Shipyards are set to complete the first newbuild tugs with dual-fuel or single-fuel methanol engines, enabling owners to see first-hand how they compare with tugboats fuelled by diesel and biodiesel in power, performance, reliability, sustainability and emissions.

These tugs will be test cases that the whole industry will follow, to decide whether to order newbuildings with the structure and technology needed to store and combust methanol fuels.

Owners will be watching closely to discover whether the additional investment is worthwhile in terms of reduced emissions, and to see how these tugs work in busy ports and in ship escort.

All eyes will be on Gothenburg, Sweden, in May this year, as Svitzer demonstrates the world’s first battery-hybrid tugboat with methanol-burning engines at Riviera’s 28th International Tug & Salvage Convention, Exhibition & Awards.

Progress on this newbuilding suggests Svitzer Balder will be ready at the harbour for visitors and be able to handle ships, including Maersk’s methanol-fuelled container carriers, in the Swedish port.

In January, Uzmar launched the 35-m tug at its shipyard in Turkey and started outfitting it before sea trials. It is built to a TRAnsverse design, developed by Svitzer and Robert Allan Ltd, with a 6,000-kWh battery system, two 350-kW methanol engines, and a 2,000-kW diesel engine, plus a bollard pull of 85 tonnes. 

The Copenhagen, Denmark-headquartered owner said it is the largest, most complex and powerful harbour tug it has ever built, weighing 1,070 tonnes without batteries or full equipment.