VERNICOS PEARL – IMO 9430480

ex PB PEARL / FUJAIRAH PEARL 1 / CREST SINBAD

VERNICOS PEARL is a Greek twin-screw ocean-going towing tug built in Malaysia in 2007 and operated by Vernicos Tugs & Salvage / Vernicos Scafi from Piraeus.

Originally delivered as CREST SINBAD, the tug subsequently became FUJAIRAH PEARL 1 and later PB PEARL, operating under Pacific Basin's towage activities before being acquired by Greek interests in 2016.

Renamed VERNICOS PEARL, she joined one of Greece's best-known tug fleets and has since become a familiar working vessel around Piraeus, Elefsis Bay and other Greek ports.

Powered by two Cummins main engines developing a combined 3,200 bhp, the tug was originally rated at approximately 47 tonnes bollard pull and is equipped for harbour assistance, coastal and deep-sea towage and firefighting duties.

Vessel Details

Current Name: VERNICOS PEARL

Former Names: PB PEARL, FUJAIRAH PEARL 1, CREST SINBAD

IMO: 9430480

MMSI: 241482000

Call Sign: SVA7353

Type: Twin-Screw Tug / Ocean Towing Tug

Flag: Greece

Port of Registry: Piraeus

Built: 2007

Builder: Tang Tiew Hee & Sons / Tang Tiew Hee Shipyard, Sibu, Malaysia

Current Operator: Vernicos Tugs & Salvage / Vernicos Scafi

Class: Lloyd's Register

Length Overall: 32.10 m

Beam: 9.00 m

Depth: 4.20 m

Operating Draught: approx. 3.5–4.0 m

Gross Tonnage: 296 GT

Net Tonnage: 89 NT

Main Engines: 2 × Cummins KTA50-M2

Total Power: 3,200 bhp

Propulsion: 2 × fixed-pitch propellers in Kort nozzles

Reduction Gears: 2 × Reintjes WAF 664L

Maximum Speed: approx. 12 knots

Economic Speed: approx. 9 knots

Original / Published Bollard Pull: 47 t

Current Med Tugs Fleet List Bollard Pull: 42 t

Towing Winch: Marine Equipment single-drum towing winch

Winch Brake Holding Load: approx. 100 t

Towing Wire: approx. 650 m × 44 mm

Fuel Capacity: approx. 138 m³ in current Vernicos specification

Fresh Water Capacity: approx. 47 m³

Foam Capacity: approx. 10 m³

Firefighting: FiFi 1/2

Accommodation: up to 19 berths in current configuration

Current Status: Active

Built in Malaysia

The tug was constructed in 2007 by Tang Tiew Hee Shipyard at Sibu, Malaysia, a shipyard with considerable experience in the construction of tugs and offshore-support craft.

She was designed as a relatively compact but powerful conventional twin-screw towing tug.

At only 32.10 metres long, the vessel developed around 3,200 bhp from two Cummins KTA50-M2 diesels driving conventional propellers through Kort nozzles.

The combination produced a bollard pull originally quoted at approximately:

47 tonnes

giving the vessel considerably greater towing capability than her compact dimensions might suggest.

CREST SINBAD

The tug entered service in 2007 as CREST SINBAD.

This name appears to have been carried only briefly during the vessel's earliest stage of operation.

Later in 2007 she became:

FUJAIRAH PEARL 1

and operated under the Panama flag.

The vessel's identity history is:

CREST SINBAD → FUJAIRAH PEARL 1 → PB PEARL → VERNICOS PEARL

FUJAIRAH PEARL 1

As FUJAIRAH PEARL 1, the tug was associated with Middle Eastern towage operations.

This stage of her career was again relatively short, and by the end of 2008 she had entered another ownership and operational phase.

She was subsequently renamed:

PB PEARL

PB PEARL – Pacific Basin

As PB PEARL, the tug became part of the Pacific Basin Towage fleet.

She was registered at Avatiu in the Cook Islands and carried:

Call Sign: E5U2248

Pacific Basin described PB PEARL as a:

3,200 BHP Ocean Towing Tug

with a bollard pull of 47 tonnes.

Her original Pacific Basin specification listed:

2 × Cummins KTA50-M2 main engines

3,200 bhp total power

12-knot maximum speed

and a towing winch with approximately 100 tonnes braking capacity.

The tug was therefore intended for more than simple harbour manoeuvring, possessing sufficient equipment and endurance for longer coastal and ocean towage assignments.

Acquired by Vernicos in 2016

The vessel's Greek career began in 2016.

The former PB PEARL was acquired by Vernicos Argonaftis / Vernicos Tugs & Salvage as part of the continuing renewal and expansion of the company's tug fleet.

She arrived in the Piraeus area on 3 October 2016 and was subsequently renamed:

VERNICOS PEARL

The change also brought her under the Greek flag, with Piraeus as port of registry.

