SLM expands fleet with newbuild tugs and barges

Sinarmas LDA Maritime (SLM) has been busy building its fleet of harbour and coastal towage tugs in Indonesia, with a host of newbuilds delivered by shipyards this year, with the latest added in September.

The Indonesian maritime logistics group is also growing its liquid and dry bulk shipping business, with new vessels and barges delivered during 2024 and more on the way.

This comes as demand for liquid and dry bulk maritime transport is growing within Indonesia, fuelled by population rises and higher inter-island trading.

As the largest private pilotage and assist-tug provider in Indonesia, SLM has grown its fleet of harbour tugs from 16 to 25 and employs 40 qualified pilots. SLM has received tugs and service vessels from Tuong Aik Shipyard in Malaysia and Palma Progress Shipyard in Indonesia this year.

Palma Progress, in Batam, is building the Mars series of harbour tugs for the Indonesian owner, with SLM Mars 1 delivered in August and SLM Mars 2 handed over near the end of September. These are twin-screw tugboats with 1,640 kW of power from two diesel engines and propellers.

Tuong Aik Shipyard has constructed the Apollo and Helios series of tugs, with SLM Apollo 2 delivered in August at the Malaysian shipyard. These are also twin screw, but with 1,490 kW of power.

SLM Helios 1, delivered in September, is a smaller twin-screw harbour tugboat with 1,190 kW of power, while SLM Helios 1 is expected to be delivered in Q4 2024.