French tug Bec d’Ambres and dredger Garonne underway to France according to the Dutch newspaper Middelburgsche Courant dated Tuesday 11 May 1886

An item reported the arrival at Flushing on the evening of the Saturday of the tug Bec d’Ambres and the dredger Garonne build by the shipyard [Conrad] of Thomas Figee at Haarlem and which came through inland fairways.(1) Both nice looking ships were build for the firm Vernaudan frères et Cie de Bordeaux for which harbour they shortly were to depart. The Garonne was build like a steamships and not in the usual Dutch square shape and fitted out with two screws she had her own propulsions. This was to done to improve her seaworthiness and to prevent the disaster like the dredger which sunk during heavy weather and which was towed to France by the President King en Washington.

Note

1. Both vessels were not mentioned in the newspaper Haarlem’s Dagblad in contrary to the above mentioned disaster. The edition dated Monday 14 December 1885 referred to a tiding from Flushing a day earlier that the tug President Kint returned from sea reporting that the steam dredger Margaux with which she left 2 December Flushing fro Bordeaux last Tuesday was sunk due to heavy seas in the Channel. Her two crew members drowned. The edition dated 14 July published an item dated 13 July that the Thursday before the new dredger rigged like a schooner had done her trials at the North Sea. The Middelburgsche Courant dated 12 December confirmed this tiding brought back with the Belgian tug President Kind. The disaster found place on 20 miles distance of Ones sand (Ouessant). On 28 December arrived the same tug safely at Brest underway to Pauillac with the steam dredger Contenac.

The Belgian Ships Archive 2011, 2e jaargang April-June supplied more details about this tug belonging to the Spciété de remorquage à hélice. She was iron build in 1872 at the shipyard of Janssen&Schmilinsky at Hambrug, Germany with yard number 65, a gross tonnage of 187 tons, a net tonnage of 26 tons and as dimensions 34,02 x 6,55 x 3,46 metres or 110’8”x 22’0”x 11’3”. The engine supplied 89 nhp or 200 ihp allowing a speed of 6-9 knots. Finally broken up in 1929.