Image: The unique Beskydy tugboat has been given a steering gear and is returning to service

The tug was built in 1956 in the Mělník shipyard, it is the only tug from the original series in active service.

After almost three months of work in the shipyard, the unique rear-wheel tug tug Beskydy is returning to service on the Elbe. A steering gear has been installed in the bow of the tug to assist in maneuvering in a narrow fairway. The program of partial modernizations of the 65-year-old tugboat, which today provides public service to all vessels, was thus completed.

The Beskydy tug was bought by the Waterways Directorate in 2016 for ten million from EVD to help ships overcome critical shoals between Hřensko and Ústí nad Labem. The state has not been able to enforce the construction of the lock here for a long time, which is what shipping is suffering from. The harness is free at a reduced level.

In mid-November, the tug was towed to land in the Děčín shipyard, where a steel cross pipe with a steering gear with two propellers, powered by an electric motor with an output of 42 kW, was built into its bow. The electric motor supplies the newly installed auxiliary diesel generator. In the shipyard, the tugboat also received a new coat of paint below the waterline, at the same time a technical inspection of the ship was successfully carried out, which must be carried out every five years.