First Day of Work: Crowley’s New Ocean Class Tug Tows Grounded Hansa Berlin to Safety in Cuba

Image: Crowley

The first of Crowley’s four ocean class tugs, Ocean Wave, completed its first job earlier this month by removing a grounded containership from the northern coast of Cuba on behalf of Titan Salvage, Crowley’s emergency response, marine salvage and wreck removal arm.

Titan, along with Houston-based T&T Marine Salvage, was awarded the contract from Cuban salvage company, Antilliana De Salvemento, to assist with the removal of the stricken M/V Hansa Berlin containership that quietly grounded along Cuba’s coast during Tropical Isaac late this summer.

Following the grounding, Titan’s salvage master was on scene in less than 24 hours, Crowley’s government services team worked with U.S. and Cuban authorities to complete all necessary Customs documentation in advance, and the solutions team readied the Ocean Wave for the 48-hour transit from Orange, Texas, to the site of the project in Cuba.

The stricken vessel, towed by the Ocean Wave, was successfully removed from the coastline and delivered to port in Havana, Cuba, in early October, Crowley says.

“This successful project is a testament to the power of Crowley’s total capabilities,” said the company’s Todd Busch, senior vice president and general manager, technical services. “We leveraged many of our unique company assets – such as the Ocean Wave – our collective experience, and our long-standing relationships with the Cuban authorities and Antilliana De Salvemento to complete a challenging job quickly in a location where many others would be unable to work. Not only were we able to work as a team, but we performed the job quickly and without harm to the environment or any people. It was an excellent example of what Crowley can do in emergency response situations, in some of the most challenging locations in the world.”

Crowley’s Crowley’s ocean class tugboats, including the Ocean Wave, Ocean Wind, Ocean Sun and Ocean Sky, are ideally suited to work with Crowley’s 455 series high-deck strength barges, which measure 400 feet long by 105 feet wide (121.92 meters by 32 meters). These tugs are outfitted for long-range, high-capacity ocean towing, rig moves, platform and floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit tows, emergency response and firefighting. The Ocean Wave was christened, along with sister vessel,Ocean Wind, last week in New Orleans, La.

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