First methanol-ready tugboats coming to cut towage emissions

In 2026, Svitzer should take delivery of its next TRAnsverse tugs following new designs it developed in conjunction with Robert Allan, including some with technologies on board to lower emissions.  

Future newbuildings for Svitzer’s renewal requirements will have battery modules and methanol dual-fuel engines, said Svitzer chief operating officer Kasper Karlsen. 

“We found methanol is the most applicable for handling and energy density,” he told International Tug & Salvage. “We are in dialogue with engine manufacturers to work out how methanol would work, and there will be an electric-hybrid methanol tug delivered in 2026.”  

A fleet of electric-powered TRAnsverse tugs is likely to be built in India for delivery in 2027, to operate where there is charging infrastructure.  

“Electric is part of the endgame for some locations where infrastructure is installed,” said Mr Karlsen. “A good portion of our newbuildings for fleet renewal will be battery tugs.”  

Turkey’s state-owned crude oil and natural gas pipeline and trading company, Botas, is ahead in its electric tug fleet investment. Sanmar is completing four emissions-free tugboats based on Robert Allan’s ElectRA 2500SX design with 5,085-kWh capacity of Corvus Energy batteries, enabling them to achieve 70 tonnes of bollard pull and a speed of 12 knots.

“We found methanol is the most applicable for handling and energy density”

Named Botas Hilal, Botas Bayrak, Botas Ay and Botas Yildiz, the first was launched on 5 July and the second on 9 August 2025, while the third was named in September and the fourth in Q4 2025. 

Damen is also pushing ahead with electric-powered reverse stern drive (RSD) tug construction at its Vietnamese facilities, Damen Song Cam Shipyard. 

It has picked up contracts for newbuilds in the past two years, having supplied two to Noatum Maritime in the United Arab Emirates and Volta 1 to Port of Antwerp-Bruges in 2025.  

Damen also operates its own electric RSD 2513 tugs, 2024-built Aqua Pollux in Europe and 2025-built Aqua Stentor in India, where the Dutch group is interested in building electric-powered tugs.

It has invested in Damen Song Cam Shipyard to produce more of these and electric azimuth stern drive tugs in 2026 with more advanced propulsion. 

Armon will build more tugs in Spain with hybrid-electric propulsion as it has a long-term contract to construct newbuilds for the Panama Canal Authority after four were completed in 2025. 

Uzmar and Med Marine are also among shipbuilders with plans to build battery-electric tugs using Robert Allan designs to follow in the footsteps of these pioneers.  

More battery-electric tugs are coming, and the first methanol-hybrid tugs will be delivered in 2026.