34 minute read
Tugs & Towing
DILEMMA: WHICH FUEL SHOULD TUGOWNERS BACK?
The future is far from certain when it comes to investing in the future fuels for tug - and all vessel - owners. A recent conference looked at the options.
When the question ‘Can tugs decarbonise by 2050?’ was asked at the British Tugowners Association meeting in Hampshire, UK recently, about seven or eight hands went up in agreement. In an audience numbering around 70 it wasn’t an encouraging response. But it’s a question that needs to be addressed, and, opening the conference, BTA Chairman Scott Baker, also Head of Marine Standards at Svitzer, expanded on the dilemma facing tugowners. ”What will the alternative, transitional fuel of choice be for our sector?” he asked. ”What will the infrastructure requirements look like, what will they cost and what will all this have on the shipowner’s training budget?”
Future fuels today
There is certainly no shortage of contenders, and as Kerrie Forster, CEO of the Workboat Association, told Maritime Journal, many are already in use.
“Currently the industry fuel of choice (within the 500gt market) is common diesel, which is supported frequently already by electricity,” he said. “Though in the wider maritime industry, there is a larger range of fuel currently used within Britain’s ports. Heavy fuel oil, diesel, petrol, LNG, bio-fuel, electricity and hydrogen are all already in use.
“On top of this, we see designs for ammonia and methanol requirements and alternatives to the current fuels, for example liquid hydrogen and high-voltage electricity.
“The fuel of the future could well be hydrogen gas. The technology is already there, the pressures needed to contain it are not outside reason, the storage conditions are not extreme, the alchemy with water does not pose such a dangerous threat and importantly, there is an option to make it in a nearly net-0% fossil resource dependent way.
“But hydrogen is only currently being used in a diesel-mix scenario. In today’s statistics it’s a very good way to lower emissions by lowering the diesel content and a good way to flatten the curve of diesel reliance – but it isn’t yet allowing net-zero vessels.”
Hydrogen frontrunner
Maritime and Coastguard Agency Chief Executive Brian Johnson was very clear in his presentation on where he saw the future fuel for shipping.
“LNG has no impact on global warming,” he said. “Biofuels are not an option, they are unscalable and we would need 50% more land to grow them on. Batteries have a hopeless energy density. Methanol has carbon in it anyway and to make it zero carbon you’d need to suck CO2 out of the air. Plants need 1m3 of air processed per second in carbon capture to achieve this.
“It has to be pressurised hydrogen as a long-term solution, and in electric hybrids, a mix of the two. The technology is pretty much there already. In 15-20 years’ time we might be looking at nuclear, but this doesn’t have public support.”
It won’t be a simple step to take, Johnson told delegates. It needs a system change and market financing measures, and infrastructure is a huge challenge, not to mention regulations – or lack of them – on new fuels that behave very differently.
Lack of regulation, for boat owners and builders, is at the heart of the problem: without regulations in place, boat builders do not know where to invest.
Svitzer: Fuel agnostic
International tugboat giant Svitzer has publicly revealed its intentions to be carbon neutral by 2040, already having put in place a number of strategies to help drive the mission forward – such as changing the fuel mix of its fleet. In London, Felixstowe and Southampton, its entire fleets, it says, have switched to biofuels, and the company has begun to look at retrofitting or renewing all of its ships.
“Our oldest tug is 61 years old,” said Head of Decarbonisation Dr Gareth Prowse, “and the average age of the rest of them is 46 years. It would be a retrofit challenge but if Svitzer could make its fleet carbon neutral, it would be the equivalent of taking 15,000 cars off the road.
“We are trying to be fuel agnostic, so Svitzer is making ships that could switch to being dual fuelled. But the problem with future fuels is that they are either expensive, have a lower energy density or are not available. We are taking a step into the unknown and it’s not yet cost effective. You need to match the fuel requirement and powertrain with operational profile.”
8 Kerrie Forster,
Workboat Association
He said all fuels had pros and cons and with larger vessels, it was a race among methanol, ammonia, LNG and hydrogen. Larger vessels were using methanol, he said, but it wasn’t green yet.
When comparing the capacity required for equivalent energy density, there is simply no contest with diesel. To get equivalent energy from 1,000m3 of diesel, you would need 14,000m3 of pressurised hydrogen (see chart), he said.
Prowse’s presentation showed the closest to diesel in terms of energy density was LNG, which would need 1,636m3 – although it would require a further 1,133m3 additional space for the necessary cylindrical tanks containing cryogenic fuels to keep the LNG cool enough.
