Fairplay names Polish tug trio

Fairplay Towage named three of its newest tugboats in the port of Szczecin on 12 January, after they were built to support ships calling at ice-prone harbours year-round.

These azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugboats have strengthened hulls for working in ice and entered service in the last few months after being built by Damen Shipyards in China and Vietnam.

Fairplay-86 is the latest to join the Polish fleet, having arrived in December 2025 in Hamburg, Germany, on heavy-lift vessel UHL Finesse before sailing to Poland.

It was built to Damen’s ASD Tug 2312 design and Bureau Veritas class with an overall length of 23 m, a beam of 12 m, a draught of 70 tonnes and a speed of around 12 knots. Its IMO Tier III-compliant propulsion comes from two Caterpillar 3512C main engines, each rated at 3,804 kW at 1,800 rpm, driving two Schottel thrusters on the stern.

Fairplay-97 was built by Damen Song Cam shipyard to Damen’s ASD Tug 2813 design with an overall length of 28 m, a bollard pull of over 83 tonnes, accommodation for 10 crew, capacity to store 89 m³ of fuel, a draught of 6 m and a top speed of 13 knots. Its two main diesel engines, compliant with IMO Tier III emissions standards, drive two azimuth thrusters, while Fairplay-97 also has a FiFi1-class fire-fighting system and a large towage winch on the forward deck.

Fairplay-83 is an ASD 3010 design, 30-m tug with two Cat 3516-C HD engines producing 3,840 kW in total for a bollard pull of 59 tonnes and a speed of 14 knots.