TUG ORDERS, DELIVERY

A look at tug-building activities at European shipyards alone this month lets us explore orders and deliveries for no fewer than eight vessels.

London residents will be familiar with Cory’s tugs and barges transiting the River Thames, moving city waste to sorting facilities for recycling or energy recovery. Ten years ago, Cory took delivery of four newbuild low air draught Shoalbuster 2208S tugs from Damen and as part of its growth plans it has ordered two further examples from the Dutch shipbuilder.

Modifications will include IMO Tier III compliance and upgraded fender arrangements providing all-round protection to the topsides. Sightlines from the wheelhouse, including aft, will be improved along with reduced reflectivity with deck upgrades including lowering the bulwark and push bow layout to improve views forward. The bow thrusters will be electrical, powered by three generators, a triple-load parallel running system delivering redundancy. The pair will be built at Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld and supported via its Portsmouth service hub.

Other Damen news of note sees an order for a Multibuster 8020 ultra-shallow draught workboat for Harlingen NLbased Van Stee Offshore. The design of this 80m long vessel, developed by Damen-owned naval architects OSD-IMT, was the brainchild of CEO Arnout Damen, and is described as combining key elements of the MultiCat and Shoalbuster range to create a large-scale platform for a wide variety of projects in waters as shallow as three metres.

The vessel’s large dimensions provide extensive deck space, ample accommodation and high stability, allowing provision of cranes larger than other similar vessels. DP2 comes as standard, and a retractable bow thruster ensures two tunnel thrusters are always available for enhanced manoeuvrability. The roles for this multi-purpose vessel, aimed at the renewables and O&G sector, include anchorhandling and towing, ROV operations, cable-laying and beach pulling.

Construction is well under way at Albwardy Damen Sharjah and MJ hopes to examine this significant new design from Damen in greater detail in due course.

Sanmar newbuilds

Turning to newbuilds, Sanmar Shipyards has been particularly active, reporting four tug deliveries in a week to round off 2022. On Christmas Eve, Citta Di Augusta and Citta Di Siracusa sailed from Sanmar’s Tuzla Shipyard for long-term client Rimorchiatori Riuniti.

Built as Boğaçay LII and LIV respectively, the pair of Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) designed, Sanmar-exclusive RAmparts 2400SX MkII ASD tugs will be the first Tier III compliant tugs in Italian ports, a Caterpillar/Kongsberg main engine/ thruster combination providing 60tbp. The fifi1 specified tugs have accommodation for up to six persons.

Turkish operator Yalpaş has taken delivery of Yalova 5 a RApport 1900SX class twin-screw tug previously operating in Sanmar’s own fleet as Bozçay VI. Like Adakale mentioned below, it is from Sanmar/RAL’s smaller range of shiphandling tugs, but still offers a respectable 33tbp.

Final tug of the year was the RAscal 1800 design Yeniçay XVI, reportedly to be renamed Adakale for Turkish operator Marintug. Intended for low manning, the design has a high standard of machinery automation and is capable of ship assist, line-handling, coastal towing and general harbour service. Caterpillar main engines power Veth azimuthing thrusters delivering 32tbp and speed 12kn.

Back to Damen

Finally, and returning to Damen, Fairplay Towage now has a significant new addition to its ever-expanding fleet of tugs operating in Rotterdam.

The ASD 2312 design is one of Damen’s ‘next-generation’ tugs and just before yard number 513616 sailed from Damen’s Song Cam Shipyard for Europe, carrying the name Navigator, Fairplay concluded a lease agreement contract with Damen Marine Services allowing short notice delivery for the vessel.

Following bollard pull trials in the Caland Canal, the tug was ‘rebranded’ as Fairplay-93 at De Haas Rotterdam shipyard and entered service in Europe’s largest port.

An interesting feature of the ASD 2312 compact tug is the towing winch arrangement.

Shiphandling ASD tugs generally tow over the bow via a foredeck-mounted winch. If not intended for conventional deepsea or coastal towing, an aftdeck winch may not be included although provision for retrofitting such is usually included.

While not the first similar arrangement, Damen’s solution sees the enclosed winch mounted more centrally (longitudinally) beneath the wheelhouse, allowing the towline to be fed forward or aft depending on the preferred towing mode.

The accommodation for six persons is now located further forward beneath the forecastle deck.

Netherlands-based Koole Contractors has doubled its number of tugs to four, part of its fleet now actively involved with a wreck removal project off Gibraltar.

The two new tugs, Viking and Norne, were built in 2008 and 2011 by Kooiman Scheepswerf for Koerts International Towage, the former now renamed Koole 31. The pair are instantly recognisable and aesthetically pleasing Kooiman products, again respectively, 30.8m and 34.1m LOA providing 72.3 and 83tbp.

Both are classed for unrestricted sailing, Norne with Ice Class 1C restriction, and they join the 45tbp Koole 42, built in China in 2007, and 77tbp Koole 35, an Armon Astilleros product from 2001. Ks oole 35 has strong European connections, originally Union Diamond for URS Nederland BV with Smit International, Boluda Towage Belgium and Seacontractors also among its previous owners.

Koole 31 was soon active towing the accommodation barge K10030, also part of the Koole fleet, from NW Europe to Gibraltar to participate in removal of the bulk carrier wreck OS35, which was beached following collision with an LNG tanker. Koole 42 was also mobilised to the site from South America with the flattop barge H283.