Echoing Brian Johnson’s comments on biomass, he said there was only so much biomass about – “the best would be used oil, like chip fat, but aviation, diesel cars and shipping are all fighting for it. The government could well mandate HVO for aircraft.”
Chip fat
Kerrie Fisher is also a proponent of vegetable oil.
“Hydrogenated vegetable oil can be fed straight into preexisting diesel engines, with very little modifications necessary – some diesel engine manufacturers even prefer their engines running on HVO rather than diesel due to the finer molecular make-up, reducing internal wear,” he said.
“It is a vehicle operator’s dream, relatively low cost (getting lower as the price of diesel goes up!) and can be used straight away in your pre-existing engines… you can literally reduce your vehicle emissions by 80% overnight.
“But, if you want to be really good for the environment, you would need to use re-cycled organic material to produce the HVO. This is commonly used kitchen waste, like dirty frying oil. We clearly don’t have enough pre-used cooking biproduct to drive the whole of the UK’s transport desires – cars, buses, lorries, trains, planes and boats (big and small) all want to get their hands on it.”
And as with all options, there just may be negative issues.
Alex McCooke, Claims Syndicate Manager – Offshore, with the Shipowners’ Club, said biofuels – or biodiesel – may not necessarily by the Holy Grail of fuels if environmental effects were a priority. He said biodiesel did biodegrade up to two and a half times faster than petroleum diesel, but because the micro-organisms breaking it down required more oxygen to do so, the oxygen content of the water could therefore be depleted – potentially causing short-term negative effects on marine life.
When coming into contact with water, biofuels or other vegetable oils could form clumps of solid oil, which would take time to break up, he said.
Other key presentations
“Hydrogen is promising,” said Vicente Boluda Ceballos, Boluda vice-chairman and also President of the European Tugowners’ Association.
He said it was clear that the biggest challenge to the industry was greenhouse gases, and to meet IMO targets for a 40% cut in emissions by 2030, 70% by 2050, it was vital that tug owners were included in any plans by regulators.
“Tug owners took steps 10 years ago to reduce fuel consumption,” he said. “We were the first adopters of alternative solutions, for example shore power. We need our own solutions to meet the 2050 goal.”
Rolls-Royce Sales Manager Tug & Workboat Andreas Müller-Hirlinger presented on a number of alternative options, including a methanol engine subsystem and a modular fuel-cell system that starts with battery power for pure electric propulsion, with hydrogen storage as an option.
The S4000-Methanol engine (pictured) will be demonstrated in 2025, but Rolls-Royce’s MTU fuel cell system was showcased at the COP26 climate meeting in November 2021, when the company said it was already being developed for ships and would be produced in the megawatt range from 2025.
Rolls-Royce says that so far it has delivered more than 500 engines for tugboats, predominantly in Europe, Africa and the Americas.
8 Brian Johnson,
MCA
to reduce fuel dopters of wer. We al.” orkboat mber of engine m that ectric on. will be MTU fuel 6 climate any said it would be
8 Svitzer Head of
Decarbonisation Gareth Prowse
DIVERSE ACTIVITIES REPORTED BY DAMEN
Damen Shipyards Group is keeping up its busy workload including deliveries and orders for its workboat and tug range and a machinery upgrade
Damen’s workboats are designed to accommodate the requirements of a range of marine-related industries. Invariably multipurpose, they can be fi tted out with a variety of components both above and below decks to suit their intended role. Dredging support and marine renewables are typical markets for such vessels but an increasing area of activity is in the aquaculture sector and one that Damen is responding to.
Scottish aquaculture
Sustainable fish farming company Kames operates in the lochs and estuaries around Scotland’s Western Isles, and has taken delivery of the Damen LUV 2208 utility vessel Tiffany II, intended to improve waterborne operations at its steelhead trout farm.
The vessel was built in the UK at Coastal Workboats in Exeter, who are working in association with Damen to build stock vessels to service the Scottish aquaculture sector. This was the second of three such vessels delivered or under construction and around the time of reporting this delivery, Damen announced that a further four LUV 2208s were to be built for stock by Coastal Workboats.
The 22m long vessel has a similar layout to Damen’s Multi Cat workboat range, with accommodation set to one side (in this case also moved aft), providing generous open deck space and unobstructed length from bow to stern.
A high deadweight adds to its buoyancy when operating the deck crane and a bow ramp with extra strong steel plates allows Tiffany II to beach and load or unload heavy items direct to the deck.
Thick “rubber bands” on the hull sides protect the vessel, Damen saying they are more effective than the typical arrangement of used car tyres hanging alongside the hull.
