Circular Quay in Sydney in January 2018. The Celebrity cruise ship Celebrity Solstice is being bunkered by the United Maritime tanker Vitality while the Sirius of Sydney Harbour Ferries is leaving the ferry terminal.

The 121,878gt Celebrity Solstice was built in 2008 by Jos. L. Meyer at Papenburg. Assisting her is the 70gt tug HT Saipan of Ausbarge Marine Services which was built in 2010 by Beng Bu Shen Zhou Machinery Co. in China.

The 5,702dwt Vitality was built in 2012 by Yangzhou Kejin at Jiangdu.

The 186gt Sirius, one of nine of the ‘First Fleet Class’, was built in 1984 by Carrington Slipways at Tomago on the Hunter River in New South Wales. She is named after HMS Sirius, the flagship of the First Fleet in 1787.

Nigel Lawrence