For any tug enthusiast, there's nothing better than being down by the water watching the tugs at work taking vessels in and out of the port. Apart, that is, from actually being on one of the tugs, seeing first hand how they go about handling a towing operation. So, when the good folks at Svitzer Marine gave me the opportunity to visit their tugs on the River Tyne, I was like a kid at Christmas.

One of the problems with arranging my visit to the tugs was that I needed to select a day when there were some shipping movements to observe. I must admit that the people in the Svitzer office were very helpful and basically said that if I just rung them the day before then they'd let me know if they had any towage operations that day. So, I carefully studied the Port of Tyne shipping movements webpage and tried to decide which day would be best.

Unfortunately, I didn't make things easy for myself due to the fact that I only had one week left on Tyneside before returning to my home in Southampton and it appeared that I'd also chosen a quiet week for shipping on the Tyne with only a few small ships coming and going that didn't require tug assistance. However, after a couple of false starts, I finally phoned the Svitzer office on Wednesday 29th April 2009 and got told "yes, we have a Nissan car carrier coming in at 2.15pm so get yourself down to the quay by 1pm to meet the tugs before they head down river to meet it."

I'd been given the opportunity to go onboard whichever tug I wanted for the afternoon but since I'm currently building a model of Rowangarth, that seemed like the obvious choice. Luckily, the arrival of the car carrier would require the assistance of all three of the Tyne tugs so Rowangarth would be involved.

When I arrived at the quayside, the crews already had the boats running so, once I'd been given permission to come aboard, I made my way up to the wheelhouse of Rowangarth. Once in the wheelhouse, I saw the familiar face of Tom Appleby of Tyne Models who was the master of Rowangarth that day. With 10 minutes to spare before we set sail, I was given the opportunity to head down to Rowangarth's engine room for a look around. Due to the imminent departure of the vessel, I didn't get a chance to take any photos while I was down there but I did get a chance to go through the engine room and aft into the stern thruster compartment before the bell from the Engine Control Room informing us that the wheelhouse had assumed control of the engines sounded and we headed back up top to cast off.

Since we were lying against the quayside with Phoenix Cross tied alongside us, we had to wait for it to leave before we could get away. However, we were soon on our way down the river with the Phoenix Cross ahead of us and Svitzer Sword rapidly coming up behind us before overtaking us and moving into the centre of the convoy.

The weather forecast for the week hadn't looked particularly good at all with the usual April showers and wind so I was expecting my first ever experience of life on a tug boat to be one of rain and spray. However, by some stroke of luck I'd managed to pick a day when the sun was shining and the almost cloudless sky was blue!

As we headed on the half hour or so journey down to the mouth of the river, I got a good opportunity to see some of the more industrial waterfront sites of Tyneside that you can only really see from the river. I also got the opportunity to have a good chat with Tommy about model tug building.

Apart from our three tug convoy, the Tyne was fairly quiet that afternoon. We passed Hedwin the hopper dredger as it came up river and passed the Shields Ferry as it did its usual trip across the river between North Shields and South Shields. As we passed Northumbrian Quay, we also saw the J.P. Knight tug Keverne tied up alongside the pipelaying barge UR101, which it had towed in a couple of weeks earlier.

Once we got near the mouth of the river, Phoenix Cross pulled in to wait near North Shields Fish Quay whilst Svitzer Sword and ourselves went further out between the Tyne's two protective stone piers to wait for the ship to arrive.

The ship that we were waiting to meet was the 170-metre car transporter Hoegh Sydney and although that isn't exactly massive by ship standards, it would still be an interesting experience getting up close to it as both vessels are moving.

When we got out to our waiting position, the ship was still some way out and we could see the pilot vessel Collingwood speeding back in after delivering the pilots safely on board. However, once the pilots had made their way onto the bridge of the Hoegh Sydney, the VHF radio came alive as they gave instructions to our three tugs about how they wanted us to handle the tow.

Svitzer Sword would be attached to the bow leading the tow while we'd be attached to the stern to slow the ship down and help pull the aft end round as the ship negotiated the bends of the river. Phoenix Cross wouldn't be attached to the tow but would travel on the starboard side to help turn the ship prior to berthing and to push it in towards the berth.