Multi Cat and ‘next generation’ tugs
With a typically short delivery time of just 4.5 months, Damen has delivered a Multi Cat 2409 to the Guinean Port of Kamsar. Lamine Camara will provide important port and fairway maintenance services where maintenance of buoys guiding bauxite carriers to and from the port is important, particularly during the rainy season with limited visibility.
Two cranes are fitted, the forward one lifting more than 18t at 7m, the aft crane 4.5t at more than 5m. Twin Caterpillar engines provide 1,268kW in total, delivering 22.5tbp, and a 72t brake load winch is part of its deck equipment specification, which includes an 8m plough operated from a stern-mounted A-frame intended to maintain sufficient water depths near the quays.
Another customer benefiting from a quick delivery with Damen’s policy of building vessels for stock is Rawabi Vallianz Offshore Services, who has taken delivery of the ASD Tugs 2811 Rawabi Dreamer and Rawabi Victory. The pair were built at Albwardy Damen, Sharjah, UAE and are one of Damen’s ‘next generation’ tugs, featuring advanced connectivity ensuring optimal performance and efficiency.
They are designed to provide shiphandling services to ports, handling ever larger vessels but within harbour dimensions that have remained the same. At just 28m in length the ASD Tug 2811 retains the qualities of a ‘compact tug’ while providing a respectable 60tbp.
Inclusion of local elements in both the building and operation of tugs is a regular feature for owners nowadays as echoed by Osman Ibrahim, Group President and CEO at Rawabi Holdings, who said: “We chose Damen Shipyards and the ASD Tugs 2811 based on their reputation for quality and reliability. We also welcome the opportunity to buy locally from Albwardy Damen and so support the regional economy and its workers.”
After-sales service
After-sales service is part of Damen’s offering and Port of Amsterdam has turned to the original builder of its 2013-built Stan Tug 1907 PA1 for a major upgrade to improve its sustainability, including new engines, exhaust cleaning systems and improved propulsion train arrangements. The contract also includes maintenance of three other Damen vessels.
The new engines will comply with IMO Tier III and EUROVI stage 5 requirements, and modifications include a diesel particulate filter including Selective Catalytic Reduction to filter out nitrogen oxide from emission gases, a heat recovery system to heat the accommodation and bridge, improvements to the bridge insulation, replacement of all glass, new rudders and propellers and modification to the anchor lockers. Following conversion, PA1 will be used for infrastructure maintenance and patrolling Amsterdam’s harbours.
8 The Scottish
aquaculture industry is providing signifi cant opportunities for Damen
New Jersey US-based salvor Donjon Marine and Donjon-Smit and its alliance with Dutch company Smit Salvage have updated details of what was a busy 2021.
Marine salvage and wreck removal can be lengthy affairs stretching into months or even years, resulting in works-in-progress updates. Donjon’s reflection on 2021 demonstrates that expertise developed for marine environments can provide valuable solutions when extreme weather events occur in coastal environments.
A more traditional response was called for when in April a lift boat capsized south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Donjon-Smit alliance was the vessel’s OPA 90 Salvage and Marine Firefighting provider and Donjon, along with JV partner Smit Americas Salvage, provided personnel and an array of assets including Donjon’s heavylift vessel Chesapeake 1000. Removal of the largest sections got under way with work reported as on-going.
In August, on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Category 4 Hurricane Ida made landfall at Port Fourchon, Louisiana and Donjon’s Chesapeake 1000 and its oceangoing tug Atlantic Enterprise remained in Port Fourchon during the storm. The company was quickly tasked by the US Navy to carry out emergency response and recovery operations including assisting the US Army Corp of Engineers in emergency pumping operations in flooded areas, techniques that often form the backbone of marine salvage work.
Dewatering stations were established and work expanded to removing vessels and returning waterways, including the Mississippi River, Intercoastal Waterway and Bayou Lafourche, to their normal operating condition with multiple salvage teams deployed to remove sunk and grounded vessels.
December saw Donjon activity stretch beyond the Gulf of Mexico when the Dry Dock #4 lost power to its pumps in the middle of a docking operation in New York harbour. The dock immediately started taking on water and the port wingwall was completely submerged within hours. Donjon was subsequently awarded the contract to salvage the dock. Key assets and personnel were quickly mobilised to the site where preparations started immediately.
The team quickly made use of the dock’s existing pumps to maintain the starboard wingwall while fabricating and installing large cofferdams onto the port wingwall for the installation of pumps. Divers undertook a condition survey to determine the salvage methodology and carried out significant patching, and upon completion of the work the dock was refloated and delivered to its owners.
