Brazilian owners bet on efficient tug newbuilds

Wilson Sons is increasing the use of biofuels on its tugs and installing charging infrastructure on quaysides in key ports in Brazil, while it prepares for the arrival of newbuilds from its own shipyard.

It operates a fleet of 82 tugs, all in Brazil, and is in the middle of another tug newbuilding campaign.  

Wilson Sons is now 56% owned by Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) after the Switzerland-headquartered shipping group’s subsidiary, SAS Shipping Agencies Services, acquired a shareholding from Bermuda-based investment group Ocean Wilsons for US$594M on 4 June 2025.

Reducing emissions from port operations and introducing more sustainable towage services are key strategies of the Brazilian port and tug operator, says Wilson Sons executive director of the towage business, Marcio Castro. He says Wilson Sons has started using hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuel on its tugs in one of the largest ports in Brazil and is encouraging other harbours to introduce shore power.

“We are improving our efficiency, using shore power when our tugs are on standby, and we are spreading it along the Brazilian coast,” he explains to International Tug & Salvage. “It is very important to reduce our carbon footprint, so we are also starting a pilot using HVO in one of the biggest ports in Brazil.”

It is testing HVO on tugs in the Port of Açu, in São João da Barra, working with Efen and Vast Infrastructure at its TLA liquid bulk terminal. It is assessing the CO2 emissions reduction from using green diesel, which could be 80% compared with using marine gasoil.

“Our decarbonisation agenda does not only include building more efficient tugboats but also decreasing the environmental impact of our fleet of more than 80 vessels,” says Mr Castro.

“HVO is a promising solution as a drop-in fuel that does not require any adaptations to our equipment, representing an important choice for the port support industry.”

Wilson Sons is building azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugboats to a Damen design at its shipyard in Guarujá in the state of São Paulo, with the first delivery expected in November 2025, and the others in March and June 2026.  

These newbuilds will be more efficient than conventional tugs and compliant with IMO Tier III emissions standards, with aftertreatment units removing around 70% of NOx from engine exhaust gas.

“We are just finishing a new series of tugboats at our own shipyard, and they will be IMO Tier III compliant and have 70 tonnes of bollard pull,” says Mr Castro.

These 23-m tugs will be built to Damen’s ASD 2312 design, with a twin-fin hull design, a beam of 12 m, a FiFi1 fire-fighting system and propulsion consisting of two diesel four-stroke engines linked to a selective catalytic reduction unit driving two azimuth thrusters.

According to Mr Castro, they will be powerful enough to support the berthing and undocking manoeuvres of 366-m ultra-large container ships in Brazil’s main ports, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption by 14% compared with conventional tugs.

Its shipyard in Guarujá completed six reverse stern drive (RSD) tugs to another Damen design in 2024, with the last, WS Onix, beginning work in the Port of Santos in September. All six 25-m tugs were built to RSD 2513 design with a bollard pull of more than 90 tonnes and compliance with the IMO Tier III regulations.

Wilson Sons is also using digitalisation in Latin America, with a specialist centre managing fleet operations. It uses real-time operational data to gain insights and intelligence to improve maintenance and lower fuel consumption and emissions.

“Our operations centre takes care of all the fleet,” says Mr Castro. “We receive lots of data and we are adding intelligence to this for getting important information for our maintenance and operations. We are using internet of things on our tugboats to improve the efficiency of our operations.”