The Harbour & Coastal Tugs of Foundation Maritime

In addition to the salvage fleet, Foundation Maritime operated a number of harbour and coastal tugs. According to a 1950s company publication, "Harbour docking is a major part of Foundation Maritime Limited operations. Tugs operate in Halifax the year 'round. During the shipping season Foundation tugs are in service in Port Alfred on the Saguenay, Seven Islands and Baie Comeau on the St. Lawrence River." It further stated that the base in Halifax "...consists of company owned wharves, storage buildings, repair facilities, portable salvage equipment and permanent salvage personnel." 

This is by no means an exhaustive listing of the smaller tugs and other vessels that have served Foundation Maritime over the years, but rather a collection of available photos and information. The tugs for which I have photos will be listed below more or less in alphabetical order. 

Foundation Alice

Foundation Alice

Foundation Alice was built as TANAC-V-262 by Smith & Rhuland in Lunenburg, NS, in 1945. She was taken up by Foundation Maritime after the war but was sold in 1948 and renamed Marny M., and finally broken up in 1962.  

Construction: Copper sheathed wooden hull.

Displacement: 68 gross tons

Dimensions: 71 x 17.5 x 8.5 ft.

Propulsion:  6-cylinder 9x12 Vivian diesel, 240 bhp; 8 knots.

Foundation Alice with Foundation Wallace to the right.

 

Bansaga (II), Bansturdy, and Banswift

Bansaga (II)

These were diesel tugs for harbour and coastal use and members of the RCN's Glen class.

Displacement: 97 gross tons.
Dimensions: 73 x 20 x 10.5 ft.
Diesel propulsion, 600 bhp., 10 knots.

Bansaga.

Bansturdy.

Banswift.

Banswift.

Banscot and Banshee

Banshee.

Banscot and Banshee were harbour and coastal tugs built in the UK in 1934 and operated out of Halifax Harbour. They were purchased by Foundation Maritime in the late 1930s. 

Displacement: 215 gross tons
Dimensions: 97.5 x 30 x 14.5 ft.
Oil-fired steam powerplant, 900 hp., 11 knots.

Banscot.

Banscot in sea smoke.

Banscot bringing RMS Aquitania alongside

Bansun and Banstar

Bansun towing a concrete caisson for wharf construction. In the background is probably Banstar (left).

Bansun (ex-Milwaukie) and Banstar (ex-Sandusky) were small harbour tugs with a displacement of 85 gross tons and dimensions of 78 x 17 x 10 feet. Originally fitted with non-condensing steam propulsion, they were converted to diesel propulsion with 400 bhp. that provided a speed of 10 knots.

Banstar.

Foundation Valiant

Foundation Valiant in Halifax Harbour with the Dartmouth shore in the background.

Designed for salvage and ocean towing, Foundation Valiant was built in 1963. Renamed Point Valiant in 1973, and Andre H. in 1995 when she was sold to Trois-Rivieres Remorqueurs Ltd., she displaced 317 gross tons with dimensions of 117 x 28 x 13 ft, and was propelled by twin screw diesels producing 2100 bhp.

Foundation Valour, Vibert, & Victor

All three sisters at the beginning of a long towing job.

Foundation Valour

Foundation Valour was built in 1958 and renamed Point Valour in 1973.

All three tugs had roughly the following characteristics:

Displacement: 247 gross tons

Dimensions: 98 x 29 x 13.5 ft.

Single screw, diesel, 1280 bhp., 13 knots.

Foundation Vibert

Foundation Victor

Foundation Victor was built in 1956, renamed Point Victor in 1973.

Foundation Vanguard, Viceroy, Viking, Viscount, Vim & Vigour

Foundation Viceroy and Vanguard before launch.

This group of harbour tugs were built 1962.

Displacement: 207 tons

Dimensions: 90.5 x 27 x 12 ft.

Single screw, diesel, 1200 bhp.

