Big tug required!

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Avocet

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Hi All, A mate of mine had just gone and bagged an Ebay "bargain" (ahem!) in the form of 110 feet of old steel barge from the 1920s. It's not (apparently) seaworthy - has at least 3 holes in it and tends to fill up and sink every 3 weeks unless pumped out. It is on a drying mud berth on the South coast at present (Torbay I think) and he wants to move it round the East coast and up the river Humber for a major restoration project.

Can anyone recommend any firm / person / lunatic who might be interested in towing this hulk up there?
 
You will probably have to approach someone in one of the Ports .... such as Smits etc.

Talk to a Ships Agent - but be prepared for a big bill to do this ....

You will not only have the Towage .... but also the Collision Mats / shoring / closing of the holes etc. to get her to float - if lucky !!

From SW to East Coast is quite a task and will take a lot of effort and professional skill - along with suitable weather ... not a task to take on lightly.
 
This would be a contract fee job and not really salvage needing Open forms as in "rescue" emergency cases ....
 
What about taking it out of the water and moving it by low loader - maybe cheaper than moving it by sea.

There are a few specialist haulage firms that could do it, extra long low loaders with rear wheel steering.

Costly job mind
 
Best to basic repairs where it lying at the moment, I cannot see any-one taking on towing a hulk that will not float!
Where is it exactly, I doubt if it is in Torbay, maybe up the River Dart or Salcombe?
 
110 feet long???????? By road????????

I've no idea what it weighs but probably a few hundred tons at least. I did wonder about getting it cut in half and moving each half up by road. It's 20' wide though.

The guy who has bought it runs a steel fabrication business so if he can get it up there, it won't be a problem. We're looking at trying to weld up the holes at low water with a portable welding set just now.

I agree this shouldn't really be a "slavage" job as such. Anyone got any ideas how much such a venture might cost?
 
Try Nigel Boston (see Boston Marine ) in Oreston, Plymouth. He may tell you to "Feck orrf", not being a reknowned fan of Wafi's, but it's the sort of job his ship(s) could do if you could persuade him. The "Terschelling" is the one with the yellow A-frame in the aerial photograph.
 
Blimey! Ok, well that's another option then. Could you recommend any firms we might contact?

I'm completely out of my depth on this one - biggest I've ever had to move is 27' long and 3 tons!
 
Sell it for scrap and buy one on the Humber. There'll be one at Beverley Beck I bet.

This is at Beverley.

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Yes thats really silly. I think a conventional tug will be mega expensive though. Try Williams Shipping on the Itchen (Southampton). They have some relatively small tugs that could do it and if they can't they will know who can.
Don't even think of those black hearted Dutchmen you can't afford them!
 
What 20 ft wide and 110ft long? I don't think so! Last I was aware this was a notifiable exessively wide load and restricted to major roads on certain routes and could only move with a police escort at certain times of day. Trains ain't anywhere as wide as this remember.....
 
You could try Alan Pratt Salvage on the Medway as I know he's been known to tow barges up the E. coast. He has a couple of tugs but I bet he will want it waterproof at least before he starts. As a rough idea (don't hold me to it) he charges 'bout £800/day - but thats only for 8 hrs.

Peter.
 
You are not alone , but mines only 102 ft by 18 ft . But at least mine's floating . Insurance is another area you will need to look at , but if you have clear access to the open sea , and don't need to get past any marinas or anything , you might get on better . Stear clear of Alan Pratt , he tried to stitch me up , you could try Drakes Towage ( Wisbech ) , but don't hold your breath waiting for a price , you might have a heart attack when he gives it to you
 
I wasn't suggesting he'd break even. But at £800 a day to tow it around he's going to spend a lot of money on a hulk. I'd never buy a project that wasn't close by. You've got to be able to metaphorically put a match to it if it turns into a nightmare.
 
It's a lot of money, but then I was given a price anywhere from £6000-00 to £10000-00 to move mine a very short distance, out of the Nene then back in on the Ouse, without insurance. But at least mines close by
 
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