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Egyptian ports order 11 tractor tugs for expanded terminals
Three port authorities in Egypt have ordered tractor tugs to escort, handle and dock large ships in expanded terminals
Egyptian Ship Repairs & Building Co (ESRBC) is building a series of tractor tugs for port authorities in the nation as owners modernise their fleets.
Up to 11 vessels are under construction for three Egyptian port authorities for deliveries in 2025 and 2026, each with two Voith Schneider Propellers (VSPs) for high manoeuvrability when handling and docking ships.
Four will be constructed for Red Sea Ports Authority in the south of Egypt, another four will head north to the Damietta Port Authority and three will join the Alexandria Port Authority fleet when completed.
Voith said these are water tractors (VWT) and one of the them is the world’s 1,000th VWT.
MIASO holding group subsidiary ESRBC ordered 22 VSPs for these vessels for deliveries from Q3 2024. There is a long history of VSP deliveries and VWT construction in Egypt.
“The first VWT was delivered to the 193-km long Suez Canal in 1957,” said Voith head of marine sales and application management Michael Rommel.
“It is still in operation to this day, a remarkable testimony to the reliability and longevity of the VSP. The ports of Egypt have also adopted the indefatigable VWT to ensure the safe and efficient handling of more and more goods in shorter time spans around the clock.”
MIASO shipyards have been awarded more than 40 VWT newbuilds in recent years, with ESRBC alone accounting for two thirds of these.
Red Sea Ports Authority, which owns several ports around the Red Sea, expects the first of four VWTs to be delivered in 2025. Damietta Port Authority is strengthening its fleet at the strategically important port on the Mediterranean from next year. Alexandria Port Authority, the largest port of Egypt, will receive three VWTs in 2026.
Each VWT will be powered by two VSP 32RV5/265-2, have a bollard pull of up to 70 tonnes and a top speed of 13 knots.
Voith said VWTs with VSPs are “compact and manoeuvrable tugs with precision steering to assist ships”. These tugs are often used to escort ships to terminals and for salvage and emergency response.
VSPs enable these vessels to achieve full-speed ahead to astern in just a few seconds.
“No other maritime propulsion system can do this so precisely and at such a high speed,” said Heidenheim, Germany-headquartered Voith. “And no other tug design also offers higher dynamic forces during escorting procedures.”
These tug newbuildings were ordered by authorities as Egyptian ports are upgraded to handle larger container ships, tankers and gas carriers calling at ports since the Suez Canal expansion in 2015.
“Demand for tugs is also increasing in proportion with this development,” said Voith senior vice president for marine sales Andreas Amelang. “We are able to continue and even expand on the successful collaboration we have enjoyed with our reliable partners in Egypt for many decades.”
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