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Latin American completions boost owners’ fleets
Major fleet owners and independent towage providers welcomed newbuilds to expand their operations in the Americas and Asia
Owners in Latin America and the Caribbean have welcomed efficient, high bollard pull newbuild tugs to assist large ships into ports.
Major fleet owners such as Boluda Towage, Svitzer and Wilson Sons took delivery of tugboats Q2 and Q3 2024 and smaller operators expanded in the region.
Boluda Towage introduced the first tugboat in Uruguay to comply with IMO Tier III standards for reduced NOx, SOx and particulate matter emissions, azimuth stern drive (ASD) tug VB Tero, into the port of Montevideo in July to modernise its fleet and reduce emissions from ship handling. This 387-gt tug has two Caterpillar-manufactured Cat 3516C main diesel four-stroke engines, running at 1,800 rpm connected to a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) unit to minimise NOx emissions.
VB Tero was designed and built by Damen Shipyards with a bollard pull of 82 tonnes coming from two azimuth thrusters with a ship-handling winch on the fore deck. It is sailing under the flag of St Vincent & Grenadines.
The port of Montevideo is on the Rio del la Plata river, east of the Uruguay capital, and is one of the major ports in South America. It hosts a major container terminal and the country’s main oil import terminal and refining complex.
Svitzer completed a fleet expansion programme in Brazil in May 2024, then started a new one in July by ordering three harbour tugs from Rio Maguari Shipyard. These 23-m vessels will be built to Robert Allan Ltd’s RAmpart 2300 design in Belém, Brazil, each with a top speed of 13 knots, a bollard pull of more than 70 tonnes and a Fifi-1 off-ship fire-fighting system.
Copenhagen, Denmark-headquartered Svitzer is investing in its fleet as Brazilian ports welcome large ships supporting agricultural exports and growing refinery products and crude oil output.
“These tugboats are designed to handle the increasing complexity and volume of Brazil’s maritime operations and will enhance our operational capacity across various Brazilian ports,” says Svitzer Americas managing director Arjen van Dijk.
Svitzer currently operates 22 tugs, including the two vessels it added to the fleet in 2024, from eight ports across Brazil – Salvador, Suape, Pecem, Santos, Vitoria, Rio Grande, Sao Francisco do Sul and Paranagua.
Its latest additions are six 23-m ASD tugboats built by Rio Maguari to RAmpart 2300 design with a bollard pull of 70 tonnes and a top speed of 13 knots, the last of these being Svitzer Babitonga. These strengthen Svitzer’s fleet serving Brazil’s ports and LNG terminals along the coastline.
Also in Brazil, Wilson Sons welcomed its fifth newbuilding of a six-vessel construction campaign at its own shipyards in Guarujá. WS Dorado joined 11 other Wilson Son tugs supporting ship manoeuvres at the Ponta da Madeira, Itaqui and Alumar terminal facilities in São Luís.
In Ponta da Madeira, Capesize bulk carriers are loaded with iron ore for export to North America and Europe, while in Port of Itaqui, tugs attend ships carrying diesel, corn, soya, fertilisers and wood pulp. This port also handles liquid bulk including oil products.
All six reverse stern drive (RSD) tugs are built to Damen’s RSD 2513 design with SCRs for IMO Tier III compliance and a bollard pull of 90 tonnes, making them some of the most powerful harbour tugs in the country.
Central America
Arrendadora Continental received another newbuild ASD tug from Turkish shipbuilder Med Marine to bolster towage in Guatemala. Sarstun was built to Robert Allan’s RAmparts 2300MM design with 65 tonnes of bollard pull and a top speed of 13 knots.
This 23-m tugboat has a breadth of 11 m, a depth of 4 m, a navigational draught of 5 m and accommodation for a crew of seven. It has a forward towing winch for ship handling and is equipped with an aft tow hook.
