Oldies from the Shoebox: Biban and Abeille 30

The cargo ship Biban arrived in Halifax December 21, 1979 in tow of the French tug Abeille 30. Biban was built by Marine Industries Ltd of Sorel QC in 1977 for the Algerian state shipping company. She often traded to the Great Lakes, and it was on one such voyage in June 1979 when she had a catastrophic engine breakdown at Duluth MN.

American tugs South Carolina, Maryland, and Superior, assisted by Lenny B towed the ship to Montreal, arriving July 29, 1979. She sat there until December 11 when she left for Halifax in tow of Abeille 30. The pair tied up at Halifax Shipyard over Christmas.

On January 1, 1980 they set out for Europe where the ship was eventually repaired. She was sold and renamed Mariam 1 in 2002 but arrived in Alang, India January 12, 2003 where she was scrapped.

The tug Abeille 30 had an interesting history, which I will add to this post in a few days.