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Svitzer/Robert Allan tug design wins ITS Innovation of the Year Award
The new vessel design concept TRAnsverse tug was proclaimed International Tug & Salvage (ITS) Innovation of the Year 2023
Svitzer’s and Robert Allan Ltd’s (RAL) design for a multipurpose manoeuvrable tugboat received the award during a gala dinner and awards ceremony, in association with Caterpillar, at TUGTECHNOLOGY ’23, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 22 May.
With an omni-directional hullform and efficient propulsion system, TRAnsverse tugs can seamlessly transition between direct and indirect towing modes.
Svitzer worked with Robert Allan Ltd to design this next-generation multipurpose tug with leading manoeuvring and escort capabilities to support all types of harbour and terminal towage operations, while reducing fuel consumption.
The leading tug owner expects TRAnsverse tugs to lower fuel consumption by an estimated 10-15% compared with other tugs on the market.
Svitzer chief operating officer Kasper Karlsen and Robert Allan Ltd president and chief executive Mike Fitzpatrick received the award from Uzmar chief executive A Noyan Altug.
Mr Karlsen thanked his project partners and shipyard partners and said "We are all very much looking forward to getting it on the water sooner rather than later."
These tugs combine a unique towing staple and propulsion system, providing advanced towage capabilities. This design maximises the forces necessary for braking and steering ships during towage, as it manoeuvres steadily in the water without compromising safety, even at full speed.
These tugs can maintain position with lower propeller input power than other tug designs where the thrusters are mounted side by side. These azimuth thrusters bring a significant increase in stability and freedom of movement.
Svitzer said TRAnsverse tugs will meet the full range of complex harbour and terminal towage manoeuvres, reduce the overall time of towage, have greater availability in poor weather conditions, reduce emissions and enhance safety.
The first TRAnsverse tug is scheduled to begin operations in northern Europe from September 2023 after its construction by Sanmar Shipyards.
In May, Svitzer ordered two TRAnsverse tugs from Uzmar Shipyard to operate from 2025 in the Port of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Shortlisted nominees for ITS Innovation of the Year Award came from varied parts of the towage industry including vessel design, deck machinery and digitalisation.
- Hydrogen One, developed by e1 Marine, Elliott Bay Design Group and Maritime Partners was shortlisted for being the first design of an inland towboat powered by hydrogen. This has e1 Marine’s patented reformer technology to extract hydrogen from methanol on board and is the industry’s first IMO 2030-compliant long-range towboat. With hydrogen fuel cells driving Berg thrusters from Karl Senner, Hydrogen One will transport barges to port cities on inland waterways with an operational range of 885 km.
- Kotug International’s medium-size E-Pusher M series was shortlisted for its patented design and ability to provide zero-emissions inland and coastal transport. The first completed E-Pusher M will transport cargo between the Port of Amsterdam and Cargill’s factories in Zaandam, the Netherlands from Q2 2023. It has a pre-engineered hull assembly and steel/aluminium frame, fully electric drive and the ability to switch between containerised energy sources, including batteries. With the specially designed E-barges this is a 100% zero-emissions setup. The vessel has an eternal lifespan because every part can be replaced, adjusted or removed, including the energy source.
- Markey Machine’s Agile electric escort winch was shortlisted for its reduced weight and high power during towage operations. Markey introduced this new escort winch product line in Q4 2022 with a weight reduction of more than 16% in comparison with its previous electric escort winch models. It has a reduced winch footprint, unique power and control system and new level wind arrangement.
- ioCurrents data analytics platform MarineInsight was shortlisted for using artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyse data from vessels to help predict equipment failures, optimise voyages for lower fuel consumption and improve maintenance schedules. Western Towboat has used ioCurrents to eliminate pump failures using this predictive technology.
TUGTECHNOLOGY ’23 is taking place 22-23 May in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The two-day conference, exhibition and awards alternates on a bi-annual basis with The International Tug & Salvage Conference, Exhibition & Awards as the industry’s must-attend event - in odd rather than even years.
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