I have always liked tugboats, and South Africa had some amazing steam powered vessels that are still admired by tug buffs long after they have passed on. In this series I am going to finally make a bit more sense of the tugs I grew to know during my time visiting Durban harbour. I do not have pics of each vessel but will do my best. Some of these tugs are no longer around, so these pics are really in memory of them.
The first group is the 1974 built Twin Voith Schneider tugs of which there were 4.
| Name | Built | Bollard pull | Length | Breadth | Draft |
| W. Marshall Clarke (Uhuva) | 1974 | 43 ton | 35,95 | 11.0 | 5.04 |
| Jan Haywood (Indwa) | 1974 | 43 ton | 35,95 | 11.0 | 5.04 |
| R.H. Tarpey (Uzavolo) | 1974 | 43 ton | 34.3 | 8.85 | 3.94 |
| J.H. Botha (Ibhaku) | 1974 | 43 ton | 35.95 | 11.03 | 5.04 |
I do not seem to have an image of the Marshall Clarke, although there was a commerically available slide featuring her.
These tugs were based in Cape Town when I was ship hunting which is why I have so few images of them. Uhuva (now known as RB1) and Uzavolo (now known as RB3) are still active in Richards Bay (2016) while the Haywood and Botha were broken up around 2012.
There were three other tugs built in 1976/7 that I have never seen or photographed so cannot display any images of them. All three are twin unit Voith Schneider.
| Name | Built | Bollard pull | Length | Breadth | Draft |
| Jutten | 1976 | 43 ton | 37,3 | 11.0 | 5,29 |
| Marcus | 1976 | 43 ton | 37,3 | 11,0 | 5,29 |
| Meeuw | 1977 | 43 ton | 37,3 | 11,0 | 52,9 |
Two other 1970 builds I photographed in Port Elizabeth. These are Twin X Peller pusher tugs. There were actually three similar vessels, the third being the PJ Conradie, she was transferred to Walvis Bay in February 2001 and now is a part of Namport. I do not have a photograph of her. The three sisters were built by Niigate Shipbuilding & Repair – Niigata, Japan.
| Name | Built | Bollard pull | Length | Breadth | Draft |
| PJC Du Plessis (Brenton) | 1977 | 31 ton | 35,02 | 9.02 | 4,13 |
| Kobus Loubscher (Imonti) | 1977 | 31 ton | 35,02 | 9.02 | 4,13 |
| PJ Conradie (Mbabala) | (1977?) | (31 ton?) | (35,02??) | (9.02?) | (4,13?) |
The last two of this group are my personal favourites and I saw them in Durban, they now live in East London and are still in service at the time of writing. The Coenie was the first tug that I ever sailed on. Both are Twin Z Peller tractor tugs
| Name | Built | Bollard pull | Length | Breadth | Draft |
| Coenie De Villiers (Umthwalume) | 1978 | 43 ton | 35,62 | 11.0 | 5,56 |
| Dirk Coetsee (Mpunzi) | 1978 | 43 ton | 35,62 | 11.0 | 5,56 |
This way to Tugs of my past (2) 1980’s builds
The technical data for these posts comes from a 2001 document on craft dispositions. Measurements are in metres. Brenton and Imonti images courtesy of Dayle Coombe, Info on Tarpey and sisters by Ken Malcolm. Info on PJ Conradie by George Meyer and Anton Scheepers.
© DRW 2016-2018. Created 25/09/2016