Odin of Scapa aids stricken cargo vessel in the North Sea

One of Orkney Islands Council’s new tugs – Odin of Scapa – carried out a successful rescue tow of a stricken general cargo vessel off the north-east coast of Scotland at the weekend.

The MV Leiria suffered engine failure on Friday, and with no available tugs in the nearby vicinity, called on Orkney Towage (a division of OIC Marine Services) for assistance.

Odin and crew, skippered by Michael Allan, were available and were dispatched to assist.

OIC Towage superintendent Dougie Manson explained: “I received a call on Friday afternoon from the vessel's agent with a request to charter one of our tugs to tow the MV Leiria, which had suffered engine failure, from south east of Peterhead to Fraserburgh.

“The tug was made ready for sea and towing gear brought aboard and left around 18:00 on Friday evening (26 March) in 20-25 knot winds. Odin reached the vessel at approximately 04:00 on Saturday morning.

“Within 45 minutes the tow was secured, and the Odin of Scapa headed for Fraserburgh with the MV Leiria in tow arriving in Fraserburgh Harbour before midday.”

Mr Manson said this was the first sea-going tow undertaken by Odin since being introduced to the Towage fleet last year.

“The vessel proved to be very capable, stable and safe to undertake such a task.”

Odin and crew returned to Scapa Flow and were safely back alongside by 23:30 on Saturday.

The Council took delivery of two 32-metre new tugs - Odin of Scapa and Thor of Scapa – in September 2020 following a 17-day sea non-stop voyage from Turkey.

They were built at Turkey’s Sanmar Shipyards after a competitive tendering exercise - costing £6.1 million each – and are part of the OIC’s fleet modernisation efforts to replace the older tugs that have been operating for more than 30 years.

The new tugs play a vital role at the heart of harbour operations being used for ship handling, towing and escort. Each tug has a maximum bollard pull ahead of 78 tonnes and a free running speed of 14.3 knots.