CHRISTOS XVI is a veteran Greek conventional tug with a career extending for more than six decades. Built in England in the mid-1960s as LADY SYBIL, she later became HEROS before taking the name CHRISTOS XVI in 2002 and joining the long-established Spanopoulos tug fleet at Piraeus. Today she continues to be listed in the operational towage fleet of the newly branded IGMAR Group, the modern continuation of the Spanopoulos maritime organisation.
The tug is a compact single-screw conventional towing vessel, approximately 25 metres long. Current IGMAR fleet information gives an installed power of 1,000 bhp and bollard pull of 14 tonnes. Older Spanopoulos technical documentation records that CHRISTOS XVI underwent a significant conversion/refit in 2015, when she was equipped with a Baudouin 12 M26.2 main engine rated at 1,000 bhp.
Vessel Details
Name: CHRISTOS XVI
Former Names: HEROS, LADY SYBIL
IMO: 6418429
MMSI: 237147300
Call Sign: SV6730
Type: Conventional Tug / Towage Tug
Flag: Greece
Port of Registry: Piraeus
Registry Number: Piraeus 3097
Built: 1964/1965*
Builder: Beverley Shipbuilding & Engineering, Beverley, United Kingdom
Conversion / Major Refit: 2015
Current Fleet: IGMAR Towage
Former Fleet Identity: Spanopoulos Group
Length Overall: approx. 25.05–25.48 m
Beam: approx. 7.02–7.45 m
Depth: approx. 3.42 m
Gross Tonnage: 141.78 / 142 GT
Net Tonnage: 34.26 NT
Main Engine: Baudouin 12 M26.2
Power: 1,000 bhp
Propulsion: Single screw
Current Published Bollard Pull: 14 t
Historical Spanopoulos figure: 20 t
Maximum Speed: approx. 10 knots
Firefighting Capacity: approx. 80 m³/h
Accommodation: 6 persons
Trading Area: A1 + A2 GMDSS
From LADY SYBIL to CHRISTOS XVI
The tug began her career under the name LADY SYBIL. Ship-register and photographic records identify Beverley Shipbuilding & Engineering in Beverley, England, as her builder. She retained the LADY SYBIL name until 1981, when she became HEROS.
She sailed as HEROS for more than twenty years before being renamed CHRISTOS XVI in April 2002. The new identity marked her Greek career with the Spanopoulos fleet and Piraeus.
Her name history can therefore be presented simply as:
LADY SYBIL → HEROS → CHRISTOS XVI
2015 Conversion
An especially useful detail missing from many commercial vessel databases is the 2015 conversion recorded in the Spanopoulos fleet book. That company document gives the tug as 25.05 m × 7.02 m, 141.78 GT and records the installation of a single Baudouin 12 M26.2 producing 1,000 bhp.
Interestingly, the same historical document gives a 20-tonne bollard pull, whereas IGMAR's current 2026 fleet page advertises CHRISTOS XVI at 14 tonnes bollard pull. Since the current operator itself gives 14 t, I would use 14 t as the present published figure and retain 20 t only as a historical Spanopoulos specification.
Notable Towage Operation
One documented operation occurred in July 2016, when general cargo ship ARIES suffered engine failure south-west of Crete. CHRISTOS XVI was dispatched to assist and towed the disabled vessel to a safe anchorage south of Crete on 27 July 2016, where repairs and surveys could be carried out.
For a relatively small conventional tug, this is a useful example of her employment beyond routine harbour work.
Piraeus Connection
CHRISTOS XVI has an exceptionally strong Piraeus connection. She has been registered at Piraeus, served for many years in the Spanopoulos fleet and remains listed today with IGMAR Towage, whose operations are based around Perama, Piraeus and Salamina. IGMAR describes itself as the modern evolution of the Spanopoulos maritime tradition and formally introduced the new group structure in 2025–2026.
The vessel has also been part of the PiraeuShips archive since at least January 2017, when your original page already recorded her IMO, MMSI, builder and former names.
PiraeuShips Record
CHRISTOS XVI was recorded at Piraeus by PiraeuShips during her long service with the Spanopoulos tug fleet. Originally built in England as LADY SYBIL and later known as HEROS, the tug represents a remarkable survivor from the 1960s that remains connected with the Piraeus towage industry more than sixty years after construction. Following the creation of IGMAR Group, she continues to be listed as part of the group's Greek towage fleet.
Original video footage © PiraeuShips. All rights reserved.
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