''Atlantic Oak'' is a tug boat based out of

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

. She is owned by Atlantic towing Limited, which is owned by Irving Shipbuilding. ''Atlantic Oak'' was built by East Isle Shipyard Ltd. in

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

and was commissioned in 2004. One of her duties in the Harbour is to assist in launches at the

Halifax Shipyard The Halifax Shipyard Limited is a Canadian shipbuilding company located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded in 1889, it is today a wholly owned subsidiary of Irving Shipbuilding Inc. and is that company's largest ship construction and repair facili ...

. She also guides many tankers and bulk freighters along with other large ships into port.

General characteristics

''Atlantic Oak'' is a Z-drive class, with two Aquamaster US 225, Twin screw

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

built to a design first used for the tug ''Atlantic Spruce''. She has two Caterpiller 3516 HD engines with a top speed of 13 Knots. She carries on-board firefighting equipment and has an 80 tonne deck capacity. She is long, wide and draws 5.24 .

Notable events

In 2008 the dredging barge ''Shovel Master'' capsized after experiencing rough seas while being towed by '' Atlantic Larch'' from Saint John to Halifax for a refit. The crew were rescued by a

CH-149 Cormorant The AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant is the Canadian Forces designation for the AgustaWestland AW101 (formerly EH101), a helicopter used for air-sea rescue in Canada. Developed as a joint venture between Westland Aircraft in the UK and Agusta i ...

search and rescue helicopter shortly before the barge capsized near Yarmouth. ''Atlantic Oak'' towed the capsized, but still floating barge, for only 150m before it sank, spilling thousands of gallons of diesel fuel, hydraulic fluid and waste oil. On Jan 15th, 2013 she was seen guiding the damaged HMCS ''Athabaskan'' into dock at the NC jetty in Halifax.

References

{{Shipbuilding in Atlantic Canada , state=expanded Tugboats of Canada 2004 ships