Foundation Viceroy.

Point Vim and Point Vigour in their Eastern Canada Towing colours.

Foundation Wallace

Foundation Wallace with Foundation Alice in the background.

Built 1916 as the fire fighting tug George A. Wallace. Converted to a tug in 1936, she was purchased by Foundation Maritime in 1946, and renamed Foundation Wallace. Possibly scrapped in 1953.

Displacement: 112 gross tons.

Dimensions: 77 x 20.5 x 12 ft.

Propulsion: Steam

Details and information related to the various vessels is collected from numerous sources, and is correct to the best of my knowledge. Comments and corrections are welcome!

Foundation Franklin

What eventually became a sizable fleet of salvage tugs and other vessels began in early 1930 when the former HMS Frisky, a Royal Navy fleet salvage tug, was purchased and renamed Foundation Franklin. Farley Mowat's 1958 book "The Grey Seas Under" centres on the salvage operations carried out by Foundation Franklin over the next 18 years. 

Foundation Franklin with a fully enclosed wheelhouse deck and bridge, her foc'st'le build up to accommodate a hold for salvage equipment, and her forward mast relocated further forward.

A company publication entitled "...In All Respects Ready for Sea" from the early 1960s provides a good summary of both their contemporary operations as well as their history over the previous 30 years.

The contrast of Foundation's first "accidental" purchase of Foundation Franklin
to the 1960s purchase of the dedicated salvage vessel Foundation Venture.

Foundation's fleet incorporated a variety of vessels - over time I will attempt to cover the dedicated salvage assets they employed from the 1930s to the 1960s. As one of the first vessels in the fleet, and possibly the most famous, Foundation Franklin seems like a good place to start.

Built in Aberdeen in 1918 as a salvage tug for the Royal Navy, HMS Frisky did not serve long before being made redundant by the end of the First World War. She appears to have operated commercially under her own name for a few years before being renamed Gustavo Ipland as part of a scheme to tow barges to Argentina. This scheme fell through, and it was under this name that Captain James Sutherland found her rusting away in the harbour at Hamburg. After touring the 1050 ton former naval vessel (160 x 32 x 15 feet) and marveling at her two Scotch cylindrical boilers and 1200 horsepower "...massive triple-expansion engine which was big enough to have powered a freighter of five thousand tons..." he immediately recommended that the president of the Foundation Company of Canada purchase the tug.

As purchased and with the letter "F" already stencilled in on each funnel, Foundation Franklin appears to have had an open bridge and the foc'st'le was not yet raised. The photos below show that these defects were later rectified. Her forward mast is also immediately forward of the bridge.

If Farley Mowat is to be believed, the company's president immediately agreed to purchase the tug because otherwise Sutherland's wordy telegrams would have bankrupted the company.

Foundation Franklin underway from the air, showing signs of possible icing in winter conditions. 

An early job for Foundation Franklin was the unsuccessful attempt to salvage the S.S. Marsland from the rocks below the Fort Amherst lighthouse at the mouth of the harbour at St. John's, NL. The wreck became a local tourist attraction and eventually sank after a storm. 

Foundation Franklin working to salvage the Maplebranch in Montreal.

Foundation Franklin towing Ladder Dredge #17.

Foundation Franklin alongside Ladder Dredge #17.

Foundation Franklin alongside a wharf.

Foundation Franklin emitting impressive plumes of black smoke from her twin funnels. 

Foundation Franklin alongside, possibly with ice damage to her paint above the waterline. To the left of the image is the Traverse, one of two vessels operated by the Quebec Salvage and Wrecking Company out of Quebec City before they were purchased by Foundation Maritime.

Foundation Franklin and Davie's tug Manoir alongside the freighter Manchester City which was aground along the shore of the St. Lawrence.