SALVAGE WORK KEEPS DONJON MARINE BUSY
8 Donjon’s Chesapeake 1000 assisted after
a lift boat capsized off Louisiana
THE INDISPENSABLE REEDS NAUTICAL ALMANAC DON’T SET SAIL WITHOUT IT
Subscribe now for just £32.50! (RRP £49.99) .50!
REEDS
SANMAR DELIVERS TO TURKEY AND CHILE
They may both be from the same design houses but two recent Sanmar tug deliveries are very diff erent in their confi guration, demonstrating the Turkish shipbuilder’s fl exibility combined with series production
Sanmar Shipyards’ online catalogue contains three conventional twin-screw tugs ranging from the 14.95m Göksu and 16.29m Gökçay class to the 19.3m Bozçay variant, but its ASD and tractor designs occupy the greater ranges and popular choices for the shipbuilder’s clients, many of whom are returning customers.
Chile-based SAAM Towage recently received its fifth Sanmar vessel, the Bigaçay class ASD tug Mataquito II, and follows Boğaçay class tugs Halcon III, Albatros, SAAM Valparaiso and SAAM Palenque, delivered between 2020 and 2022. As is standard with Sanmar-built tugs, SAAM’s latest arrival carried its class name and number Bigaçay XII during construction before being renamed Mataquito II, and is a Sanmar-exclusive Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) designed RAstar 2900SX.
Principal dimensions include length overall 29.4m, moulded breadth 13.3m, moulded depth 5.5m and maximum operating draught 6.30m. Tank capacities include 160m3 of fuel oil and 18.6m3 fresh water. Classed by ABS, Mataquito II meets the notation: *A1, *AMS, Towing Vessel, Escort Vessel, ABCU, FFV1, UWILD, QR, Unrestricted Navigation.
Design details
Main propulsion is from Caterpillar, comprising two IMO Tier II compliant 3516C marine diesels, each developing 2,525kW at 1,800rpm. The engines drive Kongsberg US 255FP azimuth thrusters and deliver performance figures of 80tbp and free running speed ahead 13kn.
Mataquito II benefits from RAL’s “radical” sponsoned hull form, which Sanmarsays “has been proven to provide significantly enhanced escort towing and seakeeping performance”. With accommodation for up to eight persons, the vessel is intended for multipurpose duties, and as well as towing it is equipped for firefighting, pollution response support and salvage operations within a port.
Ruchan Civgin, Commercial Director, Sanmar Shipyards, said: “We are delighted that SAAM Towage has once again turned to us to provide them with the powerful, agile and highly manoeuvrable tugboat they need. At Sanmar we pride ourselves on being able to tailor the design, construction and outfitting of our tugs to meet an operator’s individual needs.”
Second delivery
The second Sanmar delivery is for a domestic customer involving a vessel of a different design being a thrusterforward tractor tug configuration. Safi Maritime Services’ new addition was built under the name Deliçay 12 before taking up its new name of Safi-14. It may be a different design but there is an uncanny similarity to SAAM’s previously mentioned delivery in that the tug is also the customer’s fifth Sanmar-built vessel and follows the RAmparts 2400SX (Boğaçay class) tugs Bedia Safi and Celal Safi, delivered in 2016, and the 30tbp twin-screw conventional design tugs Sanmar XXX and Sanmar XXXI delivered in 2012 and 2011 respectively. Safi-14 is another Sanmar-exclusive design from RAL, designated the TRAktor-Z 2500SX, described by Sanmar as being “designed for maximum efficiency in both harbour shiphandling and towing duties”. With a bollard pull of 74t it is also the most powerful tug that Sanmar has delivered to the expanding port.
The 25.3m long vessel has a moulded beam of 12m, least moulded depth of 4.46m and approximate extreme draught of 6.55m with tank capacities quoted as 89,300 litres of fuel oil and 12,300 litres of fresh water.
Power is derived from two high-speed, electronically controlled Caterpillar 3516C HD D marine diesel engines, each producing 2,100kW at 1,600rpm. On board power is provided by two identical Caterpillar C4.4 diesel gensets with operating frequencies of 50Hz, continuous service ratings of 99ekW and output voltages of 400 volts.
Safi II meets fifi1 standards with its one main fire pump driven through a clutched flexible coupling aft of one of the main engines producing approximately 2,700m3/hr of water. Classed by ABS, Safi-14 carries the notation: *A1, Towing Vessel, FFV1, AMS, ABCU, QR, UWILD, BP74.01, Unrestricted service.
