Big Dutchman

[shanemax]

Big Dutch tug on The Stour flying the Dutch flag heading towards Mistley. That must have been a long slow journey over from Holland.
Today at 15.30. . 06.10.23

 

[PaulRainbow]

Barney has been here for some time and has been part of the recent dredging operations in the haven.

 

[shanemax]

Interesting. Does not the UK have any suitable tugs to do the job. UK jobs should come first. I did see it in Ipswich docks a couple of days ago and wondered what it was up to. It is quite a hefty machine.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Interesting. Does not the UK have any suitable tugs to do the job. UK jobs should come first. I did see it in Ipswich docks a couple of days ago and wondered what it was up to. It is quite a hefty machine.

All of the tugs at Felixstowe are Dutch, i believe. Same with all/most of the dredgers. Barney isn't being used as a tug in the normal sense, she's involved in dredging operations.

 

[tillergirl]

Ah Shane, you have been caught out not reading the Notices to Mariners - e.g Week 41! T'ish, T'ish.

 

[Rum Run]

Interesting. Does not the UK have any suitable tugs to do the job. UK jobs should come first. I did see it in Ipswich docks a couple of days ago and wondered what it was up to. It is quite a hefty machine.

This is UK mate, we launder money and litigate foreign billionaires divorces. All that making and doing is so 19th century

 

[shanemax]

First of all the tugs at Felixstowe are flying the red ensign. Dutch parent company. British crew. Secondly what's wrong with British. The trouble with us is we buy foreign cars, foreign electronics and foreign furniture and in some cases foreign wives. Rule Britannia....... Or Fool Britannia.

 

[shanemax]

Oh and I am proud to be British/English/European or a World Citizen. Call me what you like.

 

[PeterWright]

First of all the tugs at Felixstowe are flying the red ensign. Dutch parent company. British crew. Secondly what's wrong with British. The trouble with us is we buy foreign cars, foreign electronics and foreign furniture and in some cases foreign wives. Rule Britannia....... Or Fool Britannia.

I think you misunderstood Paul's post - I think he was referring to the craft involved in the recent major dredging operation in Harwich, rather than the tugs that routinely aid the shipping in Harwich Harbour / Felixstowe dock. The contractor who won the dredging contract was a consortium of mostly (all?) Dutch companies who unsurprisjngly chose to do the work with their own craft which fly Dutch ensigns like the one in the OP. I believe the tugs flying red ensigns which assist the ships berthing or leaving Felixstowe dock are British owned.

Peter

 

[shanemax]

They are not British owned but Danish owned.
Svitzer are a Danish company and not Dutch as I said earlier but have local crews.

 

[LittleSister]

First of all the tugs at Felixstowe are flying the red ensign. Dutch parent company. British crew. Secondly what's wrong with British. The trouble with us is we buy foreign cars, foreign electronics and foreign furniture and in some cases foreign wives. Rule Britannia....... Or Fool Britannia.

It's only an accident of history that Britain is not politically/administratively united with Denmark (it was once, and our current monarchy is closely related to the Danish one) or the Netherlands, and we have traded, migrated both ways and inter-married etc. extensively with both for many hundreds of years, so is it really worth getting too exercised about the nationality of the ships working in our harbours?

The traditional craft of the East Coast and those of the Netherlands etc. are so closely related as to be near indistinguishable, and Dutch and Danish flags and ensigns have long been a common sight on the East Coast. (Usually, though not always, on friendly terms!)

Britain got rich by trading and colonising, with British companies operating overseas a crucial component of that. (What's good for the goose . . .) Had our forebears taken your isolationist approach, Britain would be far poorer (actually probably wouldn't exist as it would have been taken over by some wealthier and more powerful state), and few or none of us would be able to afford a boat to waft around the Stour watching the Danish/Dutch working craft you mention.

A few Dutch ensigns about jollies the place up a bit. (But watch out you don't confuse them with the pesky Frenchies' ones! )

 

[shanemax]

Are you one of those boring teachers where the kids start nodding off. Where did I mention isolationalism. All I said was UK jobs for people who live here. Wake up. British companies are moving their call centres abroad and a lot of production cos you don't have to pay the same wages. We have had wars with Holland and Denmark in the past. The one thing this country was always good at was gun ship diplomacy. How do you think we got our Empire. By being frightfully nice.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Are you one of those boring teachers where the kids start nodding off. Where did I mention isolationalism. All I said was UK jobs for people who live here. Wake up. British companies are moving their call centres abroad and a lot of production cos you don't have to pay the same wages. We have had wars with Holland and Denmark in the past. The one thing this country was always good at was gun ship diplomacy. How do you think we got our Empire. By being frightfully nice.

This is the East Coast Forum.

You might feel more at home in the lounge.

 

[shanemax]

This is the East Coast Forum.

You might feel more at home in the lounge.

This is the East Coast Forum.

You might feel more at home in the lounge.

Read a selection of your replies to people. They are all very negative. I could recommend a book you could read that might help.