Following her arrival, she was documented undergoing works in the Perama ship-repair zone during November 2016 before beginning her Greek operating career.

Vernicos Tugs & Salvage

VERNICOS PEARL joined a company with one of the longest histories in Greek towage and salvage.

The Vernicos maritime enterprise traces its origins to the mid-19th century in Constantinople, initially operating small craft on the Bosphorus before developing into a major Greek towage and salvage organisation.

Today the group's activities include:

Harbour towage

Coastal and deep-sea towage

Emergency response

Marine salvage

Wreck removal

Pollution response

and specialised terminal services.

Following the partnership with Italy's Scafi Società di Navigazione, operations in Greece developed under Vernicos Scafi, while the wider Greek tug network also participates in Med Tugs.

VERNICOS PEARL remains listed as part of the active Vernicos Scafi fleet.

Towing Equipment

The vessel retains a conventional towing configuration centred around a heavy-duty stern towing winch.

Her published equipment includes a:

Marine Equipment single-drum towing winch

with approximately:

100 t braking load

and a towing wire of approximately:

44 mm × 650 m

The arrangement allows the tug to perform not only ship-assistance duties within port limits but also longer towing operations at sea.

A stern roller facilitates handling of the tow wire during offshore assignments.

Propulsion

VERNICOS PEARL is powered by:

2 × Cummins KTA50-M2 diesel engines

each developing approximately:

1,600 bhp at 1,800 rpm

for a combined output of:

3,200 bhp

Power is transmitted through Reintjes reduction gears to two conventional fixed-pitch propellers operating within Kort nozzles.

Unlike modern ASD harbour tugs, VERNICOS PEARL therefore retains a traditional twin-screw propulsion arrangement.

The configuration is particularly suited to conventional towing work and contributed to the tug's original 47-tonne bollard-pull rating.

Bollard Pull – 47 or 42 tonnes?

There is a small but interesting difference between currently available official specifications.

The dedicated Vernicos specification for VERNICOS PEARL quotes:

Bollard Pull: 47 MT

which is also consistent with the tug's original specification when operating as PB PEARL.

However, the more recent Med Tugs fleet list, updated in July 2025, gives VERNICOS PEARL a bollard pull of:

42 tonnes

while retaining the same 3,200 bhp power figure.

The difference could reflect a later certified bollard-pull figure, operational derating or simply different fleet-list reporting criteria.

For historical purposes, 47 tonnes is the vessel's original and individually published design/operational figure, while 42 tonnes is the figure presently shown on the wider Med Tugs fleet list.

Firefighting Capability

VERNICOS PEARL is also equipped for marine firefighting.

The current fleet specification identifies the vessel as:

FiFi 1/2

and lists approximately:

10 m³ foam capacity

This capability allows the tug to assist during fires aboard ships or within port installations while simultaneously carrying out conventional towing and manoeuvring duties.

Piraeus-Based Career

Since joining Vernicos, VERNICOS PEARL has become closely associated with the Piraeus maritime area.

The tug regularly operates throughout:

Piraeus

Keratsini

Drapetsona

Perama

Elefsis

Aspropyrgos

and the wider Saronic Gulf.

Her work includes assisting commercial vessels arriving and departing terminals, repositioning vessels between anchorages and repair facilities, and supporting towing operations outside normal harbour limits.

Recent AIS records continue to show frequent movements between Piraeus, Pachi and Aspropyrgos, while the tug has also undertaken assignments farther afield at Greek island ports.

Operations Beyond Piraeus

Although principally associated with Piraeus, VERNICOS PEARL is not restricted to harbour towage.

Her configuration as an ocean towing tug, combined with accommodation and substantial fuel capacity, allows her to undertake assignments outside the Saronic Gulf.

Recent operating records have shown the vessel travelling to locations including:

Lavrion

Chalkis

and

Mykonos

demonstrating her continuing use for towage and support operations around Greece.

Still Active in 2026

VERNICOS PEARL remains commercially active in 2026, almost twenty years after construction.

Current Vernicos Scafi fleet information continues to include her among the company's operational twin-screw tugs, while recent AIS records from September 2026 show continuing movements between Greek ports.

She therefore remains a working member of the Piraeus tug fleet rather than a reserve or inactive vessel.

PiraeuShips Record

VERNICOS PEARL was recorded by PiraeuShips after joining the Greek tug fleet. Built in Malaysia in 2007 as CREST SINBAD, the vessel subsequently operated as FUJAIRAH PEARL 1 and later as Pacific Basin's PB PEARL before being acquired by Vernicos in 2016. Renamed VERNICOS PEARL and transferred to the Greek flag, the 3,200-bhp twin-screw tug became a familiar working vessel around Piraeus and the wider Saronic Gulf. Still active in 2026, she continues to perform harbour, coastal and wider towage duties almost twenty years after construction. The PiraeuShips footage preserves the tug during the early years of her Greek career with one of the country's most historic towage organisations.

Kind of ships