Random Tugs Along the St. Lawrence 2

Mostly photos, and all taken between Quebec City and Montreal.  Ocean Charlie is a great name.

Ocean Henry Bain moves a barge, possibly from a passenger terminal.

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Ocean Intrepide hangs at East Montreal.

But here in the South Shore Canal . . . the outlier . . .

 

Mary E. Hannah is way from out of the area.

 

And finally . . . in Valleyfield, it’s Cercle Polaire of GFFM.

 

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who posts when possible these days.

 

Océan Blue 6

A 4300 hp product of a Collingwood ON shipyard no longer there . . . it’s Océan Basques.

Here’s a better profile, taken a second earlier.  Basques provides ship assists in the port of Trois-Rivieres, QC.  

Docked nearby in the same port, it’s Océan Bravo, slightly older and larger though less horsepower,  a product of Quebec’s  Davie Shipbuilding. 

After Bravo, you’d expect and Charlie . . . and there’s most of the other names of the military alphabet up to Lima in the Ocean fleet. Charlie here is roughly a twin in size and power–though not styling–to Bravo.

Duga is based in the port of Sorel-Tracy, and is a 1977 product of the Trondheim Fjord of Norway.

Staying with the Océan fleet in the quite busy out of Sorel-Tracy, here’s Pilote 2000 stemming between

Leopard Moon and

Jebsens’ Sharpnes.

Downstream to Quebec City, here’s Océan Guide returning from a pilot run to Helena G and

exchanging pilots on Dara Desgagnes.

 

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who was not surprised to find that Canada has more miles of coastline than any other country on the planet.

And here’s an unrelated research question sent along by frequent contributor here, Jan van der Doe, and referring to the photo below taken in rotterdam in 1954.  Question is:  What identification might be provided by the white numbers “3793” visible in the lower right on the dark hull of the vessel just forward of the burning Tanga?  Note the Dutch flag on the stern of the vessel so marked.

 

Océan Blue 2

Where has the time gone since I did Ocean Blue 1?  Well, it’s not been wasted.   Ocean blue seems at least as ubiquitous on the lower Saint Lawrence as  green-red G-tugs are to the upper Great Lakes watershed.

I took all these photos near their Quebec City base, nestled beneath the illuminated G3 grain elevators so reminiscent of the ones in Buffalo.

Right up front and center is Ocean Tundra, with Ocean Taiga looking over its starboard shoulder.  Are they still the most powerful Canada-built tugs at over 8000 hp?  I’m going to have to invest in winter layers so that I can come up in January and see these machines in ice mode.

Ocean Charlie docks here too.

Just in from an assist, Ocean Ross Gaudreault and Ocean Henry Bain return to base.   Click here for the particulars on all the Ocean vessels.

 

Here Ocean Ross Gaudreault and Ocean K. Rusby assist a heavily laden Garganey.

 

In the distance beyond Ocean Stevns, is that Jacques Cartier National Park?

And what blue-hulled vessel is that in the distance at the shipyard?

Ocean Guide does pilot exchange round the clock.

 

 

 

More Ocean vessels tomorrow.  All these photos by Will Van Dorp, who’s eager to return to Quebec.

 

Océan Blue 1

A jolly tar sent me some photos that could be a continuation of Other Watersheds 17.  He was there recently, and these photos add to my desire to get back up there, since it’s been 25 years since I last saw this place.

Note the pilot boat.  Now I’ll use his words:  “MAERSK PALERMO northbound on St. Lawrence possibly bound for Nova Scotia or proceeding to sea.
Bridge in background connects mainland to Ile D’Orleans.  River SMOKES when it ebbs – 5+KTS.”

To see Ocean Charlie (1973) in exactly the same location in February, click here. Quebec City has an average January temperature of 9 F, compared with 30 for the sixth boro. If you want cold, go up to Quebec’s north country to Inukjuak, where the average January temperature is -12 F.

Ocean Tundra (2013) was built at Ocean’s own shipyard.   To her stern is Ocean K. Rusby (2005).  And the grain silos have also served as a projection screen.

Ocean Echo II (1969)  is a pin boat.

Ocean Guide returns from a call, fighting a current.

From a month ago, here are some other Ocean tugs, these in Hamilton.

For the entire Ocean tugboat fleet, click here.

Again, many thanks to the jolly tar.

For some stats on Canadian ports, click here.  Montreal–upriver from Quebec City– is one the the big four Canadian container ports; for info on the four, click here.