Major players in towage have invested in fleets of powerful harbour tugs as they secure concession extensions and handle larger ships
Shipyards worked at full capacity to complete and deliver harbour and escort tugs in the final three months of 2020 to modernise owners’ fleets, with tug newbuildings replacing ageing vessels or ordered for port contracts.
Leading the way in Q4 2020 were the major players, including Boluda and Svitzer, adding tugboats to their fleets operating in Europe and Australia.
They sourced tugs from European, Asian and Turkish providers to modernise operations and provide additional bollard pull in ports where larger ships are calling.
Boluda Towage Europe received two newbuildings from Damen Shipyards in Belgium during December after it secured an extension to a towage concession.
Azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugs VB Bolero and VB Rumba arrived in Zeebrugge to support shipping at its terminals and docks.
They were built at the Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam with emissions reduction technology to comply with IMO Tier III requirements. These greener propulsion tugs arrived in Rotterdam on heavy lift ship Frauke at the end of November and were mobilised to begin operations in Zeebrugge.
“The tugs will commence their towage services in the Port of Zeebrugge as part of the extended five-year concession for towage services,” says Boluda Towage Europe chief executive Geert Vandecappelle.
The Damen-designed tugs were built to an ASD 2813 design with 85 tonnes of bollard pull. Their propulsion includes selective catalytic reactors to remove NOx emissions and filters to prevent particulate matter for IMO III compliance.
Boluda secured the five-year concession extension in September 2020 and committed to reducing emissions from harbour operations, upgrading existing tugs to IMO III and introducing new tugs with these standards.
With these tug additions, Port of Zeebrugge can achieve efficient, smooth, and safe handling of shipping by eight powerful and modern tugboats certified with the highest fire-fighting standards and manned with a local crew.
Going forward, they will also have some of the lowest emissions of any tugs operating in Europe, says Port of Zeebrugge chief executive Tom Hautekiet. “As the port authority continues to implement its clean port strategy, sustainability is an essential part of the agreement with Boluda Towage Europe. We are proud to say that Zeebrugge has a powerful and green fleet of tugs, perfectly equipped for heavy towing operations and in compliance with the highest emissions standards.”
Boluda retrofitted tug Union Koala to IMO III standards in 2019 and Union Panda in 2020. It will retrofit the rest of its Zeebrugge fleet in the first two years of the concession contract.
Svitzer has added tugs to its fleet in Australia, with ASL Shipyard in Singapore delivering three vessels built to Robert Allan design to assist ships in the Port of Geraldton in Western Australia. The first of these 30-m tugs, Svitzer North, arrived in December 2020. Its sister tugboat Svitzer Abrolhos joined the fleet in January 2021 and Svitzer Wilu is scheduled to begin operations in February.
In Germany, Svitzer expanded its fleet with a new tug in the Port of Emden. Svitzer Vestri was built in Turkey by Med Marine for Svitzer Europe’s Germany and Scandinavia cluster.
It primarily supports towage and docking of roro ships and car carriers in Emden but can be mobilised to support other towage operations in the cluster as part of Svitzer’s flexible operating model.
“This new tug’s versatility and power makes it an ideal addition to our fleet, particularly as we embrace a new challenge in 2021 by commencing operations in Emden,” says Svitzer managing director for Scandinavia and Germany Mattias Hellström. “Svitzer Vestri will help underpin operations in one of Europe’s largest roro hubs,” he says.
This is a MED-A2360 series tug built to a Robert Allan design with 62 tonnes of bollard pull. It has Caterpillar main engines driving Kongsberg azimuthal thrusters.
This delivery is part of a modernisation of tug fleets in Emden as Germany-based Emdener Schlepp-Betriebe added new ASD tug Peter Wessels to its fleet in the port in Q3 2020.
This tug, designed and built by Damen Shipyards, has 63 tonnes of bollard pull and Rolls-Royce’s MTU Series 4000 engines.
