''Ryan Leet'' is an ocean-going salvage/supply

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

. The tugboat is owned and operated by Offshore Marine Supply Services Inc. Justin Beaune its registered director and owner. The vessel is based in Panama, and operating in the Caribbean. she is used for towing of ships and barges, supply, ship-to-ship fuel transfers and fire and rescue. ''Ryan Leet'' was built in Belgium for the French Government to aid

tankers Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanke ...

sailing along the French coastal area. ''Ryan Leet'' was one of two such heavy salvage tugs stationed offshore in the French sector of the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, as well on the western coast of France and the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

. Her sole task was to escort "supertankers" and to be ready to tow these tankers if they broke down. ''Ryan Leet'' has the

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

to tow supertankers up . She is also equipped with a firefighting and azimuth

bow thruster Manoeuvering thrusters (bow thrusters and stern thrusters) are transversal propulsion devices built into or mounted to either the Bow (watercraft), bow or stern (front or back, respectively) of a ship or boat to make it more manoeuvrable. Bow th ...

DP1 system. Unique to a ship her size, she is fitted with dual towing cables, the first a cable with a diameter of , and the second being 1,800 m with thickness. She has a fuel storage capacity of . The vessel was equipped with new dual engines and generators rebuilt in 1994, (EMD V20-645 E7B). She was launched in 1978 and was previously known as ''Abeille Provence'' and ''Salvor Commander''. Among the vessels whose rescue or salvage she participated in were the

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

, the roll-on/roll-off vessel '' Camilla'' and the

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially naval architecture, designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo—such as Grain trade, grain, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement—in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrie ...

References

{{Reflist Tugboats of Canada 1977 ships