World’s first Carrousel Rave tug goes on sea trials

A much anticipated tug newbuilding is finally heading for sea trials after a lengthy period of outfitting, commissioning and testing. There are reports that the world’s first commercial Carrousel Rave tug, Multraship Towage and Salvage’s Multratug 32, is close to being brought into service.

According to Dutch news reports, Multratug 32 was pictured heading to sea trials. On 4 January, it was sailing from Stellendam where it was commissioned, to an oil terminal in Europort, Rotterdam for sea trials.

It has not been confirmed by the tugboat owner, however, a director at the company told Tug Technology & Business in December that Multratug 32 would enter service in January 2018 after an official naming ceremony

Multratug 32 and its sister tug, Multratug 33, were designed and developed by Novatug and Robert Allan, and built in Germany by Damen Shipyards.

These 31.9 m tugs have Voith propulsion in an inline configuration and low-drag hull design. They also have a carrousel towing system with a towing point on a straightforward steel ring and can freely rotate around the superstructure of the tug.