Abeille Bourbon
Encyclopedia
Emergency tow vessel
An emergency tow vessel, also called emergency towing vessel, 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...
(salvage tug
Salvage tug
A salvage tug is a specialized type of tugboat which is used to rescue or marine salvage ships which are in distress or in danger of sinking, or which have already sunk or run aground....
), 80 metres long with a tractive power
Bollard pull
Bollard pull is a value that allows the comparison of the pulling force of watercraft, particularly tugboats. A mooring bollard may be used as a point of attachment for measuring the force, or pull of the craft.-Background:...
of 200 tonne-forces (2 MN), a crew of 12, designed by Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
naval architect Sigmund Borgundvaag
Sigmund Borgundvaag
Sigmund Borgundvåg is a Norwegian naval architect of offshore vessels including platform supply ships and deep-sea tugs.-Biography:...
. It was baptised by Bernadette Chirac
Bernadette Chirac
Bernadette Thérèse Marie Chirac is a French politician and the wife of the former President Jacques Chirac....
on 13 April 2005 in the presence of its sponsor Jacques de Chateauvieux. It is based in Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Abeille Bourbon is owned by Abeilles International, a unit of Groupe Bourbon. The crew is made up of sailors of the merchant marine. It is chartered to the French government and can be called upon by the Maritime Prefect of Brest at any time.
The Abeille Liberté
Abeille Liberté
The Abeille Liberté is a salvage tug based in Cherbourg, France. It is a sister ship of Abeille Bourbon.It was built at the Myklebust Verft shipyard in Norway, which is part of the Kleven Maritime group. It was delivered in October 2005 and officially inaugurated on 17 November 2005.Abeille Liberté...
is a sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
of Abeille Bourbon.
Notable operations
- Towing Rokia Delmas in October 2006.
- Towing MSC NapoliMSC NapoliMSC Napoli was a United Kingdom-flagged container ship that was deliberately broken up by salvors after she ran into difficulty in the English Channel on 18 January 2007.-Early history:...
in January 2007. - Towing YM Uranus in October 2010.