The Passage of the Great German Salvage Tugboats Through the Port of A Coruña

The tugboat “Seefalke”, built in 1924 at the J. C. Teklenborg AG shipyards in Bremerhaven (Germany), is owned by the shipping company Bugsier-Reederei-und Bergungs A.G of Bremerhaven. Its specifications are: length 58.50 m, beam 9 m, depth 4.40 m, gross tonnage 619 t, two Deutz engines of 1,650 h.p. each, it develops a speed of 13.5 knots, until 1942 it had MAN engines of 417 n.h.p.

At the end of World War II, it was sunk in the port of Kiel, being refloated around 1950, repaired, and put back into service until 1970. In the 1930s, it was already performing salvage and towing operations along our coast, after being based in the Herculian port for a few years and having provided important services, in September 1960 it left the Herculian port bound for England, being replaced at this port by the “Atlantic”. Today, it is very well preserved in the port of Bremerhaven, as a museum ship.

In the early morning of December 20, 1959, one of the most modern and powerful tugboats in Europe, the “Atlantic”, arrived at the port of A Coruña, where it would have its base, recently built at the Schichau GmbH shipyards in Bremerhaven (Germany), owned by the shipping company Bugsier-Reederei-und Bergungs A.G. of Hamburg (Germany).

Its main specifications were: length of 62 m, beam 10.24 m, depth 4.36 m, gross tonnage of 768 t, two Deutz diesel engines type RBV8M366 of 2,500 i.h.p. each, it develops a maximum speed of 16.5 knots and a bollard pull of 50 tons.

For about a decade, it was based in this port, where it participated in important salvage and rescue services. In 1975, it passed to the ownership of Z. Svitzer Salvage Company Ltd. of Copenhagen (Denmark), was renamed “Svitzer”, in 1978 it passed to the ownership of Malaya Towage & Salvage Corp. of Manila (Philippines), renamed “Tiburón”, in 1981 it changed its name again to “Tiburón I”, in 1984 it passed to the ownership of Pacific Offshore S.A. of Panama and was finally scrapped in 1987 in Kaohsiung (Taiwan). Previously, there was another tugboat named “Atlantic”, built in 1939 by Deschimag, Werk AG Weser of Bremerhaven, which was sunk in 1943 by a bomb in the port of Gotenhafen, now Gdynia (Poland). 

In September 1971, the new tugboat “Seefalke”, owned by the same German shipping company, arrived at the Herculian port to replace the “Atlantic”. It was built in 1970 by Schichau Unterwese AG in Bremerhaven, its main specifications are: gross tonnage 1,339 t, length 71.23 m, beam 12.76 m, depth 5.75 m, two Deutz engines type RBV12M350 of 4,500 h.p. each, a speed of 18.5 knots, and a bollard pull of 75 tons.

In 1986, it passed to the ownership of Mosquito Shipping Co. Ltd. of Limassol (Cyprus), registered in this city. In 1989, it was owned by North Atlantic Towage & Salvage Ltd. and renamed “Baltic Rescuer”. It sank on June 15, 1996, in Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago), having entered this port for repairs, abandoned by the crew, it was making the journey from Port Arthur to China, towing the vessels “Citadel Victory” and “Drake Victory” for scrapping. IMO 7017454.

The tugboat “Wotan”, built at the F. Schichau GmbH shipyards in Bremerhaven in 1972, owned by Bugsier-Reederei-und Bergungs A.G. of Hamburg. It had a length of 77.40 m, beam 13.59 m, depth 5.60 m, T.R.B. 1,599 T, and net 163 t, two Deutz diesel engines of 12,500 c.v., and a bollard pull of 125 t. IMO 7125847. On November 30, it arrived at the Herculian port with three months of life.

Another new “Atlantic”, built in 1975 at the F. Schichau GmbH shipyards in Bremerhaven, owned by Bugsier-Reederei-und Bergungs A.G. of Hamburg. It measured 77.40 m in length, 13.59 m in beam, 5.59 m in depth, and gross tonnage of 1,197 t. It had two Deutz engines of 12,500 c.v. Bollard pull 105 tons. IMO number 7360679.

On June 2, 1975, it made a brief stop at the Herculian port, where its captain offered a reception to maritime and port sector authorities, this tugboat is considered one of the best in the world.  

In 1995, it was renamed “Khozam” and converted into a luxury yacht.

The tugboat “Artic” was built in 1969 at the F. Schichau GmbH shipyards in Bremerhaven and completed by Rickmers Werft in Bremerhaven, for the ownership of Bugsier-Reederei-und Bergungs A.G., registered in Hamburg. Its specifications were: length 87.23 m, beam 14.79 m, depth 7.30 m, gross tonnage 2,640 t and net 688 t. Two Deutz engines with a total power of 20,000 c.v., bollard pull of 160 t. IMO 6296024.

On May 12, 1976, during the accident of the tanker “Urquiola” at the entrance of the port of A Coruña, it was based in the Herculian port, its captain B. Von Bergan was accused of not providing assistance until an official contract was signed, thus abandoning the base of this port. 

It was sold in 1993 and converted into a luxury yacht, renamed “Arctic Research” and in 1994 “Arctic P”.

Photos: archive of Ramón García Filgueira