In recent weeks, Boskalis subsidiary Smit Salvage provided assistance to a 300-metre-long container vessel that experienced a fire in the Atlantic Ocean. After repairs, Smit will accompany the vessel on its trip to Europe.
The fire was brought under control at sea, after which the vessel was towed to the port of Salvador for emergency repairs. These emergency repairs have been completed, and the vessel is ready for departure to Morocco and Europe, where the containers will be discharged.
The container vessel can sail under its own power again, but Smit Salvage and Boskalis are accompanying the ship with the 302-tonne bollard pull oceangoing tug BOKA Keeper as an escort tug. The tug will keep a close eye on the situation in case the container vessel experiences any unexpected headwind during its voyage.
The DP2 BOKA Keeper is a specialised, powerful anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) and long-distance ocean towing vessel. It is of the SX157 Ulstein X-Bow design. Before being acquired and rebranded by Boskalis, the vessel was well known in the maritime industry as the ALP Keeper. It measures 88.9 metres by 21 metres.
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Escort jobs occur regularly
The escort to Europe is an example of the collaboration between Boskalis’ business units Marine Services, Smit Salvage and the shipowner. The company has applied this format on more occasions in the recent past and involves Boskalis vessels ranging from large to small.
Examples include the deployment of the Ndeavor during the prolonged salvage of the FSO Safer off the coast of Yemen, as well as the assistance provided by the BOKA Sherpa during the fire aboard the Northern Juvenile off the coast of Malaysia. Another example is the towing of a grounded pipe-laying vessel off the Mexican coast by the BOKA Alpine.
Picture: The BOKA Keeper is escorting a container ship to Europe (photo Boskalis).
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