In addition to engine supply, Rolls-Royce signed a 10-year long-term maintenance contract with the owners for MTU engines. “This covers all scheduled maintenance work that helps to avoid breakdowns,” says Rolls-Royce Hamburg sales team member Jacqueline Wünning.
Added features include a winch on the aft deck for towing barges along the coast, a sewage treatment plant, a boiler and heated windows.
ESB operates four other tugs in Emden, which is primarily a base port for the Volkswagen Group and Europe’s third-largest automobile transhipment centre after Zeebrugge and Bremerhaven.
Also in Germany, tug owner Hans Schramm & Sohn Schleppschifffahrt added a new tractor tug from a Turkish builder to enhance towage capabilities at a key waterway interchange.
Sanmar Shipyards built azimuth tractor drive (ATD) vessel Sönke as a Deliçay-series tug.
This 25-m tug is based on Robert Allan’s TRAktor-Z 2500SX design and has 70 tonnes of bollard pull.
Sönke will be based at Brunsbüttel in Germany, opposite Cuxhaven on the Elbe estuary. It has a moulded beam of 12 m, for harbour towage and terminal operations. Propulsion comes from a pair of Caterpillar main diesel engines, with combined power of 4,200 kW, and two Kongsberg thrusters with nozzle fixed-pitch propellers.
Hans Schramm, founded as a small mooring company in 1926, operates a fleet of nine tugs, two inland vessels, a multipurpose landing craft, plus several mooring boats, barges and pontoons in the Elbe, North Sea, Kiel Canal and Baltic Sea.
In Poland, Remontowa Shipbuilding is near the end of building a series of tugs for the Polish Navy. These were built in the B860 tug programme for towing naval ships and logistics services in the Baltic Sea. This campaign started with delivery of Bolko in 2019 and should be completed in 2021 when the sixth, Przemko, is set to be delivered.
During 2020, Remontowa completed Gniewko in Q1 2020, Mieszko in August and Semko in November. It is close to completing Leszko, which was launched in Q4 2020, along with Przemko.
These B860 tugs are also available for salvage and emergency support, pollution control and removing hazardous material from the water along the Polish coast. They have sufficient ice class to enable them to operate in severe ice conditions accompanied by icebreakers. They have a bollard pull of around 35 tonnes coming from a pair of Rolls-Royce MTU diesel engines driving two Schottel rudderpropellers.
In Ukraine, Nibulon has almost completed Nibulon-15, which will be the first 121M project tug for four years when it joins the fleet in 2021. The first three tugs joined Nibulon’s fleet in 2017.
Nibulon-15 has an overall length of 29.6 m, beam of 11 m and a shallow draught of 1.45 m. It was launched in November 2020 and by January 2021, engineers had finished outfitting work, installing the accommodation furniture and equipment, mounting the systems in the engineroom, and connecting control panels in the wheelhouse.
Nibulon’s own shipbuilding and repair yard constructed the 121M project tug as Nibulon increases grain transportation and exports on non-self-propelled vessels.
“The modernised 121M project tugs, operating together with the two non-self-propelled NBL-91 project vessels form the most efficient tug and barge convoys on the Southern Buh,” says Nibulon shipping deputy director Oleksandr Taranovskyi.
These convoys can transport 6,000 tonnes of grain per trip along the Buh river, which is the second longest in Ukraine. “As a result of developing the infrastructure and increasing the volumes of grain received, Nibulon required an additional fleet,” Mr Taranovskyi says.
Progress made in US ASD tug construction campaigns
Foss Maritime, part of the Saltchuk Marine family of companies, has welcomed three of the four azimuth stern drive (ASD) escort tugs it has on order. Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB) delivered Jamie Ann in March and Sarah Averick in September 2020.
Leisa Florence was launched in November at NBBB’s facility in Freeland, Washington state.
