Bamse was built by Sanmar to Robert Allan Ltd’s TRAktor 3000-Z tug design and ABS class
Buksér og Berging added a low-emissions tractor tug newbuilding Bamse to its towage operations in Brevik, Norway in Q2 2021.
Bamse was built by Sanmar Shipyards at its facilities in Altinova in Turkey for the Norwegian owner. This is the first tug with propulsion compliant with IMO Tier III emissions requirements Sanmar has built at its shipyard, with a second under construction in Altinova for the same owner.
Bamse was constructed to Robert Allan Ltd (RAL)’s TRAktor 3000-Z tug design and ABS class as an escort tug with unrestricted navigation, unmanned machinery spaces and FiFi1 fire-fighting vessel capabilities.
It has started conducting ship escort operations through narrow passages in terminals in the Oslo Fjord.
RAL worked closely with both Buksér og Berging and Sanmar to tailor the design to the owners’ requirements and match Sanmar’s tug building practices.
Bamse is a 30.45-m tug with a moulded beam of 12.8 m and navigational draught of 6.35 m.
It is powered by two Caterpillar 3516E high-speed engines each rated at 2,200 kW and fully IMO Tier III compliant, as they are linked to selective catalytic reaction units. These main diesel engines drive two Schottel SRP 490 rudderpropellers with controllable-pitch propellers with 2.8 m diameter.
Propulsion systems give Bamse a bollard pull of 75 tonnes and a top speed of 14 knots. Bamse is also capable of producing a steering force of more than 80 tonnes. It can connect to assisted ships at 10 knots in the heavy weather typical for Oslo Fjords.
This 482-gt tug design features a new hullform verified through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies by RAL. Analysis of this design included verifying ahead speed, astern speed, bollard pull, escort performance, and directional stability to ensure these vessels would perform to the owner’s requirements. The result is an escort tug that matches the owner’s performance, stability and seakeeping expectations.
“To achieve this performance, extensive CFD simulations were completed for Bamse during the design phase to optimise escort capabilities,” says RAL.
“All operations will be conducted while keeping Bamse’s emissions footprint low, with it being the first IMO Tier III tug in Buksér og Berging’s fleet, and the first-Tier III tug to be built by Sanmar.”
The stern of the hull is ice strengthened for operations in light ice conditions. As the tug will mostly operate skeg or stern first, visibility over the stern has been optimised.
Accommodation is designed for a crew of up to seven with master and chief engineer cabins located on the main deck, and a single and two double-crew cabins below.
The deckhouse contains an entrance lobby with changing room, the galley, mess, laundry room and two officer cabins, each with ensuite bathrooms.
The lower deck contains a third officer cabin with an ensuite bathroom and two double cabins with shared bathroom facilities. There is also a heating, ventilation and air conditioning room on the lower deck.
RAL says the wheelhouse provides “maximum all-round visibility with exceptional visibility to the bow and side fendering, as well as operations on the aft deck”.
It has a single-split control station with sliding control heads, which allows the master to face either forward or aft depending on the type of operation. Bamse has Furuno radar and navigation aids.
Buksér og Berging’s new high-performance tug is fully equipped with deck machinery including an escort winch from Karmøy, tugger winch, stern tow pins and a Palfinger-manufactured PK 18500 deck crane, with one tonne of lifting capacity at 12 m. The escort winch has a towline force of 115 tonnes, 250 m of line and a 250-tonne brake.
“The mooring equipment is designed for 50 tonnes safe lifting weight and can be used in a towing-by-the-hip arrangement,” says RAL.
“Bamse will also be conducting push-pull berthing and unberthing operations of vessels with low freeboard where the tug is working alongside,” the naval architect adds. “Therefore, the fendering system was carefully selected and designed.”
Ship-handling fenders at the stern consist of an upper row of cylindrical fenders and a lower course of W-shaped fendering. Sheer fendering consists of D-profiles including a lower row below the upper chine for low freeboard vessels.
Noise levels on the tug were kept to a minimum for crew. Records taken during sea trials demonstrated all crew cabins and the mess/lounge have noise levels lower than 60 dB, providing a comfortable working and living environment for its crew. In the wheelhouse the noise level is lower than 55 dB. The engineroom features an acoustically isolated switchboard room.
For endurance, Bamse has fuel oil capacity of 126 m3. Its ABS-classed fire-fighting system has two water/foam monitors and can pump 2,800 m3/hr of water.
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