Ice-breaking tug ordered for Canadian island community

Damen Shipyards has secured an order for an ice-breaking tugboat from a community in Ontario, Canada, to deal with winter ice and keep a ferry service in operation.

The Chippewas, of Georgina Island First Nation in Canada, have ordered a Stan tug from Damen to operate on Lake Simcoe in southern Ontario.

This will be built to a Damen Stan Tug 1706 ICE design, with the hull constructed in Poland and the vessel outfitted in the Netherlands. This 17-m tug, with a beam of around 6 m, will have a speed of 11 knots, bollard pull of 30 tonnes and an ice-breaking bow, based on information from Damen on similar Stan tug designs.

The Chippewas need this tug to maintain mobility and supply logistics to the island including a ferry service Georgina Island and Virginia Beach on the mainland.

Damen intends to deliver this vessel to Salaberry-de-Valleyfield in the Montreal region in September 2026, before the annual closure of the St. Lawrence Seaway. After that, the client will continue its voyage to Lake Simcoe via the Trent-Severn Waterway before that, too, is closed to marine traffic until 2027.