These ASD-90 class tugs are built to Jensen Maritime’s Valor design, to US Coast Guard’s Subchapter M regulatory standards and with ABS’ Loadline certification with propulsion compliant with US Environmental Protection Agency’s tough Tier 4 emissions requirements.
“Leisa Florence arrived at NBBB’s Langley facility where it will undergo final outfitting, dock and sea trials before delivery in December 2020,” says Foss. A fourth tug newbuilding, Rachael Allen, is scheduled to be completed in 2021.
Foss’ ASD-90 tugs have an overall length of 31.7 m, moulded beam of 12.2 m and moulded hull depth of 5.2 m, plus 90 tonnes of bollard pull. They each have two MTU series 4000 main engines driving Kongsberg’s US255 azimuth thrusters. For Tier 4 compliance, they have selective catalytic reduction systems for removing NOx emissions.
They are outfitted with Mackay Marine electronics and Markey winches forward for ship assist and aft for barge towing.
Another US owner, Vane Brothers, took delivery of a coastal towage tug from its newbuilding campaign. Chesapeake Shipbuilding delivered 28.6-m Cape Fear harbour tug to Vane Brothers from its Salisbury, Maryland shipyard. This was constructed to an Entech design with total power of 2,237 kW. Vane Brothers president C Duff Hughes says this tug will operate within the company’s harbour and coastal towage operations in the eastern US, joining its New York-based Bravo Fleet for towing petroleum barges along the US east coast.
Cape Fear has two Caterpillar 3512 main engines and a JonRie Series 500 hydraulic towing winch. A second of these 2,237 kW-powered coastal towage tugs, to be named Cape Henry, is due to be delivered by Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Q2 2021.
This shipyard has also been building Salisbury-class push boats for Vane Brothers. These also have 2,237 kW of total power from twin Caterpillar 3512 main engines but are designed for barge transportation operations.
Gulf Island Fabrication’s construction of harbour tugs for US owners Suderman & Young Towing and Bay-Houston Towing was delayed by the active hurricane season in H2 2020. According to Gulf Island president and chief executive Richard Heo, the group’s shipyard in Lake Charles was impacted by strong tropical storms and the coronavirus pandemic.
“The third quarter was challenging given the ongoing economic and operational impact of Covid-19, oil price uncertainty and a record level of tropical storm and hurricane activity along the Gulf Coast,” says Mr Heo. “Hurricane Laura directly impacted our operations in Lake Charles, damaging our facilities, drydocks and ninth harbour tug project, which was within days of being delivered,” he adds.
In the aftermath of that hurricane, Gulf Island focused on completing harbour tugs. “We delivered our ninth harbour tug in October and are on schedule to deliver the 10th vessel in Q4 2020,” says Mr Heo.
These harbour tugs are built to Robert Allan’s Z-Tech 30-80 design with a sponsoned hullform incorporated into an existing Z-Tech design. They have escort performance of more than 90 tonnes and a steering force at 10 knots for assisting very large crude carriers and ultra-large container ships into and out of terminals.
Gulf Island’s tug newbuildings have two Caterpillar 3516E main diesel engines, compliant with EPA Tier 4, driving a pair of Schottel SRP 510 fixed-pitch Z-drive units.
Tug deployed for Seychelles trade expansion
Seychelles has purchased a tug as part of its plans to enhance the islands’ main port to boost maritime trade. Port Victoria in Mahe will be expanded to double the number of ships it can accommodate, opening more capacity for container and general cargo trade.
In response, Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA) will extend the existing quayside and build a new 600-m quay, creating a new trading hub in the Indian Ocean along major shipping routes.
To handle more larger ships, SPA purchased a new tugboat from Sanmar Shipyards in Turkey. The port authority says this purchase “represents another milestone in the planned upgrading and modernisation of the port”.
This azimuth stern drive (ASD) tug, Ste Anne, is a Bogacay-class vessel, built to a Robert Allan RAmparts 2400SX design. It has an overall length of 24.4 m, a moulded beam of 11.25 m and a maximum draught of 5.70 m.
