Shipyards in southeast Asia and Turkey were busy in Q3 2020 completing new tugs and securing new orders
Tug owners continued to expand and modernise their fleets with newbuilding deliveries in Q3 2020 and to the end of October. It has been a lively period for tugboat completions, sea trials and mobilisations with some vessels being shipped half-way around the world to bolster towage capabilities.
One of the longest voyages was two tugboats built by Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam being delivered to Bermuda. Bermuda’s Department of Marine & Ports needed to replace two 30-year-plus tugboats with modern and more powerful vessels to handle larger ships docking at its terminals. In mid-September, azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugs Powerful and Faithful arrived on a heavy-lift ship after a voyage starting in August.
These 28-m tugs were built to Damen’s ASD 2811 design and Lloyd’s Register class. They are used for towing and mooring ships, fire-fighting and oil pollution control.
Damen Shipyards has had a busy second half of the year so far with newbuilding deliveries and purchase orders. Gioia Star, a 28-m ASD tug, was delivered to the port of Gioia Tauro, near the southern tip of Italy. This was built to an ASD 2813 design for Con.Tug, a joint venture between Scafi and TIL. The Italian operator invested €7M (US$8M) to enhance its fleet in response to the arrival of ultra-large container ships to the largest container terminal in Italy.
Damen said Gioia Star was one of its next-generation tugs with bollard pull of 85 tonnes from a compact vessel “thanks to the significant level of stability provided by the hull”. It has fire-fighting to FiFi1 class and an engineroom ready for IMO Tier III regulations if retrofitted with a Damen modular NOx reduction system.
Damen’s next-generation tugs have the capability to be digitally connected, enabling remote monitoring for preventive maintenance, smarter, more efficient sailing and lower fuel consumption.
Elsewhere in Europe, Boluda Towage purchased two new ASD 2813 tugs with NOx reduction systems installed for towage operations in Port of Zeebrugge, in Belgium. VB Bolero and VB Rumba are scheduled to join the fleet in December after they are retrofitted with abatement technology in the Netherlands.
Nearby, Port of Antwerp ordered two reverse stern drive (RSD) tugs from Damen for delivery in 2021. These will be built to RSD 2513 design with 70 tonnes of bollard pull and equipped with two bows for optimal performance when assisting ship mooring operations. These harbour tugs, with FiFi1 class fire-fighting, will also be fitted with Damen’s NOx reduction equipment for IMO Tier III compliance.
In the Netherlands, Vletterlieden purchased its first new tug from Damen Shipyards to expand ship and offshore services from the Port of Ijmuiden. Damen is completing a multipurpose stan tug for Vletterlieden ready for delivery in January 2021. This vessel was already built to a Damen Stan Tug 1004 design at a shipyard in China and mobilised to the Netherlands before Damen secured the purchase order.
Also in Q3 2020, Thomas Services Maritimes (TSM) expanded its port services fleet by adding an ASD tug from the Albwardy Damen shipyard in the United Arab Emirates. TSM Houat was built to an ASD 2810 tug design with an overall length of 28.6 m and 60 tonnes of bollard pull.
TSM needed this tug for its harbour towage operations in Sète. TSM Houat has a beam of 10.4 m, total power of 3,730 kW and top speed of 13.4 knots.
Turkish yard deliveries
Turkish shipyards remained active in Q3 2020 with deliveries to tug operators in Europe and Africa. Bogazici Shipyard completed new escort tug Cyathea for Compagnie Maritime Chambon. This 30-m ASD tug was built to a Robert Allan design and Bureau Veritas class and will be mobilised to New Caledonia. It has bollard pull of up to 50 tonnes and speed of 12 knots.
Sanmar completed a Bogacay-class tug for Seychelles Ports Authority, which needed higher towage capabilities as it expands Port Victoria in Mahe. Bogacay XLI, has completed acceptance testing and will be mobilised later this year. It will have a bollard pull of 60 tonnes and speed of 12 knots.
