Shipyards received new contracts for harbour and escort tugs from owners to modernise and expand their fleets in Q1 2024
In a hectic start to the year, shipbuilders registered 70 tug orders in Q1 2024 from owners seeking to modernise and expand their fleets through purchasing newbuildings, according to data collated by International Tug & Salvage. This was up from 62 ordered in Q1 2023 and 66 reported in Q4 2023.
These additions boosted the global shipyard orderbook for tugboats to 365 vessels by the start of Q2 2024, according to BRL Shipping Consultants, up from 348 at the end of 2023 and 323 in Q1 2023.
This data supports sentiment from shipbuilders that 2024 will be a busy year for tug construction despite the challenges of sourcing critical machinery and equipment from strained supply chains, and from cost inflation.
Demand is coming from both major tug owners ordering new tugs to bolster their fleets, to smaller players purchasing new vessels from shipyard stocks. Orders were also received from large port authorities and operators.
Brazilian shipyards gained the most newbuild orders during Q1 2024 with at least 26 tugs ordered by Brazilian owners.
According to Sinaval, the institution supporting Brazilian shipyards, Marlin Serviços Ambienta is ordering 12 tugs from São Miguel shipyard, backed by the nation’s Merchant Marine Fund. Wilson Sons also gained funds to build three azimuth stern drive (ASD) harbour tugs to Damen’s ASD 2312 design at its shipyard and Transdourada Navegação gained finance to build four river pushers at the Juruá shipyard.
Camorim Maritime Services ordered five tugs from Detroit Brasil and Sulnorte signed a contract for the construction of two tugboats at Rio Maguari Shipyard, which is already constructing newbuilds for Svitzer.
Chinese shipyards also received tugboat orders, with Jiangsu Zhenjiang cutting steel for four new tugs in Q1 2024, while Afai Southern gained contracts for two tugs from Chongqing Shipping Co.
Damen Shipyards gained tug supply orders from South Africa’s Transnet National Ports Authority, which is modernising its fleet as it invests in the nation’s ports to raise their cargo and ship capacities. Also in this data are orders at Turkish shipyards, and builders in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Netherlands.
Orders and contracts signed in 2023 led to a surge in newbuild deliveries in Q1 2024, with 72 recorded by ITS, up from 64 reported in Q1 2023 and 67 in Q4 2023. Delivery data does not include tugs completed by shipyards for their own stocks of affiliate fleets but does include towboats and other inland towage vessels.
Around 22% of the deliveries came from Chinese shipyards, many for domestic owners, and another 18% from Turkish builders, then 17% from US facilities for US owners. The data includes 61 harbour tugs, nine inland towboats and two naval tugboats. As more information is collated, this data is expected to rise as it is updated.
Data updates
This is the case of the full year 2023 deliveries. Since publishing market information in January/February 2024, ITS added 31 more tug deliveries to its already recorded 271 vessels, increasing the actual figure to 302 tugboats brought into service in 2023.
Many of these come from completions by Japanese shipyards, which reported 16 more deliveries to shipping consultants in 2023. These came from Daizo Corp, Hanasaki Zosensho, Hongawara Zosen, Kanagawa Zosen and Odo Shipbuilding & Engineering. Kanagawa Zosen remains the busiest Japanese shipyard for tug construction.
Delivery data was also added from Turkish shipyards and facilities in the US, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam. For example, information added in Q1 2024 includes the delivery of two ASD tugs, designed and built by Damen in 2023 to Engage Marine. Engage Renegade and Engage Rascal were built to ASD Tug 2813 design in Vietnam, each with two Caterpillar 3516-C TA HD/D main engines and 82 tonnes of bollard pull. These 381-gt tugs were both working in Sydney, Australia in Q1 2024.
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