Ali Gurun, Vice President of Sanmar Shipyards, said: “We are delighted that Safi Maritime Services has chosen us to provide it with the strong and powerful new tug it needs for its expanding business. It is always good when a client comes back for more and we are proud to be a partner in its ambitious plans for the future of this important port.
“Safi-14 is a fine example of our new generation of modern tugboats that can be designed and built to match the specific needs of individual operators.”
8 Mataquito II is
SAAM Towage’s fi fth Sanmar-built tug Inset: Safi -14 is a RAL-designed tractor confi guration tug
CORNISH WORKHORSE SHOWS WHAT IT’S CAPABLE OF
Three years in the life of Obervargh have proved competence in a multitude of tasks, from marine civil engineering support to recovery and salvage
The 15m multicat workboat Obervargh, built in Sea Wide Services’ own Cornish workshop, has proven to be even more versatile than originally envisaged (MJ August 2019).
Primarily designed to carry 35 tonnes of potable water for bunkering large ships in local waters, the vessel’s first year in operation saw its functions redefined and the below deck space reconfigured to take in crew accommodation for longer distant jobs in a variety of locations and commissions. Indeed, during its first two years in service, the multicat covered approx 8,000 nautical miles, at 5,000 engine hours.
Shortly after being MCA coded for Cat 3 operations (60 miles from safe haven) the maiden voyage for the craft, whose name is Cornish for ‘workhorse’, was a three-day passage from Cornwall to the Clyde estuary to provide vibrocore surveys for CMS GeoScience at a marina development at Largs.
On return from Scotland it assisted rock armour installation and quay demolition at Littlehampton, and then laying and maintaining moorings for small craft in local waters around Cornwall and as far out as the Isles of Scilly. There was also work assisting the installation of prototype offshore renewables systems at test sites in Falmouth Bay.
Once the water tanks had been converted into workshop/ day cabin and separate bunk rooms, Obervargh embarked on a long-term job from June until September, supporting a coastal replenishment project by KML off Withernsea, East Yorkshire, where it assisted with anchor handling and manoeuvring barges of rock armour shipped in from Norway. The original Hiab 26t/m crane was later replaced with a bigger 45 t/m unit.
Recovery missions
Back in home waters it was used for wreck recovery of several small craft following seasonal gales, and the towage of two decommissioned trawlers from Newlyn to the recycling yard at Truro. Other jobs have included prop washing flood gates at Truro, lock gate repair at Charlestown, regular stores replenishment to ships anchored offshore, the maintenance of commercial moorings and un-mooring car carriers and assisting ropax ferries laid up in the River Fal with their connection to sea-going tugs for onward delivery.
There was a quick voyage to Brest in France to pick up a 15m potting boat for towage back to Fowey for refit, and further work on harbour wall fendering at Penzance, as well as various projects at Mevagissey, Plymouth and other south coast locations.
For the G7 conference in June 2021, Obervargh was called on to lay temporary moorings in St Ives bay for the police and security forces. Back at Littlehampton the boat moved a barge carrying a 22-tonne sculpture of a humpbacked whale for onward towage to Dundee.
A return trip to the Humber Estuary for more vibrocore surveys at Grimsby was made during some heavy winter weather and the boat stopped over at Lowestoft and again at Ramsgate on the return voyage to shelter from force 9 gales.
A more recent commission over the 2021/2 winter involved laying pipe for seawater supply to the CEFAS marine science laboratory at Weymouth.
The vessel is also called out on occasion for dive support when subsea surveying or prop cleaning ocean-going ships in Falmouth Bay, and it is employed by the harbour authority to maintain commercial moorings, which has included the reattachment of a commercial mooring buoy that broke away during storm Eustace and was recovered by another workboat of the SWS fleet.
The boat is frequently called out for local towage work, including movements of luxury superyachts in and out of the Pendennis shipyard. One such operation was docking the exocean going tug Clyde, now converted to the luxury expedition yacht Seawolf, which had been delivered from Holland by the Dutch Pearl.
After two years in service, the rebuilt Doosan 400 hp engines originally fitted were replaced like-for-like with new units along with a new pair of gensets, and the boat is due to be fitted with an A-frame and plough for another upcoming commission.
Going forward there are several long-term projects in the planning and an upcoming commission that will take Obervargh deep inland up the non-tidal Thames for yet another CMS vibrocore job. For this versatile workhorse, variety is its bread and butter.
