WORKBOATS & TUGS
Principles for towage design
30m New ice-class tug Svitzer Embla.
IN SPRING 2021, SVITZER WELCOMES TWO NEW SPECIALLY DESIGNED ICEBREAKING TUGS TO SUPPORT ITS OPERATIONS IN SCANDINAVIA. NEW TWINS EMBLA AND EDDA WILL BOLSTER SVITZER’S CAPABILITIES IN THE REGION. WORD BY KASPER KARLSEN, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF SVITZER EUROPE. ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF SVITZER.
T
hese latest tug acquisitions illustrate Svitzer’s primary focus on always having the right tug for the job. Realising this involves careful considerations about which vessel designs offer the best service to a specific port or any customer requirements,
3 6 | S B I 2 0 2 1 | Volum e 15 | Issue 2
Svitzer.indd 36
while strengthening the ability to be flexible in fleet deployment. The enterprise globally operates 440 vessels, of which 130 vessels are pieces in the regional fleet planning puzzle in Europe.
Standard or tailored design
When searching for the best tug design, it is critical for towage operators to assess whether an off-the-shelf option or a customised design is the best option to invest in. This consideration is the central principle for defining how Svitzer scales up its fleet capabilities. Given its fleet size, there are plenty of factors to consider when it comes to tug acquisitions. Tugs will likely move around the company’s network and will need to adapt to different operations and customer demands. While tailored designs meet the requests for special capabilities, standard designs also serve an
important purpose. An off-the-shelf harbour tug can be a completely reasonable investment for ports with multiple customers. Considerations should then focus on the vessel’s strength and propulsion system.
Revolutionary builds
Svitzer recently took delivery of Svitzer Thames, a somewhat standard 80t bollard pull ASD tug that is a perfect asset for the variety of jobs we see in a diverse port like London. However, operations with special requirements or ports and customers with specific demands – such as the Scandinavian waters with seasonal ice and therefore the demand for ice-breaking capabilities – call for customised builds. Each special design is treated as a separate research and development project that stretches the company team’s expertise to
s h i p b u i l d i n g -i n d u s tr y. e u
22-04-2021 12:14
