Fairplay Towage strikes deal for two ASD tugs with Sanmar Shipyards

Fairplay Towage Group signed a shipbuilding contract with Sanmar Shipyards for the construction of one RAstar 3200SX and one RAmpage 4200 design tugboat. A signing ceremony for the contract was held on 21 May at ITS 2026 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

One of Europe’s leading tug and towage companies, operating out of Hamburg, Germany, and with offices throughout the continent, Fairplay Towage has a fleet of more than 100 tugs. The contract contains options for two further tugs based on the same Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) designs.

This was the first contract signed between the two parties. Overall, it was a busy event for Sanmar Shipyards, which inked newbuilding contracts with different owners for the construction of up to 10 tugs, all designed by Canada’s RAL.

It was a proud moment for Sanmar Shipyards vice chairman and chief executive, Ali Gürün. "During this very special period as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sanmar Shipyards, we are proud to further strengthen our successful long-term cooperation with SAAM Towage, continue our partnership with HaiSea Marine, and begin a new relationship with Fairplay Towage Group," said Mr Gürün.

"These agreements once again demonstrate the international confidence in Sanmar’s engineering expertise, innovative vision, and ability to deliver reliable, high-performance, and sustainable solutions tailored to our customers’ exact operational requirements."

As ITS previously reported, Sanmar signed a newbuilding agreement with long-term partner SAAM Towage for five new vessels, encompassing four RAmparts 2400SX-MKII tugboats and one RAstar 2900SX tugboat.

In addition, Sanmar signed a contract with HaiSea Marine for one RAstar 4000 design tugboat. Signing ceremonies for each contract were held at Sanmar’s stand on 20 May.