How Do You Tow an Iceberg?

How Do You Tow an Iceberg?

A 600,000-ton iceberg is heading straight for the Hibernia oil rig, the world’s biggest offshore drilling platform. As much as 200 million litres of crude oil are stored here – and a collision would have devastating consequences for the waters of the North Atlantic. Thankfully, the Hibernia operators have taken matters into their own hands and set up a specialist towing service for the icebergs. They capture the icebergs while they are still about 20 kilometres away from the rig. The tugboat does this by circling the iceberg with a tow rope, effectively catching it with a giant lasso. Then the real work begins: the winches on board have a bollard pull of 350 tons. But they probably won’t end up needing it. In Iceberg Alley, between Baffin Bay and the east coast of Canada, the iceberg only needs to change course. The tugboats usually just tow the iceberg a sufficient distance into a different ocean current that will carry it safely past the oil rig.

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