The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft, je
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Up top is a Jabsco 24 volt DC searchlight plus a large air horn, while inside the wheelhouse the electronics and aids to navigation, supplied and installed by Steelcom Electronics, include a 6kW Furuno scanner linked to a 48-mile radar, a Furuno GPS, a Furuno 600 watt echosounder and an ICM 442 VHF marine radio for voice communications. Because of her intended use in the sub-tropical waters of Australia's northern and eastern coast, airconditioning of the wheelhouse and accommodation areas was essential. The Ocean Breeze air-conditioning unit uses a chilled water system, with keel-cooled chiller units in the engineroom, along with stainless steel air handlers in the living areas and wheelhouse. Although she has a manning level of two, the PT Mary has accommodation for four providing flexibility for coastal and long-haul tow work, where watch keeping becomes a key factor.The crew accommodation is below and for'ard. The heads and shower are very utilitarian. The head has what looks like a retrofitted sanitary system to meet the Australian Great Barrier Reef and coastal requirements for sewage treatment and disposal. The repositioned shower with its own stainless steel basin has been incorporated in the head compartment, leaving the similar space to port as a workshop. with a small bench and engineer's vice. One expects that this area will be fitted with tools cupboards and stowing space once she arrives in Brisbane. For'ard is the fo'c'sle crew accommodation incorporating the galley, a small dining area and four bunks. Aft through a watertight door is the main machinery space and engine room. This is seriously large and it is easy to forget you are only on a 15m tug. An engineer's dream space, with everything in its place and room to get round and service all the engines, even in a seaway. Moving aft through another watertight door into the tank space, there is a mix of gear along with the specialised tools required to service some of this gear. Aft again through a small door into the lazarette, the steering gear quadrants and extra hydraulics and pumps for the tow wire control pins and lug are installed. As we moved around and looked at the aesthetics throughout this little ship, she is clearly a solidly built steel vessel designed to take the knocks and rigours of years of hard, tough work. To protect the steel she has been coated throughout, topsides and underwater, using Altex Coatings' proven Main engine room workboat paint systems. The brief for Altex Coatings was to provide a good, reliable system able to stand up to the harsh tropical environment she will be working in for long periods. PT Mary performed as expected during sea trials and is a good-looking tug that punches well above her weight. Granted, when underway at ten knots with no load, she is half hidden behind a wall of water, the result of her very bluff bow. But hook a tow load on behind and the bow lifts, offering excellent seakeeping ability at towing speeds of five to seven knots with no bad habits. And when close into the pushpull, the bluff bow comes into its own. Like her sister, PT Mary has been built with Shipco's Pat Ganley's no-nonsense, brutally tough, functional attitude to construction. Finally in closing, two years ago ShipCo's future was uncertain, but its principal directors Pat Ganley and Kelvin Hardie have shown a dogged commitment to the New Zealand black boat (steel) ship building industry, refusing to let it die. Sadly the foreign owner of the latest build under construction, saw a commercial benefit to tip the yard over and buy it back in a fire sale so that he could complete his current build and potentially that of a barge as well, without the encumbrance of any prior debt. One could argue that was a smart commercial decision but the future beyond this point is not looking good, because we do not know whether this new owner will remain committed to the New Zealand ship building industry or disappear back to the islands. Now the challenge for the black boat industry and the Whangarei marine precinct is how best to keep the momentum these two industry leaders have created going in today's tough times. Unfortunately the scuttlebutt suggests potential orders are now looking at Asia ■ spec's Steering quadrants Length overall (excluding fenders) Beam (moulded) Depth (moulded) Draft aft Service speed (no load) Fuel Designer Builder 15m 6.5m 2.75m 2.8m 10.5 knots 21,000 litres ShipCo ShipCo NZ WORKBOAT REVIEW 2013 53