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Port Otago prepares for the arrival of NZ$15M ASD tug
A New Zealand port is expecting arrival of a new azimuth stern drive tugboat from a Chinese shipyard to enhance ship towage in Q1 2026
Port Otago has named its newbuild tugboat after its construction at Damen Shipyard’s facilities in Changde, China.
The New Zealand South Island port has invested NZ$15M (US$9M) in this new azimuth stern drive (ASD) tug which was built to a Damen ASD Tug 2312 design with 70 tonnes of bollard pull.
It was named by the port operator as Ōtepoti, the Māori name for the upper harbour area where Dunedin city was developed.
Port Otago said this 23-m tugboat was completed at Damen’s Changde shipyard at the end of November and would be sailing to Port Chalmers, near Otago, during December 2025 and January 2026.
It is powered by two Caterpillar-manufactured Cat 3512 main engines driving two azimuth thrusters on the stern.
Ōtepoti was ordered in June 2025 when Port Otago chief executive Kevin Winders said it would be a key piece of infrastructure that will enable the port to handle large bulk carriers and container ships.
“By January 2026, we will also have the tug fleet we need to handle container vessels up to 10,000 TEU and larger bulk ships,” he said.
Port Otago has built a 430-m long multipurpose wharf with a berth depth of 14 m ready to accommodate larger ships.
Its current tugboat fleet includes a 2014-built ASD tug with 70 tonnes of bollard pull, Taiaroa and 2016-built Arihi, which has 30 tonnes of bollard pull to manoeuvre the port’s backhoe dredging unit and provide back-up towage.
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