For the next 18 years, Foundation Franklin built up an impressive record of salvage operations and ship rescues including operations during the Second World War. By 1948, she was showing signs of her age, and newer tugs took the heavy load of Foundation Maritime's salvage operations. Damaged by a hurricane during an attempt at one final salvage operation in 1948, she was broken up in 1949. 

Foundation Franklin at left laid up at the Foundation Maritime wharves in Halifax. Two of the modern tugs that replaced her, Foundation Josephine and Foundation Lillian respectively, can be seen in the centre of the image immediately to her right.

Another aerial shot of Foundation Franklin (right) laid up in Halifax with Foundation Lillian and Foundation Josephine seen to the left.

Sources:

• Wikipedia
• Mowat, Farley. 1958. "Grey Seas Under".
• Tourist information plaque about the wreck of the S.S. Marsland at the Fort Amherst Tea House.
• Photographs and various information from the AECON archives. 

Birds Eye View

After long consideration I finally succumbed to a sale price over the summer and purchased a drone. Though my flying time has been limited by weather (both wind and rain), and a busy schedule, I been able to have some fun with it. Seeing things from the air brings a whole new perspective to my photography.

While I primarily wanted to be able to capture some of the interesting water drainage patterns that I could see on Google Maps from the air, it has also provided new angles for landscape photography as well as interesting views of some of the many little fishing harbours around the region. 

For instance, I don't think it is possible to get the Lunenburg Academy, the town, and the harbour in the same frame without seeing it from the air.

The old Lunenburg Academy in the foreground of the old town at the harbour in the background.

In the case of this image taken at Blue Rocks, the camera needed to be positioned directly over the water and to be slightly raised to capture clouds reflecting on the calm harbour water with the setting sun on the horizon.

The fishing harbour at Blue Rocks on Nova Scotia's South Shore.

Crescent Beach, which connects the LaHave Islands to the mainland, is a narrow and flat sand dune which doesn't have a lot of relief - there are only so many photos to take from ground level. Seeing it from the air allows the camera to see both the front and back sides of the beach, and better shows the islands in the background.

Crescent Beach from the mainland end looking out towards the LaHave Islands on a foggy day.

Nova Scotia has many small fishing harbours along its coast, and for years I have visited them (and in some cases revisited many times) for the interesting photos they provide. Seeing them from the air is providing me with all sorts of new imagery.

Fishing Wharf on Bush Island in the LaHave Islands. 

Government Wharf on Bush Island in the LaHave Islands.

For this image of Fisherman's Reserve, it certainly wouldn't otherwise be possible to capture all the various wharves and fishing boats and still get the setting sun in the same frame.

Sunset at Fisherman's Reserve on the eastern side of Three Fathom Harbour on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. 

Coastal features as well come alive when seen from the air. I especially love the contrast between the yellow seaweed and the green grass on this rocky point in the LaHave Islands, especially when surrounded by the dark calm water reflecting the cloudy sky.

Rocky shore in the LaHave Islands on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. 

Hemeon Brook flowing through a beach at Western Head near Liverpool, Nova Scotia.

I'm always fascinated by waves and surf at the beach, and seeing them from the air provides a new way to capture a full set of waves and their interactions.

Incoming surf at White Point Beach.

Intricate drainage patterns are fascinating when seen from the air, and these were one of my primary targets when thinking about buying a drone in the first place. I have therefore spent much time scouting out potential locations through the satellite imagery available on Google Maps, and have visited several promising locations through the summer and fall of 2025. The Bay of Fundy shoreline is one of the better places to find this sort of scenery.

Mud flats near Windsor, Nova Scotia.

Mud flats west of Truro on the shore of the Bay of Fundy.

Mud flats near Debert, Nova Scotia.

The Eastern Shore also has several promising locations, like this salt marsh in Lower East Chezzetcook.

Salt marsh in Lower East Chezzetcook on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore.

These images and more can be found on my Smugmug website. I look forward to being able to continue investigating Nova Scotia from the air over the coming year!