In next to no time, the Hoegh Sydney had entered the mouth of the river and steamed across in front of us as we waited to slip into position behind it.

Once the ship had passed us by, it was then a race to get into position at the centre of its stern then increase speed to get close enough to attach the towline.

As I mentioned earlier, the Hoegh Sydney isn't a massively long vessel at 170-metres but its wide, boxy stern was certainly an intimidating sight as it blocked out the sun and we moved into its shadow.

As we got closer to the stern of the ship, one of our crew appeared on the foredeck armed with a boat-hook, ready to catch the small line that the deckhands on the Hoegh Sydney would use to pull up our towline. At the same time, orange overalled deckhands appeared high up on the stern of the Hoegh Sydney, ready to drop it down to him.

As we got ever closer to the vessel, our mate who was at the helm of Rowangarth announced that he would touch our bow against the stern of the ship and hold it there so that there was less movement between the two vessels and less chance of the towline being snatched back off the ship before it could be safely attached.

It was around this time that I really appreciated all the rubber around Rowangarth's bow when with a firm, but not uncomfortable, thump we made contact with the stern of the ship. Our deckhand then quickly grabbed the line that was lowered down to him and before you could blink, he had the towline tied on and ready to hoist up.

Now it was in the hands of the Hoegh Sydney's deckhands. As one of our crewmen unrolled the towline off the forward winch, they quickly hoisted it aboard and got it secured.

Once we got the signal that our towline was safely and securely attached to the Hoegh Sydney, we continued to reel more off the foward winch as our bow broke contact with the ship's stern and we fell back into a comfortable position.

There's obviously a knack to knowing exactly how long a towline should be in any given situation and that's where the knowledge and experience of the tug boat crews comes in. In the particular river scenario that we were in, one of the considerations was making sure that the towline wasn't so long that the tug would have to run exceptionally wide when attempting to pull the stern of the ship to one side to turn it. This could become a particular hazard in a narrow channel where the tug risks grounding if it has to move too far towards either of the banks.

Since the wind and tide appeared to be on our side, there were no real issues with the tow upriver and we made a pretty quick run up to the swinging ground. Occasionally, the pilot's voice would come over the VHF giving minor adjustment instructions to one or other of the tugs but there was no major drama.

The ship was to be berthed facing downriver so we needed to swing it around 180 degress before we could move it towards its berth. Here, the Phoenix Cross came in handy as it helped to push the stern of the Hoegh Sydney around.

Luckily, the Tyne Car Terminal berth where the Hoegh Sydney was to be tied up was right next to the swinging ground so once the ship was turned it was lying in almost exactly the right position to manoeuvre into the berth. At this point, Phoenix Cross moved around to the ship's port side to help push it in towards the berth.

As the berthing operation got underway, I started to appreciate even more the skill and experience of both the pilots and the tug crews. The pilots have to deliver precise instructions to the tug skippers about what angle to pull at and how much force they should be applying to the tow and the skippers have to keep a keen ear on the VHF for those instructions and know exactly how to make their vessel respond to deliver what the pilot requires. This seemed to be easier said than done when vibrations around the tug wheelhouse made it difficult to hear what was being said on the VHF. I was trying my best to keep up but with the pilot giving instructions to any one of the three tugs and with the vibrations in the wheelhouse, I lost the thread a few times.

In fact, Tommy confirmed for me afterwards that part of the skill of a tug skipper is anticipating the pilot's instructions so that you almost know from the situation what they're going to say before they say it. That way, it helps to pick out the critical parts of the instructions over the VHF, even if there's other noise in the wheelhouse.

The berthing of a car transporter is in some ways even more fiddly than other ships as the rear car ramp has to be aligned correctly with the quayside. However, once a large ship stops moving, it can also be a fiddly job to get it moving in the right direction again, especially if it only needs to be moved a few metres in a particular direction.

Eventually though, the stern mooring lines were secure and the pilot gave us the all-clear to retrieve our towline and leave the Hoegh Sydney.

