Uzmar Shipyard has launched the second of two tugs ordered for Turkey’s General Directorate of Coastal Safety
The two emergency response and escort tugboats will be deployed to improve ship transit safety in the Turkish Straits. Both are being built to Robert Allan designs with azimuth stern drive (ASD) propulsion and fire-fighting systems.
On 26 February 2021, Uzmar launched 32-m Kurtarma 14. Built to a RAstar 3200W design with a towing capacity of 80 tonnes, it has two marine diesel engines driving two variable pitch azimuth propellers. Uzmar will now complete outfitting and commissioning, before carrying out sea trials before its delivery.
The first of these emergency response and salvage tugs, Kurtarma 13, was launched on 21 January 2021.
RAstar 3200W series tugboats are considered by Uzmar as tugs with the highest maritime, manoeuvrability and escort capabilities in the world. They are equipped with the latest technologies for ship rescue services, vessel escort, fire-fighting, port services, towing and pushing services and stand-by services and will provide salvage support in the Turkish Straits, where more than 50,000 ships pass through each year. These tugs can tow powered-down ships and maritime casualties out of the shipping lanes to protect key trade routes between the Black Sea and Mediterranean.
During the first tug launch, Uzmar president and chief executive Ahmet Noyan Altuğ said the construction project was a “prestige project” for the shipyard. He thanked the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure for funding the construction. The tugs were launched within nine months of the contract signing.
In another project, Uzmar Shipyards has completed a large multipurpose oil spill response and offshore support vessel for Kuwait Oil Co (KOC). It built Al Zour as a technically advanced oil spill recovery vessel to boost emergency response in the Middle East Gulf. Al Zour has ASD propulsion and dynamic positioning (DP) with a DP (AM) notation from Lloyd’s Register. It will be a significant addition to KOC’s offshore support fleet and will protect Kuwait’s maritime waters, production installations and ports. Al Zour can also tow offshore drilling rigs, support offshore construction work and tanker loading terminals.
Uzmar built the 60-m vessel to Robert Allan’s RAmpage 6000 design in Kocaeli, Turkey. It is the largest Robert Allan-designed vessel ever to be built in Turkey. Launched on 21 August, it is scheduled to begin operations in Kuwait in Q1 2021.
Uzmar is involved, with groups in Turkey and Germany, in the Autoplan project to design, engineer and build an automatic navigation assistance system for planing and semi-planing craft, which could include fast passenger vessels and pilot boats.
Tug operations, propulsion technologies, safety and stability issues will be discussed during Riviera’s first ITS TUGTECHNOLOGY Webinar Week on 29-31 March - use this link for more details and to register for these webinars
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