The German coastguard’s towing power is being put to the test

Text: Sveinung W. Jensen, Tellus Kommunikasjon

“This is an assignment we are proud to carry out. At the same time, we have built up considerable expertise in this field and have one of the world’s best locations for towing power tests,” says John W. Nilsen, Managing Director of Farmar.

For the operation, Farmar is using the crane vessel FFS Amon, a crew of three and specialised measuring equipment that documents exactly how many tonnes the vessels are capable of pulling.

BOLLARD PULL is, in practice, a test of a vessel’s raw strength. For the German coastguard, which patrols the Baltic Sea, it is about far more than figures on a sheet of paper. The vessels must be equipped to handle emergency towing when the situation demands it.

“In Stolsfjorden there are hardly any tidal currents, and the area is not particularly exposed to wind. That provides very good and stable conditions for this type of measurement,” says John W. Nilsen, Managing Director of Farmar.

AT KJEHOLMEN, the wire is secured to a specially installed bollard before being stretched up to 1,500 metres out into the fjord. A load cell is connected to the wire and shows how many tonnes the vessel is actually pulling.

Most of the vessels tested fall within the range of 120 to 260 tonnes of pulling power, but the equipment is certified for loads of up to 400 tonnes.

There are few places in Northern Europe that can offer comparable conditions and facilities for such tests. That is precisely why vessels come to Flekkefjord from across the region, many of them more than once.

USUALLY, IT is anchor-handling vessels and tugboats that undergo such checks, often as part of statutory certification every ten years or to meet customer requirements ahead of major assignments.

But coastguard vessels also need to document their capacity when maritime emergency preparedness is at stake.

THE TEST ITSELF can take anything from 15 minutes to two days, depending on the vessel and the assignment. Even so, there is always a substantial operation surrounding the test.

Before the test begins, a safety review is carried out, among other things, along with a toolbox talk with the crew on board. As a result, a full operation usually takes at least four hours.

Farmar says the company is also able to handle new enquiries at short notice, even during a busy period.

“Provided that FFS Amon is available, we can be ready within a matter of hours,” says Nilsen.