New port complexes in China, South Korea and throughout southeast Asia lead to newbuilding contracts for busy regional shipyards
Major strategic port construction programmes in east and southeast Asia will drive demand for new tug construction in the next decade. Governments throughout the region are partially funding new ports and terminals for container, bulk and liquid cargoes and building logistics hubs.
This has a massive boost on demand for ship handling and towage in the region, propelling port authorities and tug owners to order fleets of tugs.
Chinese authorities released plans in November to accelerate its programme of constructing world-class ports incorporating smart management and operational technologies.
Guidelines released from nine government agencies, including the Ministry of Transport and the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Natural Resources, demonstrate China’s aims for more smart and green port hubs by 2025.
Authorities intend to advance ports to world-class levels by 2035 and to have numerous world-class port clusters in service in 2050.
Infrastructure and harbour construction will extend and upgrade existing terminals and ports, increasing capacity of many already in the top 20 for container traffic.
China has seven of the world’s top 10 container ports by TEU trade, with Shanghai the largest, followed by Ningbo, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Tianjin and Hong Kong, plus Xiamen and Dalian in the top 20. This demonstrates the scale of development to date and the impact on tug service demand.
China’s One Belt and Road strategy is providing more impetus for port and towage investment in the region and beyond.
Chinese builders responded by ramping up tug output. Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard Group has sold the first batch of new harbour tugs it is building on a speculative basis for its own stock.
It is following the lead of other global tug builders – Damen Shipyards, Med Marine, Uzmar and Sanmar in building tugs for its own stock, or fleet, to sell on.
By November 2019, it had sold all 12 of the first set of these harbour tugs. These will have main engine power of 4,000 kW, an overall length of 33.75 m, beam of 12.2 m, hull depth of 5.40 m and design draught of 4.2 m. They are suitable for unrestricted navigation, comply with ABS class, have 70 tonnes of towing force and top speeds of 13 knots. Jiangsu Zhenjiang uses designs from Canadian naval architects Robert Allan.
This shipyard is also building harbour tugs to order for Chinese ports. In November, it delivered three azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugs to Liaoning Longyun Shunze Co, including Bao Hang 2 and Bao Hang 7 that have an overall length of 37.95 m and breadth of 10.4 m. They each have total propulsion power of 2,942 kW and top speeds of 12.9 knots.
The tugs have bollard pull ahead of 51 tonnes, astern pull of 45.7 tonnes and enough fuel to operate at 800 nautical miles.
Jiangsu Zhenjiang also delivered Bao Hang 5 with an overall length of 39 m, beam of 10.6 m and 3,680 kW of power. This has a fire-fighting system to FiFi1 notation, ahead pull of 60 tonnes, astern pull of 54.5 tonnes and top speed of 13.3 knots.
The shipyard’s domestic harbour tug construction projects continued in October with the launch of a towing tug. Zhang Gang 28 will have total propulsion power of 3,280 kW when it is operated by Zhangjiagang Tug Ship Co in Zhangjiagang Port.
Jiangsu Zhenjiang is building ASD harbour tugs for:
Jiangsu Zhenjiang has also passed the halfway point in constructing a fleet of tugs for the Guinea Al-project, which is part of the Belt and Road strategy. By mid-November, it had completed three tugs for COSCO Shipping Bulk Transportation for a Chinese Government-backed inland bulk transportation project.
Jiangsu Zhenjiang launched the fourth of these tugs on 29 October, to be named Yi Tuo 104, and laid the keel for a seventh of these workboats on 19 November. The shipyard is currently outfitting a fifth and sixth vessel for completion in 2020.
These pusher tugs will be operated by COSCO subsidiary Yifeng Shipping, to transport barges of aluminium ore along Guinea rivers from the African country’s bauxite mines.
Another Chinese tug builder, Cheoy Lee, has started working on the first of four harbour vessels at Hin Lee Shipyard. All four of these 492-gt tugs will have an overall length of 32 m and draught of 4.7 m.
They will be built for delivery from Q2 2021 onwards with up to 55 tonnes of bollard pull. Their hulls will have a breadth of 13 m, 5.4 m depth and each will be equipped with two Yanmar 6EY26W main diesel engines producing 1,900 kW of power at 750 rpm.
PaxOcean is building the second of two dual-fuel harbour tugs ordered by Singapore’s PSA Marine. The first of these, PSA Aspen, entered service in August this year and the second is scheduled for delivery in December.
These are built to RAmparts 2800-DF design and Bureau Veritas class with Niigata dual-fuel engines.