Ste Anne has a bollard pull of 60 tonnes and free-running speed of 12 knots powered by a pair of Caterpillar 3512C main engines, each producing 1,765 kW of power at 1,800 rpm.
These drive two Kongsberg type US 255 fixed-pitch azimuth drives with carbon shafts turning 240-cm diameter propellers inside nozzles with stainless steel inner surfaces.
Caterpillar has also supplied two auxiliary generator sets, of C4.4 type, generating 99 kW of electrical power at 400 V and alternating at 50 Hz.
ASD tug assists in ship bunkering
Citikold Group subsidiary Cititug in Ecuador purchased a newbuild tug from Damen Shipyards to bolster safety at a ship bunkering terminal in the Port of Esmeraldas.
Damen transported this azimuth stern drive (ASD) tug from the Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam to Ecuador on a heavy-lift vessel in November 2020.
ASD Mater was built to an ASD 2813 design with an overall length of 27.6 m and beam of 12.9 m.
Cititug owner Xavier Game says the company needed to buy a newbuild vessel for higher capabilities to assist ships and safe operations in the terminal. “This will be one of the best tugs in South America and will play an important role in making the terminal safer and more efficient,” says Mr Game.
ASD Mater, as with other ASD 2813 tugs, has 5,050 kW of total power from its propulsion, giving it a bollard pull of around 85 tonnes and a top speed of 13 knots. Damen tailored this tug for operations at the bunkering terminal and Cititug’s specific requirements.
It added a deck crane to enable its role in a bunkering terminal. Damen also installed a FiFi1 class notation fire-fighting unit and an oil-spill pollution control system, which it says is “the first of its kind in Ecuador”.
Mr Game concurrs. “It is something unique, not just for Cititug,” he says, “this is something big for the whole region.”
Tugs delivered (outside of Asia/US) during Q4 2020
Tug name |
Owner |
Type |
Builder |
Country |
Designer |
Svitzer North |
Svitzer |
escort |
ASL Shipyard |
Australia |
Robert Allan |
VB Rumba |
Boluda |
harbour |
Damen |
Belgium |
Damen |
VB Bolero |
Boluda |
harbour |
Damen |
Belgium |
Damen |
Nearchos |
Archirodon |
harbour |
Damen |
Cyprus |
Damen |
ASD Mater |
Cititug |
terminal |
Damen |
Ecuador |
Damen |
Svitzer Vestri |
Svitzer |
harbour |
Med Marine |
Germany |
Robert Allan |
Sönke |
Hans Schramm |
harbour |
Sanmar |
Germany |
Robert Allan |
Hadera |
National Coal Supply |
harbour |
Med Marine |
Israel |
Robert Allan |
Orlando |
Onorato |
harbour |
Damen |
Italy |
Damen |
Gabriella Neri |
Neri Group |
harbour |
Damen |
Italy |
Damen |
Senglea |
TugMalta |
harbour |
Damen |
Malta |
Damen |
Semko |
Polish Navy |
naval |
Remontowa |
Poland |
|
Beysug |
Rosmorrechflot |
salvage and rescue |
Nevsky Shipyard |
Russia |
Marine Engineering Bureau |
Delovoy-6 |
Delo Service |
harbour |
Damen |
Russia |
Damen |
Inchcolm |
Forth Ports |
harbour |
Damen |
Scotland |
Damen |
Ste Anne |
Seychelles Port Authority |
harbour |
Sanmar |
Seychelles |
Robert Allan |
Azabra |
P&O Reyser |
harbour |
Drydocks World |
Spain |
Cintranaval |
Sirapinar XVI |
Arpas |
harbour |
Sanmar |
Turkey |
Robert Allan |
Nibulon-15 |
Nibulon |
inland |
Nibulon |
Ukraine |
Nibulon |
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