National maritime authorities in Poland have two multipurpose vessels under construction that will significantly expand emergency towage and ice-breaking capabilities
Remontowa Shipbuilding yard in Gdańsk, Poland, launched the hull of the first of these new multipurpose towage and offshore vessels in July and expects the second to be introduced in October.
These ships are scheduled to be completed in 2020. The first will be delivered to the Maritime Office in Szczecin in Q2 2020 and the other to the Maritime Office in Gdynia in Q3 2020.
These diesel-electric powered vessels will be equipped for a variety of operations including emergency ship towage, breaking ice in Polish ports and coastal areas during northern hemisphere winter months and servicing Polish navigational aids.
A major focus of their work will be conducting hydrographic research on water quality and depth contours for navigational charts. They will also be fitted with fire monitors for fighting vessel fires and will be built to operate up to 200 nautical miles offshore.
These 60-m vessels will replace two 35-year old vessels currently working for the maritime offices in Szczecin and Gdynia. These new vessels will have moulded hull beams up to 12.8 m and depth of 4.7 m.
Remontowa is fitting them with engineroom systems that comply with IMO Tier III emissions requirements. These include three Cummins QSK50 diesel units that each generate 1,359 kW of electric power at 1,800 rpm.
Cummins said the green technology has been proven on offshore support vessels “where, depending on work and power demand, the ships can operate on one, two, or three generators”.
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After these hulls are launched, Remontowa will outfit the vessels with wiring, accommodation, storage rooms and superstructure.
Funding for the project is being provided by the European Union from the Cohesion Fund, under the Infrastructure and Environment operational programme.
Remontowa is building a series of ship handling tugs for the Polish Navy with the first completed in Q2 2019 and two more due to be finished in Q3 and Q4 2019.
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