8 Obervargh
unmooring a cross-channel car ferry from layup
8 Docking the
expedition yacht Seawolf
The fi rst of two 90tbp tugs featuring Berg Propulsion’s fully integrated hybrid electric system has entered service with US-based Seabulk Towing Inc.
Spartan is a RApport 3000 design, compact, flush-decked design built by US yard Master Boat Builders and powered by two Caterpillar 3512E main engines each developing 2,550hp with three gensets also from Caterpillar.
Spartan’s European content includes Berg MTA 628 azimuthing thrusters, VS3 variable frequency drives with motors, and its own hybrid control system. The design, supply and integration package includes switchboard with full power management of the engines. Safety requirements require a high level of redundancy along with the ability to switch seamlessly between operating modes with the push of a button.
It is increasingly common for newbuild shiphandling tugs to seek maximum efficiencies in different operating modes from low-load transit sectors to high-load demands during shiphandling operations. Berg’s hybrid solution allows Spartan to run on main engines only, gensets only, or a combination of the two optimising energy use across the entire operating profile of the vessel. In transit, energy consumption is minimised by running on a single genset, while in hybrid mode power is balanced between the main engines and electrical motors to optimise fuel consumption, manoeuvring response and bollard performance.
Installation of the package was managed at the shipyard by Berg’s distributor and local partner Thompson Marine, Berg stating it is the most advanced hybrid electric package it has ever delivered.
Richard Tremayne, Marine Business Manager, Thompson Marine, said: “This delivery sets down a marker that with the right team in place, the sustainability and performance benefits of advanced hybrid electric propulsion are available to all.”
Master Boat Builders President Garrett Rice added: “This has been a landmark delivery for Master Boat Builders in next generation tug construction, and a testament to the value of teamwork.”
It is the owner that in the end of course gets to judge the value of the product, with Seabulk’s President and CEO Daniel Thorogood saying that during the first weeks of operation Spartan lived up to the promises made for hybrid propulsion vessels.
“Seabulk’s commitment to improving the sustainability of its operations is represented by its investment in a new generation of vessels, whose flexibility is proving that hybrid tug technology is our choice for the future,” said Seabulk.
US SUCCESS FOR SWEDEN’S BERG PROPULSION
Credit: Berg
8 Spartan is equipped with an extensive hybrid
propulsion package by Berg
FIND US ON STAND F9 AT SEAWORK
BESPOKE BALLISTIC PROTECTION FOR:
FAST PATROL BOATS CREW BOATS | MILITARY RIBS | SUPPORT VESSELS
+44 1983 400730 sales@aslgrp.com
POWERFUL UZMAR TRIO FOR SMIT LAMNALCO
Turkey’s Uzmar Shipyard has delivered three powerful terminal support tugs to Smit Lamnalco, a Rotterdam-based company comprising Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. and the Rezayat Group
MJ reports regularly on delivery of tugs that fall into the category of shiphandling or ship assist, or as they are also known, harbour tugs. While ships needing assistance get bigger, the size of ports, including associated locks and harbours, can restrict the physical size of attending tugs.
However thanks to smaller machinery with the same output and innovative propulsion arrangements, the presence of what are termed ‘compact tugs’ is seeing vessels typically around 25m in length providing respectable bollard pulls and capable of handling these ever larger ships.
The Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) designed 42m, 93tbp tugs SL Ibo, SL Matemo and SL Macaloe, however, probably do not fall into the compact tug category.
LNG operational support
The trio are designed to operate in open-water conditions, specifically in the offshore area near the northeast coast of Pemba, Mozambique in support of floating LNG (FLNG) operations.
Supporting both offshore and onshore LNG terminals is a niche area within the shiphandling sector, demanding tugs and other support vessels, often with escort capabilities of the highest quality and specification – a requirement that this trio certainly meets.
The model chosen for the demanding role is RAL’s popular RAstar design, and while they start at 27m in length these are the largest in the range.
Designated the RAstar 4200 ASD tug, they are the first of the design used for terminal support and have been specially outfitted for these operations. They will be required to provide berthing and unberthing services to LNG carriers and condensate tankers, also as holdback tugs during cargo transfer operations, tasks requiring good seakeeping qualities including berthing and unberthing in open waters.
Design details
The vessels were designed and constructed to Bureau Veritas rules and carry the notation: 1*HULL, *MACH, TUG, Fire-Fighting 1 with water spray, Oil Recovery Ship Secondline, Standby Rescue (20 survivors), *AUT-UMS, Unrestricted Navigation, Cleanship, IWS, Green Passport. Notable in that list is where they meet the requirements of a vessel capable of rescuing 20 persons.
