Salvage of the Maplebranch

On August 13th 1934, the Royal Navy's Danae-class cruiser HMS DRAGON was entering the Market Basin in the Port of Montreal. While trying to avoid contact with a third vessel, the also-maneuvering Saguenay Trader, DRAGON came into contact with the oil bunkering tanker Maplebranch, causing the latter to sink. At least, that was the defence provided by DRAGON's commanding officer, Frederic Wake-Walker, when he was later sued (successfully) by Maplebranch's owners. 

A partially-sunken Maplebranch sitting alongside in the Market Basin, with the offending HMS DRAGON in the background.

Maplebranch viewed from aft. 

The salvage was contracted to Foundation Maritime. Already sitting on the bottom and completely full of water, the salvage was somewhat involved. As the wreck was taking up valuable space in the port, there would presumably have been considerable pressure to remove it quickly. 

Salvage crews went about building a cofferdam around the ship so that the wreck could be pumped out and re-floated. 

With a cofferdam constructed around the aft end of Maplebranch, pumping begins. 

A barge consisting of a platform constructed on two large pontoons supports what I assume is an air compressor used in the salvage.

Another view of the cofferdam around the aft end of the ship and ongoing pumping operations.

Maplebranch returning to the surface as pumping continues.

The view from the other side of the channel. The deep sea salvage tug Foundation Franklin can be seen to the right of the image, behind Maplebranch. 

Once refloated, Maplebranch was taken in tow by two smaller harbour tugs.

Maplebranch now afloat, and being moved by two tugs.

Unfortunately, I am unable to find any further online information on Maplebranch herself, neither photos of her from before the sinking, nor whether she returned to service after this incident or was subsequently scrapped. 

In searching, however, I did learn about HMS DRAGON's then-commander, Frederic Wake-Walker. (links go to Wikipedia). The collision with Maplebranch did not end his career; on the contrary, from 1938-39 he was in command of the battleship HMS REVENGE, and he achieved flag rank as rear-admiral commanding the 12th Cruiser Squadron. He was later appointed rear-admiral in command of all vessels off the Franco-Belgium coast during the evacuation of Dunkirk, and later still was appointed commander of the 1st Cruiser Squadron, during which time he was deeply involved in the hunt for the Bismarck. He was promoted to admiral in May 1945, but died unexpectedly in September of that same year. 

Unconnected to all of this, but of local interest, REVENGE was a frequent visitor to Halifax over the years, and in 1940 (under a subsequent commander) she managed to run down (and sink) the Battle-class trawler HMCS YPRES, then being used as a gate vessel for opening and closing the submarine nets across the mouth of the harbour. 

Foundation Scarboro

To follow up on my post from last week, I thought I would showcase a small portion of the operational history of the Foundation Scarboro, a "derrick, compressor, and power boat of 230 tons lifting capacity".

Data sheet for Foundation Scarboro from a late-1950s rate schedule published by Foundation Maritime. 

Foundation Scarboro could be fitted with different lengths of shear legs, along with pontoons alongside the hull, to adjust her lifting capacity.

Foundation Scarboro under tow by the tug Glenlivet around January 6, 1932. Though bearing the Foundation "F" on her funnel, I can find no further information on the Glenlivet. 

The marine arm of the Foundation Company of Canada started off as a continuation of their shore-based construction business, and Foundation Scarboro ranged widely from the Great Lakes to the East Coast assisting in the construction of various projects, such as water intakes, wharves, and the like. 

Foundation Scarboro lifting what appears to be some sort of water intake manifold, possibly in Toronto.

Electrical switchboard, presumably onboard Foundation Scarboro.

Lifting hook used by Foundation Scarboro.

Foundation Scarboro herself would have been, if not the first, then one of the first assets of Foundation's new marine construction arm. Starting off as a barge with two shear legs capable of lifting up to 263 tons (assuming 40-foot shear legs and pontoons were fitted), she needed a tug to get her from one location to the next. Some time before 1935, she was fitted with an electric revolving derrick crane of 25-ton capacity for greater flexibility with smaller loads. 

In December 1935, Foundation Scarboro was in Saint John, New Brunswick, handling concrete cylinders 9' in diameter. 

Foundation Scarboro handling a concrete cylinder in Saint John. I'm guessing the cylinder was pre-cast within the graving dock, which was then flooded so that Scarboro could pick it up, deliver, and install it. She has pontoons installed to increase her lifting capacity.

A close-up of the "equalizer" that was used to allow both shear legs to share the load of the concrete cylinders.

Foundation Scarboro, now with the rotating crane derrick installed, is shown placing a 9' diameter concrete cylinder. The tug alongside does not seem to belong to the Foundation fleet.

Placing a concrete cylinder in Saint John.

In September 1945, Foundation Scarboro was back to help dismantle Berths 1, 2, 3, and 4 in West Saint John, possibly in preparation for a new immigration and customs facility. The EGM Company of Montreal was awarded a contract to prepare the site, and I wonder if the Foundation Company of Canada received a sub-contract for the marine work. 

Foundation Scarboro in drydock, presumably in Saint John, NB.

From the looks of the scaffolding around the top of the shear legs and around the pontoon alongside the hull, it would appear that Foundation Scarboro is receiving some maintenance work.