As we moved in towards the stern of the ship, the forward winch wound in the towline until, just as our bow was almost once again touching the stern of the ship, the deckhands on the Hoegh Sydney detached the towline and lowered it down to our deckhand who was waiting on the foredeck.

With our towline safely recovered, we moved astern away from the Hoegh Sydney where the Phoenix Cross was still alongside just holding it in position as the final mooring procedures were completed.

Our next job of the day was going to be to take out the bulk carrier Midjur that had been delivering coal (yes, they really do bring coals to Newcastle). However, we had about 90 minutes to wait before it would be ready to depart so we needed to moor up for a while.

Since the tugs' home berth of Devlin Quay was quite a bit further up river and we were already near the bulk carrier's berth, Tommy made the decision that we'd tie up at the coal berth, just aft of the Midjur. This next tow would only require two tugs so Svitzer Sword headed home to Devlin Quay while Phoenix Cross came and moored alongside us to also wait.

While we were waiting, Tommy asked me if I wanted to take a look around the Phoenix Cross. Of course, I jumped at the chance so we hopped across from Rowangarth onto the Phoenix.

When I went down in the Engine Room, the first thing that struck me was how clean and tidy it was. The vessel's 16 years old but you wouldn't know to look down there. Okay, there's a bit of wear and tear down there but I've been on tugs belonging to the US Army and Royal Naval warships that weren't kept so tidy. Incidentally, the engine room of Rowangarth was also exceptionally tidy and that's 27 years old! It's a real credit to the crews of these vessels.

Phoenix Cross is a twin Voith Schneider tractor tug meaning that the Voith Schneider propulsion units are mounted forward in the vessel in front of the engines. I'd been on Voith vessels before, minehunters for the Royal Navy and Saudi Navy, but I'd never seen this arrangement with the shafts running forwards from the engines.

One thing I was surprised to see was that the shafts were still turning despite us being moored. As the engineer explained to me, there's no clutch that can be used to disengage the Voith units. If the engines are running then the blades are turning... but if the vessel is moored then they're "feathered" so that they're not producing any thrust.

Another interesting story that the engineer on Phoenix Cross told me was about how shocked he was at the fuel consumption of a Voith vessel. He'd previously been on the azimuth stern drive tug Svitzer Maltby before it was transferred to Milford Haven and Phoenix Cross was brought in to replace it. When he calculated the fuel consumption of the Phoenix after running it for a while he was so shocked that he contacted the Svitzer office as he thought something was wrong with it, only to be informed that the figures were correct and the fuel consumption really was that high. Perhaps that's why Voith Schneider propulsion has been dropped by tug designers in favour of the azimuth stern drive and bow thruster combination.

Whilst I was on board Phoenix Cross, I also had a good look around the wheelhouse and took a few photos (more of which can be seen on the Phoenix Cross Data Page). One thing that does instantly hit you is how small the wheelhouse is compared to the one on Rowangarth. However, this puts the skipper's seat dead centre and the deck-to-deckhead windows all round make visibility much better than on Rowangarth.

By the time I'd taken my wheelhouse photos on Phoenix Cross, it was getting near to the Midjur's departure time so I hopped back across onto Rowangarth. There was just time for a brief explanation of the control system for Rowangarth's azimuth stern drives before the Phoenix Cross left our side and left us clear to set sail.

For the towing of the Midjur, we would once again be on the stern but this time Phoenix Cross would take the bow and lead the tow. Since we'd been moored aft of the Midjur, we were already in position to attach our towline and it was only a matter of minutes before the mooring lines were off and we were pulling it sideways off its berth.

The Midjur had been berthed facing up the river so our first job once it was away from the quayside was to spin it around 180 degrees. This was a slightly tentative manoeuvre as we had to move between the stern of the ship and the quayside. This meant keeping an eye on our own stern to make sure that we didn't collide with the quay whilst also keeping enough tension on the towline to spin the ship. This was another situation where the length of the towline was critical.

However, Rowangarth's skilled crew were on the ball once again and the Midjur was swiftly spun round and pointed downriver.

