ATB adds to Tidewater's oil transportation fleet

Tidewater Canada subsidiary, Island Tug and Barge (ITB), is adding a new articulated tug-barge (ATB) unit to its fleet, increasing its oil transportation capabilities.

It will pair ATB tug Island Regent with double-hulled oil tank barge ITB Reliant for operations along the west coast of Canada and Washington state, US, in Q3 2019. These were christened earlier this month.

This tug-barge combination is similar to its first new ATB unit, Island Raider tug and ITB Resolution barge, which started operations in Q4 2018.

ITB built the bulk of the two tugs at its own facilities on Annacis Island, along the Fraser River in British Columbia. Tug Island Regent was completed at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders at Whidbey Island, Washington.

Tidewater president and chief executive Bob Curcio said Island Regent and ITB Reliant will join the fleet soon. “The first ATB has performed exceptionally well in its first year of service,” he said.

“These new ATBs represent a significant milestone in ITB’s capabilities to serve our customers better than ever.”

The 24-m tugs were designed by Robert Allan and each has 1,268 kW of power. They are each equipped with two Cummins KTA38M engines, which each develop 634 kW at 1,800 rpm and power two Rolls Royce US105 fixed-pitch azimuthing thrusters through carbon fibre shafts. These Z-drives have four-bladed and 160-cm diameter propellers in nozzles.

ITB president Adrian Samuel said the vessels “meet and exceed all regulatory and industry established standards of operation, while providing efficiency and reliability to our clients.”

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Each tug is fitted into the notch of the barge and connected using an Articouple FRC 35S pin and coupler. These ATBs have a fully loaded speed of 10 knots.

In their enginerooms are two John Deere 4045 AFM85 generators, producing 99 kW of electrical power. In the wheelhouse there is a JRC-supplied radar, electronic chart display, weather station and automatic identification system. Plus, Alphatron Marine bridge navigation watch alarm system, magnetic compass and repeater swing meter; and Sailor VHF radio.

These tugs also have Sika vibration and sound dampening floors, Norac wall and ceiling panelling and fully heated and air-conditioned accommodation for up to eight people in six cabins.

Tidewater Canada operates a fleet of 16 other tugs and barges for oil, grain and deck cargo transportation.

Robert Allan’s engineering team supported ITB and Tidewater throughout the design and construction of these new ATBs with a detailed and comprehensive design, engineering, and support package which included:

• Hull form optimisation study using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) resulting in the low depth to beam ratio and easy to construct hull form.
• Extensive design and outfitting drawings.
• Detailed resistance, self-propulsion, propeller design, and pin loading studies, again using CFD.
• Complete production design package including defining all steel parts and piping spools as well as assistance with jigs for ITB’s shipyard.
• CFD manoeuvring studies (acceleration, crash stop, turning circles, and zig zags) to assist in developing the simulator model for training operators.
• Engineering support throughout the vessels’ construction.