Seychelles has purchased a tug as part of its plans to enhance the islands’ main port to boost maritime trade
Port Victoria in Mahe will be expanded to double the number of ships it can accommodate, opening more capacity for container and general cargo trade.
Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA) wants to extend the existing quayside and build a new 600-m quay. This project could produce a new trading hub in the Indian Ocean along major shipping routes.
SPA is currently tendering for the main aspects of an expansion project at Port Victoria. This includes civil works to extend the existing quay by 40 m to 310 m and to build the new quay. The 600-m quay will be able to accommodate ultra large container ships or two vessels up to 250 m in length at the same time.
SPA purchased a new tugboat from Sanmar Shipyards in Turkey to support these plans. The port authority said this purchase “represents another milestone in the planned upgrading and modernisation of the port”.
This azimuth stern drive (ASD) tug is a Bogacay-class vessel, built to a Robert Allan RAmparts 2400SX design.
SPA director for marine engineering Jean-Paul Marie explained the importance of this new harbour tug, currently named Bogacay XLI. “This state-of-the-art tug will be the only one of its kind in our fleet,” he said. “It will definitely be of great support and is arriving at just the right moment. Sanmar has delivered on all the agreed standards,” Mr Marie added.
SPA recently completed technical acceptance of Bogacay XLI at Sanmar’s shipyard. It is being mobilised to the Seychelles by a Sanmar delivery crew.
Upon its arrival at its new home at Port Victoria, Bogacay XLI’s new name will be revealed.
“This is our first non-conventional tug,” said SPA assistant harbour master Allen Chetty, adding that Sanmar helped SPA “through the transition to ASD tugs”.
Bogacay XLI has an overall length of 24.4 m, a moulded beam of 11.25 m and a maximum draught of 5.70 m. It has a bollard pull of 60 tonnes and free-running speed of 12 knots powered by a pair of Caterpillar 3512C main engines, each producing 1,765 kW or power at 1,800 rpm.
These drive two Kongsberg type US 255 fixed-pitch azimuth drives with carbon shafts turning 240-cm diameter propellers inside nozzles with stainless steel inner surfaces.
Caterpillar has also supplied two auxiliary generator sets, of C4.4 type, generating 99 kW of electrical power at 400 V and alternating at 50 Hz.
Bogacay XLI’s port side main engine also powers a pump that feeds the external fire-fighting system with a FFS-supplied monitor capacity of 1,200 m3/hr, located at the forward end of the bridge deck. Its main towing winch is a double-drum, frequency-controlled unit, manufactured by DMT and mounted on the fore deck.
In its plans for Port Victoria, SPA also intends to install two mobile cranes for loading and unloading ships, storage yards and warehouses.
Sanmar commercial director Rüçhan Civgin hopes the port’s expansion and successful operations with Bogacay XLI will lead to a long-term relationship between Sanmar and SPA.
“We do hope our new friends at SPA will be confident enough to return to Sanmar in the future as their needs expand,” he said.
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