Main specifications of the RAstar 4200 include: LOA (excluding fenders) 42m, beam moulded 16m, depth least moulded 6.62m, maximum draught (navigational) 7m and 1,227gt. Tank capacities include: fuel oil 353m3, potable water 114.2m3 and recovered oil 47m3 .
Main propulsion comprises a pair of Anglo Belgian Corporation (ABC) 12V DZC-166-1000, IMO Tier II certified main engines, each rated 2,900bkW at 1,000rpm driving Kongsberg US 35CP Z-drives with 3m propellers in nozzles. An unusual addition to aid manoeuvrability is provision of a Kongsberg UL 601 retractable azimuthing bow thruster with a 1.3m diameter fixed-pitch propeller. The electrical plant comprises three identical Caterpillar C18 gensets, each with a power output of 410ekW at 50 Hz and all able to operate in parallel.
The vessels are also provided with a Caterpillar C4.4 emergency generator. The all-important performance data includes 93tbp ahead and free running speed 14kn.
Deck machinery comprises a Brattvaag escort winch, including two hydraulic anchor windlasses forward, the escort winch spooled with high-performance synthetic towline on each drum.
Aft, a tow hook, tow pins and two tugger winches are provided. With an eye to conventional towing, SL Macaloe is also provided with an aft towing winch. A deck crane is provided for deck cargo handling, the aft deck designed to load 100t of cargo.
The trio’s work will involve periods in open sea conditions and a U-tube anti-roll tank is incorporated, arranged to “significantly reduce roll motions and improve the seakeeping performance in offshore operations”.
Extended fendering is provided, consisting of a cylindrical one metre diameter bow fender at forecastle deck level, W-block fenders at the stern and D-fender installed along the sheer lines at forecastle and main deck level.
The vessels are designed with a full height forecastle deck with one tier of deckhouse above the forecastle deck and below the wheelhouse.
Provision is included for an operating crew of up to 12 with crew cabins, galley and mess spaciously arranged in the deckhouse and forecastle deck. The cabins are isolated from the machinery space and described as providing “quiet and comfortable living spaces for crews.”
A gym and accommodation for rescued survivors are arranged in the lower deck.
8 Smit Lamnalco’s
trio include provision for rescuing 20 survivors
FIRST ISU MEETING FOR THREE YEARS HELD IN LONDON
The International Salvage Union (ISU) has held its fi rst Associate Members’ Day conference since 2019 in London
The event, normally held annually but put on hold due to Covid, had as its theme the importance of good relationships in an industry that can involve several stakeholders with potentially diff ering priorities but with the same eventual aim.
The event was opened by ISU President Captain Nick Sloane, who emphasised that importance, with the keynote address from International Union of Marine Insurance President Richard Turner noting the common interests of insurers and salvors – loss prevention, risk mitigation and pollution control.
Turner described the increasing importance of Asian markets, along with the so-called Environmental Social Governance agenda, with three main impacts for insurers: climate change increasing the number of extreme weather events; asset change – ship and cargo; and the sustainability of insured clients and industries. For example, the question of the tolerance to underwrite the coal sector.
A round-up of issues facing the industry was given by ISU legal adviser Richard Gunn, who noted conclusion of work to revise the Code of Practice between the International Group of P&I Clubs (IG) and ISU, adding that he had been impressed by the willingness of salvors to adopt a cooperative approach to industry issues.
Stunned by Lloyd’s notifi cation
The threat last year by Lloyd’s to the future of its salvage arbitration branch was met with deep concern from ISU, who said they were “stunned” by the notification, a threat that was later lifted (see MJ November 2021).
David Lawrence and Kevin Clarke of Lloyd’s updated the conference on the work being done to reconsider Lloyd’s Open Form. Delays in agreeing contracts in emergency situations can be an area of concern and the IG research project exploring the issues was described by Ben Harris, Head of Claims for the London branch of the Shipowner’s P&I Club and Chair of the IG’s salvage committee.
When the general cargo ship Bow Diamond met with heavy weather in the Gulf of Aden in 2019 with the resulting breaking apart of some of its dangerous cargo, including TNT, detonators and detonating fuses, Five Oceans Salvage responded in a complex operation that included an impasse where the Wreckhire contract was terminated with services continuing under Lloyd’s Open Form.
Its commercial director, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, provided a detailed case study of how it dealt with the incident, including its associated dangers and operational and contractual challenges. The ‘front-line’ aspects of marine salvage are always of interest and Jac Spijkers of DSM gave a talk about technical aspects of Dyneema rope and applications in marine industries.
