A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, such as in crowded harbors or narrow canals, or cannot move at all, such as barges, disabled ships, log rafts, or oil platforms. Some are ocean-going, and some are icebreakers or salvage tugs. Early models were powered by steam engines, which were later superseded by diesel engines. Many have deluge gun water jets, which help in firefighting, especially in harbours.
TS Queen Mary is a Clyde steamer launched in 1933 at the William Denny shipyard, Dumbarton, for Williamson-Buchanan Steamers. She is currently being restored as a museum ship, in Glasgow.
The Marchioness disaster was a collision between two vessels on the River Thames in London in the early hours of 20 August 1989, which resulted in the deaths of 51 people. The pleasure boat Marchioness sank after being hit twice by the dredger Bowbelle at about 1:46 am, between Cannon Street railway bridge and Southwark Bridge.
Moby Orli is a cruiseferry owned by Moby SPA. Until September 2010, she was known as Pride of Bilbao, operated by P&O Ferries on their Portsmouth–Bilbao route. The vessel was built in 1986 as Olympia at the Wärtsilä Perno Shipyard in Turku, Finland for Rederi AB Slite, Sweden for use in Viking Line traffic. She was sold by Irish Continental Group to St. Peter Line in December 2010 and renamed Princess Anastasia and operated on the Saint Petersburg – Helsinki – Stockholm – Tallinn route. In 2022 she was withdrawn because of the conflict in Ukraine, transferred to Moby Lines and sailed to Messina for refurbishment. She was set to return to service in the Mediterranean.
MV The Second Snark is a small passenger ferry, built in 1938 by William Denny of Dumbarton, later operated by Clyde Marine Services on the Firth of Clyde, Scotland.
His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde, primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy. It is the navy's headquarters in Scotland and is best known as the home of Britain's nuclear weapons, in the form of nuclear submarines armed with Trident missiles.
A salvage tug, known also historically as a wrecking tug, is a specialized type of tugboat that is used to rescue ships that are in distress or in danger of sinking, or to salvage ships that have already sunk or run aground.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is a UK government organisation, authorised to investigate all maritime accidents in UK waters and accidents involving UK registered ships worldwide. Investigations are limited to establishing cause, promoting awareness of risks and preventing recurrence. It may also participate in other maritime investigations where British citizens are involved or where the UK has a substantial interest.
The Ve Skerries or Vee Skerries are a group of low skerries three miles (4.8 km) north west of Papa Stour, on the west coast of Shetland, Scotland. They define the southwest perimeter of St Magnus Bay.
MV New Flame was a Panamanian bulk-carrier cargo ship. It collided with an oil tanker off Europa Point, the southernmost tip of Gibraltar on 12 August 2007, and ended up partially submerged in the Strait of Gibraltar. The vessel broke into two in December 2007 amid numerous unsuccessful recovery efforts. The cargo was salvaged and the stern section removed for scrap. Following the crew's rescue, the captain was arrested for having departed without authorisation. Charges of endangering shipping were later dropped.
An emergency tow vessel, also called emergency towing vessel, (ETV) is a multi purpose boat used by state authorities to tow disabled vessels on high seas in order to prevent dangers to man and environment. The disabled vessel is either towed to a safe haven or kept in place against wind and current until commercial assistance by tug boats has arrived on site or until it has been repaired to the extent of being able to manoeuvre on its own. The need for ETVs as a preventive measure has arisen since the number of available commercial salvage tugs was reduced while potential dangers from individual vessels have increased. E.g. Spain has fourteen, Turkey has eleven, Germany operates eight, Norway has seven, France has five, Sweden three and the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Iceland and Finland each have one official emergency tug boat. Australia also operates emergency response vessels. The United Kingdom's four strong ETV fleet was to be disbanded in September 2011 due to budget cuts but the two vessels operating in Scottish waters received an extension of contract until the end of 2011.
Jia Yong, formerly MV Shen Neng 1 is a Chinese bulk carrier built in 1993 as Bestore. She was sold in 2007 and renamed Shen Neng 1. In 2010, she ran aground off Great Keppel Island in Queensland, Australia, spilling oil into Great Barrier Reef waters.
MV Swanland was a bulk carrier.
Point Chebucto is a harbour tug that was built at the Halifax Shipyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1992. She is one of very few harbour tugs that were built at the Halifax Shipyards. She has been aiding ships in and out of Halifax Harbour and later Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia since she was registered in January 1993. The tug was built for Eastern Canada Towing Limited, a company that has been around for over 60 years. The tug is named after the point at Chebucto Head, continuing the tradition of Eastern Canada Towing of naming its tugs after points. Eastern Canada Towing took over Foundation Maritime's work in the field of Harbour, Coastal and Deep-Sea tow and salvage. The firm owns and operate a fleet of modern tugs ranging from 1250 HP - 5400 HP. Most tugs are ice strengthened, with several having Ice Class 1 certification. Their head office is also in Halifax. Eastern Canada Towing was purchased in 2007 by Svitzer, a tug boat division of Maersk.
The MV Alam Pintar and FV Etoile des Ondes collision took place in the English Channel in 2009 and involved the Singapore bulk carrier Alam Pintar and the UK fishing vessel Etoile des Ondes. The fishing vessel sank and, although three of its four crew were rescued, one member, Chris Wadsworth, was never found. The bulk carrier continued on its passage although its crew knew of the collision and later made attempts to hide the fact of their knowledge. Three other vessels nearby did not respond to Etoiles' distress calls, even though these were also broadcast by the coastguards. The rescue was eventually carried out by the ferry MV Norman Voyager. The UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) carried out a full investigation of the incident and issued a damning report. Safety recommendations were made but under maritime law national governments have no authority over foreign-flagged vessels more than 12 nautical miles (22 km) from their coasts. No country attempted any criminal prosecutions.
MV Höegh Osaka is a roll-on/roll-off car carrier ship that was built in 2000 as Maersk Wind for A P Møller, Singapore. She was sold to Höegh Autoliners in 2008 and later renamed Höegh Osaka in August 2011. On 3 January 2015 she developed a severe list and was intentionally grounded in the Solent. Her 24 crew and a pilot were subsequently rescued.
The Cemfjord was a Cyprus-registered cargo ship which foundered in the Pentland Firth off the north-east coast of Scotland on 2 January 2015. Built as the general cargo ship Margareta in 1984, she was converted to carry cement in 1998 and was en route from Aalborg, Denmark to Runcorn, Cheshire, United Kingdom when she capsized in bad weather and sank in 82 metres (270 ft) of water. All eight crew were presumed lost. No bodies were recovered, and the ship has been left as a sea grave.
Cheeki Rafiki was a Bénéteau First 40.7 sailing yacht. Her sinking on May 16, 2014 resulted in an extended debate over the safety of modern sailing boats. The yacht lost her keel about 720 nautical miles Southeast of Nova Scotia and subsequently capsized. Rescue services found her upturned hull before it sank but the crew – four English men – were never found.
MV Coelleira was a Spanish-owned fishing vessel which was built in 1970 in the Netherlands. It was wrecked on 4 August 2019 on the Ve Skerries, Shetland.
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