Why do Frigates need tugs?

[capnsensible]

Didn’t Jupiter clonk London Bridge having eschewed the services of two tugs ?

Shoulda had tugs...

 

[mainsail1]

Didn’t Jupiter clonk London Bridge having eschewed the services of two tugs ?

Yes.......a sad end to the career for the Commanding Officer who I considered to be a great guy.

 

[Fimacca]

just to add muddy water to the clarity here,
what about the european naval frigates who fly up the Tamar (a german one caused damage to a lovely cat next to me last summer as it wa travelling too fast into unknown resticted waters) who use no tugs or Serco assistance, whereas the local RN ships seem to have to?
seems counter intuitive.....to what would be a 'foreign and unfamiliar' port. (nothing anti german intended - some of my best friends........)

 

[Bouba]

1. The RN’s own website, which tells us that one of the two carriers is alongside, as are both of the amphibious assault ships, whilst two of the six Type 45s Diamond and Dragon, are alongside “on deployment” at Portsmouth and three are in refit. One, Defender, is actually on deployment.

Of the frigates deemed to be “on deployment”, Richmond and Sutherland are alongside at Plymouth, and St Albans is alongside at Portsmouth, whilst Westminster is the “fleet ready escort” which means that she is alongside but able to proceed to sea. Three frigates - Kent, Montrose and Northumberland are actually operating. Five are in refit and in a somewhat Ruritanian touch the RN has included, as “not on deployment”, two Type 26s that are being built.

2. Conversations with serving officers. Including some remarkable information on the Type 45s main engines, and the time already taken and yet to be taken to sort them out.

3. Fuel: Conversation with a member of the Treasury Solicitor’s Office.

Yes, it’s an old picture. (Count the tugs…)

So are Captain Sensible’s?

Remember, the RN has now been rearranged into two (if lucky) carrier strike groups. Now the two carriers have almost no defensive weapons on board and limited anti submarine capability, this means that the strike group has to be exceptionally large to make up the short comings. In fact each strike group contains a vast proportion of the available fleet. And at least one carrier is on high alert ready to leave on very short notice. This means that it’s escorts have to be available at equally short notice…so I guess that means that at anyone time most of the surface fleet is either moored up or close enough at hand to meet up before they reach hostile waters…and nowadays hostile waters are very close indeed

 

[Frank Holden]

Back to the OP and back to the dream time when I had a day job - 20,000 grt 20 knot cargo ferry in the Bass Strait trade.
Came around the Burnie breakwater in a bit of northerly weather- spun her round - backed her up - tied her up - went to breakfast.

There was a little RAN frigaty thing waiting to sail. Wind was off her berth - she had two tugs alongside. Straight line departure for her out past the breakwater.

Poor bugger was shamed into dismissing the tugs and - well - just sailed.

 

[Bouba]

There is also the possibility that the tugs are contracted to assist the RN..and if anything bad happens the tug owners could be responsible

 

[WoodyP]

HMS Troutbridge never had tugs.
Cue sound. FX of heap of old iron.

 

[capnsensible]

Back to the OP and back to the dream time when I had a day job - 20,000 grt 20 knot cargo ferry in the Bass Strait trade.
Came around the Burnie breakwater in a bit of northerly weather- spun her round - backed her up - tied her up - went to breakfast.

There was a little RAN frigaty thing waiting to sail. Wind was off her berth - she had two tugs alongside. Straight line departure for her out past the breakwater.

Poor bugger was shamed into dismissing the tugs and - well - just sailed.

Well done you.

Did your maritime truck have on board a hundred people with responsibilities to an entire nation and its citizens and contain missiles, exploding shell, torpedoes and a helicopter with tanks of aviation fuel to support it?

It's a different thing, innit?

 

[Bouba]

Well done you.

Did your maritime truck have on board a hundred people with responsibilities to an entire nation and its citizens and contain missiles, exploding shell, torpedoes and a helicopter with tanks of aviation fuel to support it?

It's a different thing, innit?

Well a tanker or gas carrier can also make a big bang

 

[DFL1010]

Well done you.

Did your maritime truck have on board a hundred people with responsibilities to an entire nation and its citizens and contain missiles, exploding shell, torpedoes and a helicopter with tanks of aviation fuel to support it?

It's a different thing, innit?

 

[Bouba]

and then there is seamanship...

 

[capnsensible]

Well a tanker or gas carrier can also make a big bang

That's probably why the have plenty of Ship Operating Procedures that they use to keep them safe. Like using tugs.

 

[Kukri]

Somewhere in SE Asia. Look! No tugs!

I strongly suspect that this was carefully arranged to get the picture. All six hooked up and all six full of stuff that would go bang, most notably the RFA Retainer, on the right of the picture. Her job is to carry the ammunition, and in her no.2 hold, the only part of the ship to be air conditioned, are the nuclear cores for the bombs to be dropped by HMS Eagle’s aircraft. A friend was a cadet on board her.

 

[capnsensible]

 

[capnsensible]

Skimmers doing that recently.

 

[Daydream believer]

They need tugs because they have long keels and crap rudders hanging off the back. Fin and spade is the way to go.

Is that on the basis that the torpedoes will go through the gap?

 

[Daydream believer]

Introduction of bow sonar was when it first started to happen to ensure you didn't ram that into the jetty or the floating wooden catamarans (pontoon type fenders) and damage it. Much easier to get pulled off and pushed on by tugs. And of course no bow or stern thrusters, which I should imagine are down to noise signature issues. Just common sense really. I used to enjoy standing on the bridge roof controlling the tugs.

I was told years ago that the woolwich ferry was expected to knock a bit of dock off every so often, so that the shore repair crew always had a job to justify their position & avoid layoffs. I think that was before the dock labour scheme bought in by the labour govt whereby dock workers had jobs for life.
But i imagine that knocking a bit off the dock now would cause untold strife.

 

[Hermit]

just to add muddy water to the clarity here,
what about the european naval frigates who fly up the Tamar (a german one caused damage to a lovely cat next to me last summer as it wa travelling too fast into unknown resticted waters) who use no tugs or Serco assistance, whereas the local RN ships seem to have to?
seems counter intuitive.....to what would be a 'foreign and unfamiliar' port. (nothing anti german intended - some of my best friends........)

All of the foreign warships in Devonport have an Admiralty Pilot embarked when entering harbour (but you probably saw the International Code pennant and Flag Hotel flying so already knew that) and take tugs in exactly the same manner as RN ships.

I was a Navigation Instructor at FOST, Plymouth so can assure you that if any damage was reported it would be investigated and appropriate action taken.

 

[Frank Holden]

Well done you.

Did your maritime truck have on board a hundred people with responsibilities to an entire nation and its citizens and contain missiles, exploding shell, torpedoes and a helicopter with tanks of aviation fuel to support it?

It's a different thing, innit?

Not really, ship handling is ship handling.

We just had a day's worth of vittles for the island state of Tasmania - nothing at all important.

In Australia at least navy ships can - and do - come and go with no legal requirement to take a pilot.

Sadly I don't think many of them - the bridge teams - get much sea time these days.

 

[LittleSister]

Two of the current ones are on a minimum five year deployment in the Pacific.

Gunboats to China? That's a novel idea!