- Six tugs designed by Robert Allan and delivered by Sanmar and Damen have been blessed at the Scottish Port of Leith.
- The vessels include three Sanmar-built RAmparts 2400sx, one Sanmar RAstar 2900sx, one Sanmar TRAktor 2500sx and a Damen-built ASD tug 2312.
At a special dedication ceremony at the Port of Leith this week, six tugs were given a traditional marine blessing with their godmothers present, reports Forth Ports Group.
They form part of the large fleet of tugs and work boats operated by Targe Towing Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Forth Ports Limited, which provide towage, emergency response and other services 24 hours a day principally on the Forth and Tay, two of the UK’s busiest waterways, the North East ports of Scotland and offshore.
Six tugs blessed at Scottish port
The ceremony also marked, by the merged entities, 40 years of continuous towage operations at Braefoot Bay and 30 years of operations at Hound Point Marine Terminal both located on the River Forth. Bishop of Brechin, Rt Rev Andrew Swift, led the blessing of the tugs, which are named the Balmerino, Camperdown, Inchcolm, Kittiwake, Peterel and Queensferry and, to follow the tradition of assigning a female godmother to a marine vessel, each tug had its godmother at the ceremony.
- MT BALMERINO – Godmother Carole Cran – Chief Commercial and Financial Officer at Forth Ports
- MT CAMPERDOWN – Godmother Lesley Dorman – Lesley is married to Captain Nick Dorman, MD of Targe Towing
- MT INCHCOLM – Godmother Tyne Reilly – FNGL Plant Manager at Shell
- MT KITTIWAKE – Godmother Pamela Smyth – Chief Legal and Property Officer at Forth Ports
- MT PETEREL – Godmother Karen Wallace – Karen is married to Stuart Wallace, CEO of Forth Ports
- MT QUEENSFERRY – Godmother Angela Gardner – Angela is married to Andrew Gardner, CEO of INEOS Forties Pipeline Services, owner of the tug.
Representatives from Damen Shipyard, Robert Allan Naval Architects and Sanmar Shipyard who designed and built the tugs, welcomed the ship’s godmothers with a gift exchange. The Tugs, crewed by expert mariners, are established work horses of the Targe Towing and INEOS FPS marine fleets and have a long life span which can last decades. These state-of-the-art vessels demonstrate the latest technology and significantly enhance the overall towage capability and emergency response for the region.
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Source: Forth Ports Group
