel Oil only.

Harms Bergung (owners of Uranus, Janus, Magnus, Taurus) built their Anchor Handling Tugs - to operate on Heavy fuel oil..... making them more attractive for long passages. This can work against them when operating from many North Sea oil bases - which have no access to HFO.

I thought Uranus was around 200t bollard pull, to be honest??

Al


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## tony Allard

I thought Uranus was around 200t bollard pull, to be honest??

hi mate 

to get further details of uranus and her other vessels go to.

http://www.harms-bergung.de/our-fleet.php

it lists the bollard pull of all vessels in the Harms-Bergung fleet.


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## Blackal

Ah-hah!.........

I had thought that Magnus/Taurus were the most powerful, and remembered that they were around 200t.

thanks

Al


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## jd9628

WayneS said:


> I've recently been curious about the tug De Da, an ocean salvage/rescue tug 98 meters long, with 20,800 bhp. I notice that she towed the liner Norway (ex-France) halfway around the world to the shipbreakers, and about ten years ago was used in a tanker salvage operation off the Oregon coast, under gale conditions, with assistance from three other tugs.
> 
> She is said to be the biggest tug in China. Is there a bigger one somewhere?


Hi Wayne,

Yes the De Da belongs to a company which is a sub, of the Chinese company called C.O.E.S.S.E who are to all intents and purposes the Chinese Government. However there is one larger!!, The Far Samson which was launched a couple of years ago by the Norwegian Company called Far Offshore (see attachments).


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## tony Allard

The multifunctional Far Samson is capable of carrying out a multitude of tasks including: 

* heavy ploughing operations for pipes and cables on the seabed
* subsea installation work in ultra-deep water
* ROV operations, towing and other challenging subsea operations

The vessel has a continuous bollard pull of 423 tonnes using all available power and 377 tonnes using the main propulsion system. The vessel is 121.5m long vessel, has a 26m beam and weighs 15,620gt. Draught is more than 8m giving sufficient immersion to the large propellers.

as said earlier The Far Samson's primary purpose is subsea work. it can tow but is not charted out for towing. So yes it can tow but it usually doesn't.


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## andysk

WayneS said:


> I've recently been curious about the tug De Da, an ocean salvage/rescue tug 98 meters long, with 20,800 bhp. I notice that she towed the liner Norway (ex-France) halfway around the world to the shipbreakers, and about ten years ago was used in a tanker salvage operation off the Oregon coast, under gale conditions, with assistance from three other tugs.
> 
> She is said to be the biggest tug in China. Is there a bigger one somewhere?


Wayne, see my pics when she arrived in Rotterdam a couple of years ago towing a barge of barge hulls from China.

http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/galle...-tow-2c-rotterdam-2c-6-sep-2009281-29/cat/516


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## Blackal

Going back to Far Samson - I believe that it has been surpassed in the bollard-pull stakes now?

Lewek Fulmar (operated by EMAS, I think) claims to have it beat?

Al


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## jd9628

Blackal said:


> Going back to Far Samson - I believe that it has been surpassed in the bollard-pull stakes now?
> 
> Lewek Fulmar (operated by EMAS, I think) claims to have it beat?
> 
> Al



Key features of Lewek Fulmar include:
•	Vessel Capabilities
•	Field inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR)
•	Vessel has broken the world bollard pull record by an AHTS 
at 402.4 Tonnes Force under trial conditions
•	First UT788 CD vessel to be delivered
•	Diesel electric engine, which is more cost efficient due to low
fuel consumption In Diesel electric mode, it will give a
Bollard pull of 158.2 Tonnes Force


Far Samson The world’s most powerful offshore vessel ever built. With a bollard pull 423 tonnes. Far Samson year built:2008 delivered 09
121.5 M long 26 M beam
Gross tonnage: 15,620 + cargo 6,130 tonnes ice class- 1B
operations as supply vessel, trench digger ETC
max speed 20 Kts
machinery: rolls royce 35 900 BHP 2x Bow thrusters 1200KW stern thruster 1800 KW


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## 5036

I remember working with the tug skippers in the North Sea as the bollard pulls ramped up and the main concern was "Have the clever b*****s considered how my deck crew can handle the ever larger shackles?"


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## alyn

as most warranty companies now require 2x bollard pull for size of tow wire /pennants /shackles etc. i havnt been on a tow yet with towing gear that big.so these super powered vessels have to be run at lower power.so they dont break rigged bridles or standing gear on the tow. alyn.


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## tony Allard

alyn said:


> as most warranty companies now require 2x bollard pull for size of tow wire /pennants /shackles etc. i havnt been on a tow yet with towing gear that big.so these super powered vessels have to be run at lower power.so they dont break rigged bridles or standing gear on the tow. alyn.


Ahh ok, i never knew that.


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## Supergoods

alyn said:


> as most warranty companies now require 2x bollard pull for size of tow wire /pennants /shackles etc. i havnt been on a tow yet with towing gear that big.so these super powered vessels have to be run at lower power.so they dont break rigged bridles or standing gear on the tow. alyn.


The various pennant wires that make up the tow bridle could in different cir***stances be used for lifting gear where the SWL is required on the certification.

As the bridle is not lifting gear, the breaking strength only is required, but to avoid down grading the strength of the wire in service this must be stated by the purchaser otherwise you will end up with the SWL and have a virtually useless wire for any heavy duty towing.

The wires making up the pennants should be sized to match the tug's towing wire with the provision of a slightly weaker pennant outside the main bridle to act as the weak link.

Try getting that across to the purchasing department.

Ian


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## Joe w

It OK having masive bollard pull but on most rig you are only allowed to pull to the maximum of the padeyes that it is rigged to.
I was n a 200T bollard TUG and we were restristed to no more than 120T which was written into the towage approval issued by the warranty and that was a long distance tow from GOM to Malta.
Thia was upped after renewal of padeyes normaly I have been on rig tow where you are told not to exceed 70T so whats the use of having all this power if you can't use it.
The person who said that Uranus was the biggest tug is correct and believe if memory serves me right managed 303t on her bollard pull.These other vessels quoted are mainly used for sub-sea work and are not tugs, I wouldn't think that they wouldn't be very good with long towing apart from the cost of fuel oil used per day being MGO, its the distance as well as they need to keep a fair bit on board for stabilitiy as they burn a vast amount of the stuff.


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## Supergoods

Joe,

I agree with you on padeyes.
I tried for about a year to get design engineering to accept that the traditional padeye strength was insufficient for the new tugs coming on line.
All to no avail.
Ian


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