A growing provider of offshore and terminal towage services has expanded its fleet with a new escort tug
Wilson Sons group has brought a new high-power escort tug into service to boost South American ship handling capabilities. This group both built this 32-m seagoing tug and operates it in Brazil.
WS Aries was designed by Damen Shipyards and built by Wilson Sons Estaleiros. It joined the Wilson Sons Rebocadores fleet on 19 July as a similar tug to 2018-built WS Sirius.
Both are the most powerful escort tugs in Brazil providing services at offshore loading and unloading terminals and ports in the nation.
The addition of WS Aries and WS Sirius “is outstanding for the business” said Wilson Sons Rebocadores operations director Marcio Castro. “These are tugboats equipped and certified to escort vessels, which means that the towline can be used at cruising speeds,” he continued.
WS Aries has bollard pull of around 90 tonnes, a beam of 12 m and an automatic towing winch system.
“This tugboat exceeded 90 tonnes of bollard pull with a render recovery winch, which allows for the automatic control of maximum pull on the towline while keeping the tow length constant,” said Wilson Sons Estaleiros executive director Adalberto Souza.
“With more technology and power available, the number of options to assist decision making during operations is increased, making it safer,” he explained.
WS Aries features a FiFi1 certified fire-fighting system and has fuel capacity to sail more than 100 nautical miles, or 185 km, giving it greater autonomy for offshore operations.
Wilson Sons Group operates two other escort tugs, WS Titan and WS Procyon.
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