Pushing Power

Peacefully moored during the night in Lerwick, the Shetlands. The weather is beautiful (finally!) and this morning we shifted to Victoria Quay to assist the German tug 'Primus' with unmooring and departing of her tow; a big material barge bound for the 'Hermod' The Pilots at Lerwick have two twenty tons 'Bollard Pull' tugs for assistance and for a big barge like the H-541 (guess how long!) this is a little bit underpowered. So we offered to push the barge alongside the quay while the linesmen slacked all the mooring ropes. The Retriever is 25 years old now, and as far as I am concerned this is the very first time that we used our rubber cushionblocks on our bow for pushing and harbour assistance. We had to do this very carefully, because these blocks are not really suited to absorb too much of our 150 tons Bollard Pull. Bollard Push this time!