This is the third tugboat Med Marine has sold to Arrendadora Continental with Monterrico arriving in Guatemala after its construction in May 2024. That 25-m tug was built to a RAmparts 2500-W design and is a MED-A2565 class tugboat with a beam of 12 m, a hull depth of around 5 m, a draught of 6 m, accommodation for eight crew, a bollard pull of 72 tonnes and a top speed of 12 knots.
In Ecuador, Guayaquil-headquartered Citi Tug has taken delivery of 263-gt, 23-m tug, ASD Alyssa from Damen after its construction in China to ASD 2312 design, with a beam of 11 m, a depth of 4 m, total power of 3,854 kW and a speed of 12 knots coming from a pair of Caterpillar engines.
Asian completions
In India, shipbuilder Titagarh has started delivering harbour tugs to the Indian Navy, which were ordered in 2023 to tow and escort naval ships. The navy welcomed Bahubali, Bajrang, Baljeet and Bheeshma to its fleet in 2024, each with a bollard pull of 25 tonnes. Titagarh diversified into shipbuilding through its merger with 25-year-old shipbuilding group Corporated Shipyard in India.
This shipyard, close to Kolkata, is set to complete another five tugboats for the Indian Navy this year. Polestar Maritime also added Konna Star to its fleet after its construction by Udupi Cochin India.
In China, Chongqing Shipping Co built two tugs, Hai Zhuang Feng Dian 002 and Hai Zhuang Feng Dian 003 for Afai Southern and Cheoy Lee Shipyards completed two escort tugs for HongKong Salvage & Towage’s to support gas carriers at a floating LNG import terminal in Hong Kong.
In Q2 2024, Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyards delivered Cheng Gang Tuo 68 and Cheng Gang Tuo 69 to Huizhou Chengang Tug Shipping Co, Jin Gang Lun 36 and Jin Gang Lun 37 to Nantong Jingang Tug Co and Ling Hang Tuo 11 to Dongying, all domestic owners supporting ships in Chinese ports.
In Indonesia, owners took delivery of harbour tugs from shipyards in Indonesia, such as KTU Shipyard, Palma Progress Shipyard and Trans Mulia Raya, and from shipyards in Malaysia, including Eastern Marine, Forward Marine, Rajang Maju Marine and Tang Tiew Hee & Sons. These come as fleets are modernised and ports are expanded.
In Singapore, STS Seatoshore Group took delivery of harbour tugs STS Tug 15 and STS Tug 16 from Malaysian Tuong Aik Shipyard. These 294-gt vessels have an overall length of 27 m, a beam of around 9 m, a depth of 4 m and two Yanmar engines each producing 1,518 kW.
In New Zealand, the Port of Marlborough welcomed Kaiana, a 198-gt, 21-m tugboat built by Damen in China to its ASD 2111 design with a beam of 11 m, a bollard pull of 50 tonnes, a speed of 11 knots and depth of 6 m.
Africa and Middle East
Damen also supplied 299-gt, 29-m harbour tug Msanga Mkuu to Mtwara Port in Tanzania, after it was built to ASD 2811 design with a beam of 11 m, a depth of around 5 m, a bollard pull of 60 tonnes and a speed of 13 knots, coming from a pair of Cat 3512-C engines.
In Saudi Arabia, Farida Offshore took delivery of two 193-gt, 24-m harbour tugs, Atco Baraka I and Atco Baraka II, from Malaysia’s Sapor Shipbuilding Industries. These have 1,490 kW of power, a beam of 8 m and a depth of around 4 m and are operated by Atco in Dammam.
Zamil Offshore Services subsidiary East Coast Port Services took delivery of 819-gt, 39-m tugs to support ships in Al-Khobar. Jiangsu Suyang Marine Co in China built these initially as ASD Quartz and ASD Onyx, but they were renamed Sharq 1 and Sharq 2 after completion. They have a beam of 14 m, a depth of 6 m and a pair of Niigata 6L26HLX engines with total power of 2,982 kW and a top speed of almost 13 knots.
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