Bisso Offshore is expanding its port towage fleet with two tug newbuildings
Eastern Shipbuilding Group launched the first of two 24.3-m Z-drive tugs it is building at its Allanton facility in the US. It is building harbour tug CD White to a Robert Allan RApport 2400 design for a scheduled delivery of December 2019.
Eastern Shipbuilding is also building the second tug, A Thomas Higgins, to the same design for 2020 delivery.
CD White and A Thomas Higgins will be built to comply with US Coast Guard Sub-M and Certificate of Inspection for ocean operations. They will be designed and built to ABS class standards.
Both tugs will have 11.6 moulded beam, 4 m hull depth, have a full power of 3,800 kW from two Caterpillar 3512E main diesel engines that comply with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 4 and IMO Tier III emissions requirements. These will drive two Kongsberg US205 P20 Z-drives.
Also, in the engineroom will be two John Deere 4045AFM85 auxiliary diesel generator sets, each rated at 99 kW at 1,800 rpm and complying with Tier 3 EPA requirements.
New Orleans-based Bisso Offshore is part of EN Bisso, which currently has a tug fleet of 17 vessels featuring seven tractor-class, or equivalent, tugs along with conventional twin-screw tugs.
EN Bisso operates in the Port of Gulfport, Port Canaveral and along the Mississippi River system.
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