Wreck removal is a major part of the industry’s activities and ISU past president and MD of Smit Salvage Richard Janssen described BIMCO-led work to revise its wreck removal contracts, a process that had paused due to differences of opinion about treatment of risk but was due to re-start imminently.
Responders’ liability is an area of industry concern and John Witte, ISU past president and CEO of Donjon Marine, addressed the issue, using anonymised situations to ask whether salvors could confidently undertake lifesaving work when exposed to the risk of legal action, considering that preservation of life was always the priority.
Panel session
HFW partner Andrew Chamberlain chaired a panel session with Special Casualty Representative (SCR) Nick Haslam, Brookes Bell consultant Ian Freeman, and ISU past president and MD of Multraship Towage and Salvage Leendert Muller, addressing “the role of marine consultants”, the heart of the issue where SCRs are also acting as freelance salvage masters. There was general agreement that this was not appropriate and would be tackled in the forthcoming revision to SCR Guidelines.
The conference concluded with an on-stage interview with Lloyd’s Appeal Arbitrator Jeremy Russell QC, who shared his experience of 40 years as a barrister specialising in maritime law.
In discussion with ISU’s James Herbert, Russell’s support for Lloyd’s Open Form was evident as he agreed that the size of awards was a key concern to some parties but the reasoning and processes and requirements for arbitrators needed to be proportionate in balancing the salved values with the assessment criteria.
At the end of proceedings, Nick Sloane paid tribute to ISU’s retiring secretary general, Roger Evans, presenting him with a gift to mark his service to ISU and the industry.
8 P&I Clubs have
previously called for a ‘competitive’ wreck removal market
8 Svitzer has entered a 10-year contractual
agreement to provide terminal towage and pilot transfer services at Woodside LNG export terminals in Port of Dampier, Australia.
The contract is with Woodside Energy Ltd and includes Svitzer providing five 80tbp tugs to service the towage requirements along with one new pilot transfer vessel to support Woodside and its joint venture operations, with the service commencing from the end of 2023. A clue that the tugs will follow the trend for energy efficient designs is where Svitzer state the vessels will reduce emissions across the fleet operationally, deploying smart and innovative enhancements to the tugs’ design and operating model.
8 In an example of one family-owned
company taking over another, Kotug International has entered into an agreement to acquire Dubai-based Seaways International.
Seaways operates a fleet of anchor-handling tugs, crew boats and barges primarily in West Africa, and the move fits Kotug’s strategy of expanding its business assisting worldwide offshore floating facilities including FSO, FPSO, FLNG, FSRU and SPM terminals. It is a niche area in which Kotug has invested heavily in recent years, the Rotterdam-based company stating the acquisition will bring “compelling synergy opportunities leading to more efficient operations”.
8 German propulsion manufacturer Schottel
is intensifying its market development in South Korea and Japan with the foundation of Schottel East Asia, near Busan.
The region is an increasingly popular area for tug production, with Schottel already established as a supplier of thrusters globally for such vessels and as well as growing the market in South Korea, activities will now also be intensified in Japan. With 20 years of sales experience in the marine and offshore industry in the region, Seongki Han has been appointed general manager of Schottel East Asia.
8 Port of Dampner, Australia
8 ISU secretary general Roger Evans has
retired from Smit and been replaced by the organisation’s communications adviser James Herbert.
Roger was a master mariner before ‘coming ashore’ in 1985 and holding various positions within the Smit organisation. He is credited with “keeping the show on the road” during the pandemic, including overseeing the “repositioning” of the industry. Following an impressive career in media and as a senior civil servant, Herbert established his own communications agency, specialising in maritime PR and casualty management. He will combine his new role with ISU communications.
For all your hoisting, mooring, lifting and towing solutions
We can supply you with a.o.: manual, electrical, fuel and hydraulic driven winches, windlasses and capstans; roller, pedestal, and sheave fairleads, panama chocks, complete towing and mooring systems to aid dredging salvage and fishing industries for hire or sale.
Lemans Nederland BV, Canadaweg 8 4661PZ Bergen op Zoom (Halsteren)NL Tel: +31 (0)164 680097 Fax: +31 (0)164 681971 E-mail: info@lemans-nederland.eu Website: www.lemans-nederland.nl
• Aids to Navigation • Vessel Charter • Family run business for over 0 years • Owner operator therefore competitive prices • Proven track record on
Marine Renewable projects • Road Transportable Multicats,
Catamar ns & Ribs.