Sanmar also built a new tug for P&O Maritime Logistics to assist ships in DP World’s Port of Berbera in Somaliland. M Jeex was built as one of the last Dogancay-series tugboats with 45 tonnes of bollard pull and a top speed of 12 knots.
In a busy period for contracts, Sanmar sold two of its own tugs to Seaspan Marine Transportation for ship handling in British Columbia, Canada. Redwise Maritime Services is mobilising the first of these purchased tugs, 2015-built Seaspan Raptor (ex-Bogacay VIII), from Turkey to western Canada with arrival expected by the end of November. A second sister tug, built in 2016, will leave the Sanmar fleet for arrival in Vancouver in Q2 2021.
Sanmar also delivered a second escort tug, Thor of Scapa, in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. This was named in October alongside sister tug Odin of Scapa.
In September, Med Marine secured a contract from Cafimar Group subsidiary Somat for a MEDA2575 model tugboat, based on a Robert Allan RAmparts 2500W design. This ASD tug will have top speed of 12 knots and bollard pull of 70 tonnes when it is delivered in December.
Med Marine also gained a contract from Svitzer for a new 23-m harbour tug to operate in its tug fleet in Germany from the end of this year. It is a Robert Allan RAmparts 2300-MM design tug with bollard pull of 60 tonnes and speed of 12 knots.
Uzmar is building an ASD tug for the Port of Aarhus, Denmark. It cut the first steel on this project on 3 September. Hermes will be built to a RAmparts 3000 design for delivery in 2021. It will have around 65 tonnes of bollard pull, two main engines, each rated at 2,013 kW, and a mechanic-hybrid propulsion unit.
Q3 2020 tug deliveries (outside Americas)
Tug name |
Owner |
Type |
Builder |
Country |
Faithful |
Dept of Marine & Ports |
harbour |
Damen |
Bermuda |
Powerful |
Dept of Marine & Ports |
harbour |
Damen |
Bermuda |
Xin Bei Bu Wan 16 |
Guangxi Beibuwan |
harbour |
Jiangsu Zhenjiang |
China |
Xin Bei Bu Wan 18 |
Guangxi Beibuwan |
harbour |
Jiangsu Zhenjiang |
China |
Zhen Gang Tuo 5001 |
Zhenjiang Port Group |
harbour |
Jiangsu Zhenjiang |
China |
Hai Kun |
Yiu Lian Dockyards |
harbour |
Cheoy Lee |
China |
Hai Peng |
Yiu Lian Dockyards |
harbour |
Cheoy Lee |
China |
Ning Gang 27 |
Nanjing Port |
harbour |
Jiangsu Zhenjiang |
China |
Cao Gang 29 |
CaoFeidian Tug |
harbour |
Jiangsu Zhenjiang |
China |
Ning Gang 28 |
Nanjing Port |
harbour |
Jiangsu Zhenjiang |
China |
TSM Houat |
Thomas Services |
harbour |
Damen |
France |
Cyathea |
Compagnie Maritime Chambon |
terminal |
Bogazici |
France |
Peter Wessels |
Louis Meyer |
harbour |
Damen |
Germany |
4 Dolphin tugs |
Adani Vizhinjam Port |
harbour |
Kanagawa Dockyard |
India |
Gioia Star |
Con Tug JV |
terminal |
Damen |
Italy |
Mieszko |
Polish Navy |
naval |
Remontowa |
Poland |
Semko |
Polish Navy |
naval |
Remontowa |
Poland |
Sukhodol |
Rosmorport |
harbour |
Damen |
Russia |
Emar |
Rosmorport |
harbour |
Damen |
Russia |
Askold |
Rosmorport |
harbour |
Damen |
Russia |
Truzhenik |
Rosmorport |
harbour |
Damen |
Russia |
Beysug |
Rosmorrechflot |
emergency |
Nevsky Shipyard |
Russia |
Thor of Scapa |
Orkney Islands |
terminal |
Sanmar |
Scotland, UK |
M Jeex |
P&O Maritime |
harbour |
Sanmar |
Somaliland |
Source: Tug Technology & Business/news reports
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