Last modified: 2008-09-06 by ivan sache
Keywords: abeilles (les) | societe dunkerquoise de remorquage et de sauvetage | letters: sdr (red) |
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![[Les Abeilles house flag]](../images/f/fr~hfabi.gif)
House flag of Abeilles - Image by Ivan Sache, 10 June 2001
See also:
Les Abeilles International is a French shipping company
registered in Le Havre. It is a
subsidiary of Les Abeilles ("The Bees"), itself the salvage
arm of Compagnie Chambon, itself a shipping branch of Groupe Bourbon.
The company was created in 1976 by amalgamation of various French
towage companies. The first Compagnie des Abeilles was founded
in 1864. At that time, its main activity was harbour operation, the
small "bees" gleaning around the big vessels.
Following the wrecking of the tanker Amoco Cadiz and the
resulting oilspill that polluted the northern coast of
Brittany in 1978, the French government
decided to change the law on salvage and towage of vessels in danger.
Vessels in danger of wrecking are now obliged to accept salvage and
towage, without bargaining (in the past, there was a direct
bargaining between captains of both ships). Since the Navy did not
have any vessel able to towel tankers, it was decided to commission Les Abeilles International, whose ships act upon request of the Maritime Prefecture in charge of the area where a vessel in danger is signaled.
There are currently three Emergency Towing Vessels stationed
around the French coast:
- Abeille Languedoc (160 tons), stationed in Cherbourg, operating in the Channel and the North Sea;
- Abeille Flandre, the sister-ship of Abeille Languedoc, stationed in Brest, operating in the Western
sector;
- Mérou (100 tons), operating in the Mediterranean zone.
Abeille Languedoc and Abeille Flandre have been
involved in more than 1,250 operations.
Other vessels of importance are the four tug-supply vessels, in
charge of offshore and harbour towage:
- Seaward Fox (100 tons), operating in the Channel and the North Sea;
- Ailette and Alcyon (65 tons), two sister-ships stationed in Brest:
- Carangue (85 tons), stationed in Toulon.
The company also owns the multi-purpose polar supply vessel
L'Astrolabe (56 tons), stationed in Hobart (Tasmania, Australia).
Sources:
Ivan Sache, 10 June 2001
The house flag of the company (both Abeilles and Abeilles International) is a white rectangle with a red border.
Ivan Sache, 10 June 2001
![[SDR house flag]](../images/f/fr~hfsdr.gif)
House flag of Société Dunkerquoise de Remorquage et de Sauvetage - Images by Ivan Sache, 13 March 2008
Société Dunkerquoise de Remorquage et de Sauvetage was in charge of tugging (remorquage) and salvage (sauvetage) in Dunkirk.
In 1861, the Chamber of Commerce of Dunkirk was granted the monopoly on tugging in the port and operated the Commerce. Gaspar Malo, who
had been operating the Orphéon since 1859, abandoned tugging. After the lift of the monopoly, several companies were set up, including Société Dunkerquoise de Remorquage Barra & Cie, created in 1897; considered as the founder of professional tugging in Dunkirk, the
company was renamed Société Dunkerquoise de Remorquage et de
Sauvetage, then Société de Remorquage et de Sauvetage du
Nord (1956), Société de Remorquage du Nord (1974, overtaken by Progemar) and eventually Abeilles Dunkerque (1990, overtaken by G7 - Les Abeilles).
Source: French Tugs website
The house flag of Société Dunkerquoise de Remorquage et de Sauvetage is shown in Lloyd's book of house flags and funnels of the principal steamship lines of the world and the house flags of various lines of sailing vessels, published at Lloyd's Royal Exchange. London. E.C. (1912) [llo12], also available online thanks to the Mystic Seaport Foundation,
#1615, p. 113, as white with a red border and
the red letters "SDR" in the middle.
In Saga maritimes - Cent ans d'armateurs de France (Marine Éditions), Gérard Cornillet and Claude Villers shows the same flag, but with the letters "SDRS".
Ivan Sache & Dominique Cureau, 13 March 2008