Foundation Scarboro was also dragged into Foundation Maritime's salvage business at times. In at least one instance, it was to salvage one of their own: as told in Farley Mowat's Grey Seas Under (p. 171-172), Foundation Maritime frantically purchased any tug still afloat that they could get their hands on at the beginning of the Second World War, and many were in fragile condition - in the case of the John G. Chandler, she was rammed at her berth in Halifax in late 1940, raised, and sank again. Foundation Scarboro raised her, and a number of these unfortunate vessels ended up beached on McNab's Island - the Chandler possibly among them.

Note: I've since discovered the entry for the John G. Chandler in the NS wreck database, and it indicates that she sunk on December 10, 1940, after a collision with Foundation Jupiter.

Additional Note: Mac Mackay of Shipfax was able to fill in some of the missing information here. He writes: "JOHN G. CHANDLER was built in 1902 in Bath, Maine and arrived in Halifax for the first time that I can determine, in August 1940. FM was so desperate for tugs they bought whatever they could find. On November 10, 1940 it sank at the dock. It was raised January 1, 1940 and was being towed to Mill Cove for drydocking (I guess there was a slipway there) but it began to sink again, so was towed back to the Foundation dock where it fell over on its side and filled with water.".

Raising the John G. Chandler.

Raising the John G. Chandler.

In 1943, Foundation Scarboro raised the wreck of the lightship Red Island in Halifax Harbour (I am currently unable uncover further information about this ship). 

Raising the Red Island. Roy Tidman photo, Halifax Chronicle and Daily Star.

Foundation Scarboro seems to have remained in service for quite some time. In a company publication from the early 1960s (it shows the "newly purchased" salvage vessel Foundation Venture, which was purchased in 1961), Foundation Scarboro was still shown as part of the Foundation Maritime fleet.

Heavy Lifting

Over the last twenty years or so, Halifax has hosted visits by several heavy lift platforms associated with the Sable Offshore Energy Project (SOEP). In fact, the second largest of these platforms in the world, Thialf (Halifax Shipping News has written a piece here) is sitting offshore of Halifax Harbour as I write this. Like Thialf, the modern generation of heavy lift platform, such as the Saipem 7000 (currently the world's third largest) is designed (among other things) to transport and place jackets and topsides for offshore oil and gas exploration and production platforms. I have yet to take any photos of Thialf due to the current COVID-19 quarantine, but I have previously written about the visits of Saipem 7000 (1998) and Heerema's Hermod (2003).

Saipem 7000 approaching the jetty in Woodside, with two SOEP jackets onshore to the left of the image.

Saipem 7000 now alongside and with the two jackets lifted onboard.

Shown here in Halifax in 2003, Hermod has since been scrapped. Heerema replaced her, and presumably her older sister Balder, with the new platforms Sleipnir and Thialf.

The history of floating crane platforms lifting heavy loads in Halifax Harbour goes back much further than the last twenty years, however, with (admittedly much smaller) heavy lifts occurring at least as far back as the Second World War. For use in their marine construction and salvage operations, the Foundation Company of Canada and their marine arm, Foundation Maritime, operated several such platforms bearing names such as Foundation Masson, Foundation Mersey, Foundation Scarboro, and Foundation Shipshaw (among others). The heaviest lifter of this bunch was Foundation Scarboro, with a lifting capacity of 230 tons on her shear legs.

One particular operation in 1945 or so involved lifting a number of small wooden tugboats onto a freighter to take them overseas. 

Foundation Scarboro lifting the tug CT65 onto a freighter, which appears to be the Fort Moose. 

"Under Tow" by Donal M. Baird recounts that twenty-two of these small 50-60 ton tugs of the Tanac-class were built of wood in small east coast boat yards, and many were shipped overseas as deckloads, with Britain and the Mediterranean as some of the destinations - one made it as far as Australia. Some remained in, or were repatriated to, Canada and served as late as the 1990s for companies such as Atlantic Towing.

In place of a name, the Tanacs initially carried the letters CT (for Canadian Tug) and a number. CT61 through CT65 were built on the South Shore of Nova Scotia by Industrial Shipping Co. Ltd. in Mahone Bay (61 through 63) and by Smith & Rhuland in Lunenburg (64 and 65). The Shipbuilding History website indicates that CT65 ended up in Italy under the name Tenax. 

Foundation Scarboro underway in Halifax with CT63 on the hook.

Lifting CT65.

Foundation Scarboro started off life with just the two shear legs fitted, but was later refitted to include a rotating derrick crane for more flexible but lighter lifting.

A close-up of the connection detail between the spreader bar and the tug.

A close-up of the connection detail between the spreader bar and the tug.

A close-up of the connection detail between the spreader bar and the tug.

A steel cable wrapped in padding passes down from the spreader bar and under the hull of the tug.

Presumably CT63 on board a freighter.

CT61 and another Tanac tug on-board their freighter. I'm not sure how many of these tugs a freighter could carry at once, but it was at least two at a time. In the top right of the image, just to the left of the bridge of the tug on the right, is what I assume is one of the old Halifax Harbour ferries.

CT64 onboard a freighter.

These tugs were build for the Ministry of War, who ultimately distributed them as needed. According to the Shipbuilding History website, a total of 265 of these tugs were built in Canada between approximately 1943 and 1946. Interestingly, as one of the hundreds of cargo vessels built in Canada during the war, Fort Moose was also built in Canada, at Montreal in 1943.

As it turns out, Foundation Maritime also operated a Tanac tug for a few years after the war, the Foundation Alice. She was built as CT262 at Smith & Rhuland in 1945, but was sold on from Foundation in 1948.

Foundation Alice.