Turkey’s first container transhipment port will increase its ship-handling capabilities in Q2 2020 after ordering a new tug from a local shipbuilder
Asyaport, a joint venture between MSC’s Global Terminal Limited and the Turkish Soyuer family, has contracted Med Marine to deliver a new tug to manoeuvre ships in the growing port.
Asyaport handles up to 2.5M TEU of containers per year with 2 km of quaysides and draughts up to 18 m. The joint venture partners are building a logistics centre in Barbaros, Tekirdağ,in northwest Turkey, to boost throughput at the port.
To support this, it ordered a new harbour tug of Robert Allan design from Med Marine for delivery in April. This MED-A2360 model tugboat will be completed at Med Marine’s Eregli Shipyard to a RAmparts 2300-MM design.
Asyaport Degirmenalti will be a 23-m azimuth stern drive (ASD) tug with around 60 tonnes of bollard pull and running speed of 12 knots, a 10.9 m beam and 4.4 m draught. It was designed for port operations including towage, ship handling and emergency response.
Its propulsion will come from two Caterpillar Cat 3512C diesel engines, developing 1,765 kW of power at 1,800 rpm driving two Kongsberg US205 FP azimuth thrusters with fixed pitch propellers. Also in the engineroom will be two Cat C4.4 generator sets, producing 86 kW of electrical power at 1,500 rpm and 50 Hz. There will also be a fire-fighting (FiFi) pump that drives water and foam to two FiFi1 class monitors at a rate of 1,200 m3/hr.
Asyaport managing director Kadir Uzun said this purchase opens new co-operation with Med Marine. “We can achieve more in future thanks to this partnership,” he said.
Med Marine business development chief Eylül Turhan said the shipyard had built eight tugs in the Ramparts 2300 series with some delivered to domestic operators and others exported to Central America and the Middle East.
“This class of tug will be delivered to another Turkish operator. We are building two more sisters on speculation and getting them ready for delivery,” said Mr Turhan.
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