European owners order ASD and tractor tugs

Major tug builders had a positive Q3 2024 with new contracts from several owners principally in Europe, bolstering their orderbooks and 2025 expected deliveries.

It was a good period for new orders for Damen Shipyards as the Dutch group secured multiple contracts from various parts of the world. In Europe, Polish owner WUZ Port and Maritime returned to Damen in September with an order for another azimuth stern drive (ASD) harbour tug,

This is being constructed at Damen Shipyards Changde in China in preparation for delivery in 2025 to an ASD Tug 2111 design, with an overall length of 21 m and a beam of 11 m.

WUZ expects to use this compact tug, with around 50 tonnes of bollard pull, a winterised package and a FiFi1 fire-fighting system in the Port of Gdansk, specifically supporting gas carriers at the LNG import terminal.

Damen also received an order from the Lithuanian Defence Resources Agency for an ASD 3010 design tug to support naval ships in the Port of Klaipėda. Damen will build a 30-m tug with a beam of 10 m, a draught of 5 m, a bollard pull of 60 tonnes and a speed of 13 knots, with accommodation for eight crew and capacity to store 72 m3 of fuel oil.

Boluda Towage ordered four tractor tugs with hybrid propulsion from Damen Shipyards to reduce its emissions while increasing ship handling capabilities. On the back of this contract, Damen ordered eight Voith Schneider propellers (VSPs) for four new Voith Water Tractors (VWTs) and eight diesel main engines from Caterpillar.

These VWTs are scheduled to be delivered by Damen to Boluda, with 80 tonnes of bollard pull, starting in 2025. These 32-m vessels will be constructed to Robert Allan Ltd’s TRAktor 3200-V design for escorting ships and supporting their docking in terminals.
Each will have two Cat 3516E engines, delivering 3,000 kW of power, two VSP 32X6/265 propellers and 300-kW electric motors/generators via Reintjes reduction gearboxes.
Another European owner, Muller Dordrecht, also ordered another ASD tug for delivery in Q4 2025. This was announced as the owner named the latest addition to its fleet, En Avant 26 at the Merwekade in Dordrecht. This 33-m, ASD 2811 design tug has a beam of 13 m, a draught of 6 m and a bollard pull of 85 tonnes. Propulsion includes two Cat 3516C main diesel engines, compliant with IMO Tier III emissions standards, and two Kongsberg US 255S thrusters.

Turkish shipyards also prospered from newbuilding contracts in Q3 2024. Norwegian owner Østensjø Rederi ordered a 32-m multipurpose tugboat from Uzmar Shipyard. This vessel will have a bollard pull of 80 tonnes, a beam of 13 m and a FiFi1 off-ship fire-fighting system. It will be equipped with a double-drum escort-class ship-handling winch, a stern roller, towing pins, shark jaws, aft-deck crane and a tugger winch for harbour, terminal and offshore operations.

Uzmar also received an order from Svitzer for a battery-methanol TRAnsverse-design tug for delivery in H2 2025. Svitzer said this would have an energy storage system supported by dual-fuel methanol engines for back-up and to extend its range during operations in the Port of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Sanmar Shipyards and Uzmar also secured orders for escort-class tugboats from Turkey’s Directorate General of Coastal Safety (DGCS) to undertake emergency support and towage off the coast. Uzmar will build two such vessels from Robert Allan Ltd’s RAstar 2800 design with 80 tonnes of bollard pull, as well as six pilot boats of Camarc’s PB1580 design. Sanmar will construct two ASD tugs of RAmparts 2400 SX MKII design, each with a bollard pull of 75 tonnes, a FiFi1 class off-ship fire-fighting system and IMO Tier III compliant propulsion.