By now, it was just after 5pm and we had the evening sun behind us. I must say that this lit the scene superbly, especially as the Midjur's propeller started to turn, throwing up sparkling white spray.

As we headed down the river we could see that the Newcastle to Ijmuiden ferry was just about ready to depart. Thankfully, they were waiting for us to come by as they also need to turn around to head downriver.

Really, we couldn't have asked for a better evening in April as we headed down the river. The sun was shining, the skies were blue, and the wind was calm.

As the Midjur had been in Newcastle unloading its cargo of coal, it was relatively light and therefore wasn't too much of a handful to get down the river. All we needed to do was once again give it a little bit of help to swing round the bends of the river.

The final bend in the River Tyne before the sea is just by North Shields Fish Quay. From here the ship can be lined up on a straight course between the Tyne's two piers and out into the North Sea.

Once the Midjur was around the last bend and pointing seawards, the pilot gave the instruction for Phoenix Cross to let go of the tow.

For most of the journey downriver, Phoenix Cross had been hidden from our view at the bow of the Midjur but once it had recovered its towline, we saw it appear again as it pulled off to the port side of the ship.

Shortly after Phoenix Cross disengaged the tow, the instruction came in from the pilot over the VHF that we too were free to retrieve our towline and disengage.

As with the Hoegh Sydney earlier in the afternoon, we needed to get Rowangarth as close as possible to the stern of the Midjur so that our towline could be winched aboard. However, the Midjur was unladen and sitting higher out of the water than the Sydney so there wasn't a nice flat stern to rest our bow against, all there was was a rudder, which I'm sure wouldn't have reacted well to us touching it. In addition, the top quarter of the ship's propeller was out of the water just in front of the rudder so if our towline or its hoisting rope went into the water between the vessels then there was a real risk that they could foul the Midjur's propeller.

Again though, this is where the skill of the tug boat crew comes in. The helmsman holds the tug steadily in position behind the ship, matching its speed exactly, the crewman on the forward winch controls quickly reels in the towline before it has a chance to sag into the water, and the crewman on the forward deck gets ready to pull in the hoisting line and tidily stow the whole thing ready for the next job.

Once the Midjur's deckhand let go of the hoisting rope, our helmsman quickly brought us to a halt, allowing the Midjur to safely continue away from us and out to sea.

As well as being our second job of the day, the Midjur was also our last job of the day so all that was left was to turn around and start the run back up the river to Devlin Quay.

As we gently cruised back up the river, I got some idea of the contrast of life on a tug boat. There are periods of great skill, concentration, and focus but there are also peaceful periods travelling between jobs or waiting for a ship to arrive. Thankfully, I was lucky to have seen life on a tug on a calm sunny afternoon. A lot of the time a tug is operating in the dark, in the cold, in the rain, or in strong winds.

It can also be a dangerous profession, even in this day and age, as the sad loss of the Flying Phantom and three crew members' lives on the Clyde in 2007 proved. However, it was reassuring to see how skilled and dedicated the crews are and how well maintained the vessels are.

We arrived back at Devlin Quay at around 6pm. The Phoenix Cross, which had been released from the Midjur a little earlier than us, had already tied up alongside Svitzer Sword and the crew were shutting down and locking up before heading home. We tied up aft of them in the same berth that we'd departed from earlier that afternoon.

Once we were securely alongside, I said my goodbyes and thank yous to Tommy and the rest of Rowangarth's crew before heading off home with nearly 100 new photos in my camera and a much better understanding of tugs and towing.

In closing (and without sounding like a soppy actress who's just won an Oscar), I'd like to say a big "Thank You" to the folks at the Svitzer office on Teesside for making my trip possible, and to the crews of Rowangarth, Phoenix Cross, and Svitzer Sword who made my visit a pleasant one and were more than happy to show me around and answer any questions that I had.

Jason Webb

For more photos of the individual tugs mentioned in this article, please follow the links below:

Rowangarth

Phoenix Cross

Svitzer Sword

NOTE: Devlin Quay and the Svitzer tugs are private property and are not open to the public without the permission of Svitzer Marine Ltd.