Elsewhere in east Asia
South Korea’s Government, with private funding, plans to invest more than US$35Bn in up to 12 ports in the next 20 years to increase ship-handling capacity. This investment could make Busan the world’s third-largest port by 2040 with capacity to handle 25,000-TEU container ships. Investment could increase national cargo trade from 1.32Bn tonnes in 2017 to 1.85Bn tonnes.
In the Philippines, two commercial port complexes may be upgraded for container ship traffic. International Container Terminal Services has proposed modernising the Iloilo commercial port complex and the Port of Dumangas. These proposals are being considered by the Philippine Ports Authority and the National Economic and Development Authority. This could lead to an upgraded network of ports in the country.
In Indonesia, DP World is constructing a US$1.2Bn container port and industrial logistics park in East Java. Maspion container port will be built in Gresik with 3M TEU capacity ready to open in 2022. State-owned maritime services operator Pelindo III will provide tug operations to this port.
In 2018, Pelindo III modernised its tug fleet with the Jayanegara series of tugs. In all, 15 tugs were built by PT Dumas Tanjung Perak and PT Daya Radar Utama shipyards in Tanjung Priok, Indonesia. These were built to Lloyd’s Register class and Robert Allan’s RAzer ASD designs.
In Sri Lanka, container terminals will be developed in Port of Colombo. This will begin with East Container Terminal and will be followed by West Container Terminal part 1 and 2 and the South Asia Gateway Terminal will be expanded. Sri Lanka Ministry of Ports and Shipping secretary Sirimevan Ranasinghe said this should expand the total capacity of Port of Colombo to 35M TEU. There will also be further investment in Hambantota Port and Trincomalee Port in the future.
All these port projects generate demand for harbour tugs to support container shipping in the region in the future.
Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard 2019 deliveries
Tug name |
Tug owner |
Delivery |
Type |
Operating country |
Bao Gang Tuo 19 |
Baoshan Iron & Steel Co |
April |
harbour |
China |
Bao Hang 2 |
Liaoning Longyun Shunze |
November |
harbour |
China |
Bao Hang 5 |
Liaoning Longyun Shunze |
November |
harbour |
China |
Bao Hang 7 |
Liaoning Longyun Shunze |
November |
harbour |
China |
Bingang Towing 8 |
Binzhou Port Group Co |
January |
harbour |
China |
Cao Gang 27 |
Caofeidian Tugging Services |
July |
harbour |
China |
Cao Port 28 |
Caofeidian Tugging Services |
August |
harbour |
China |
Dual Fuel 1 |
Ningbo Zhoushan Port |
July |
harbour |
China |
Hu Tuo 8 |
Shanghai Dayu |
February |
harbour |
China |
Jingang Lun 31 |
Tianjin Port Tug & Barge |
May |
harbour |
China |
Jingang Lun 32 |
Tianjin Port Tug & Barge |
May |
harbour |
China |
Oritselaju 10 |
AZM AVIC Ship |
July |
harbour |
Nigeria |
Xin Beibuwangang 15 |
BeiHai Port |
May |
harbour |
China |
Xin Beibuwangang 5 |
Guangxi Beibuwan Port |
July |
harbour |
China |
Xin Beibuwangang 6 |
Guangxi Beibuwan Port |
July |
harbour |
China |
Yi Tuo 101 |
COSCO |
October |
pushboat |
Guinea |
Yi Tuo 102 |
COSCO |
October |
pushboat |
Guinea |
Yi Tuo 201 |
COSCO |
October |
pushboat |
Guinea |
Tugs built for inland Indonesian towage
In Q3 2019, Indonesian tug owner PT Patria Maritime Lines contracted an Indonesian shipyard within the parent group to build at least three tugs to support its transportation activities in South Kalimantan.
PT United Tractors Pandu Engineering will build these tugs at its Patria Maritim Perkasa shipyard in Batam, Indonesia. The first of the three Indonesia-flagged tugboats is scheduled for delivery in March 2020.
The shipyard turned to OSD-IMT to design these tugs to tow barges along the Barito river in South Kalimantan. These tugboats will have shallow draughts to access areas of the river where water depths can drop to 2.5 m upstream in the dry season.
The tugs will be built to an OSD-IMT 7402 design and Bureau Veritas class, with an overall length of 23 m, free running speed of around 10 knots and bollard pull of around 18 tonnes for towing cargo barges.
In Malaysia, Forward Marine Enterprises is building three harbour tugs of 271 gt at its own shipyard in Sarawak to support ships calling at expanded ports in Malaysia.
© 2023 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd.