UK fleet expands with ASD newbuildings

SMS Towage, Forth Ports, Targe Towing and Svitzer Europe have added new azimuthing stern drive tugs to their UK fleets to meet growth in port services

Tug owners are improving the capabilities of their UK-based fleets in reaction to the increasing size of ships entering British ports by investing in new tugs.

SMS Towage has sourced new tugs for its growing fleet from Turkish shipbuilder Sanmar. In Q2 2018 it took delivery of its first Sanmar Sirapinar design tug, Pullman. This followed the delivery of a new azimuthing stern drive (ASD) tug with 50 tonnes of bollard pull in February this year, named Nobleman, and a more powerful ASD tug with 72 tonnes of bollard pull in November 2017, christened Superman (Tug Technology & Business, Q1 2018).

Pullman was built to an adapted Robert Allan design that is more compact and has lower operational and maintenance costs than a conventional harbour tug. For SMS Towage managing director Paul Escreet, Pullman’s “performance and ease of handling” were attractive. “We have at our disposal the most advanced design of ship handling tugs in the UK,” Mr Escreet said.

He told TTB additional tugs were required as SMS Towage won more port and terminal services contracts and extended its capabilities in the UK. SMS Towage provides ship handling, towage, escort and salvage services from ports around the Humber, in Belfast, Portsmouth and in the Welsh ports of Barry, Cardiff and Newport.

This has been on the back of increasing numbers of container ships, cruise liners, tankers and dry cargo ships visiting these ports, and growth in demand from the offshore renewables industry, Mr Escreet said. SMS Towage is continuing to purchase additional Sanmar vessels for its fleet.

Pullman is the latest of these deliveries. This 22.4-m tug has a moulded beam of 10.8 m and draught of 4.5 m, a pair of Caterpillar 3512C main engines and two Schottel SRP 1012 azimuthing Rudderpropellers. Pullman is also fitted with a DMT forward winch, an aft capstan and a tow hook, has accommodation for six crew members and a bollard pull of 45 tonnes.

SMS Towage added Pullman to its Humber fleet, where it handles ships including shuttle tankers, such as Amundsen Spirit, at the beginning of July. Superman is also deployed on the Humber and at the end of June it towed cruise ship Marco Polo into the port of Hull. Nobleman is a sister tug to SMS Towage’s ASD tugs, Englishman and Scotsman, which each have bollard pulls of 50 tonnes.

Forth Estuary Towage expanded its capabilities in the Firth of Forth by purchasing a new terminal tug. The Forth Ports subsidiary took delivery of a new 28.2-m ASD tug from Sanmar in May.

Craigleith is a Robert Allan RAstar 2800 design tug with 70 tonnes of bollard pull and a free running speed of 12.5 knots. It has Rolls-Royce supplied MTU main engines, which each generate 2,000 kW of power and drive a pair of Schottel Rudderpropellers.

On the deck, Craigleith has a DMT forward winch, an aft 90-tonne SWL hydraulic towing hook and a Palfinger deck crane. It also has a FiFi 1 fire-fighting unit and accommodation for eight people.

Forth Estuary Towage is based in Leith, Scotland, and provides towage services at the Braefoot Bay terminal. It ordered an ASD type tug newbuilding from Sanmar after chartering one for several months in 2017. Its existing fleet are Voith Schneider-type vessels.

Forth Ports operates eight commercial ports in the UK – Tilbury on the Thames, Dundee on the Firth of Tay and six on the Firth of Forth including two specialised marine terminals for oil and gas exports. It also provides towage and conservancy services.

Targe Towing, which operates tugs on the Forth, also took delivery of a Sanmar tug this year. This Montrose, Scotland-headquartered operator purchased a Bogaçay-class tug and renamed it Kittiwake after it arrived in Scotland.

It ordered this tug after securing a contract extension covering the marine services it provides at the Hound Point oil terminal on the Forth. This terminal loads oil produced from North Sea platforms on to tankers for export worldwide. Kittiwake is an ASD tug with 60 tonnes of bollard pull and a FiFi 1 fire-fighting system. Targe also provides dedicated towage services in the ports of Aberdeen, Dundee and Peterhead in Scotland.

Svitzer Europe added two Sanmar tugs to its UK fleet in Q2 2018, although one left for north European duties in July. These 25.3-m ABS-classed tugs have boosted the Svitzer Europe fleet to 113 vessel. Svitzer Vale arrived in the Port of London at the beginning of May.

Svitzer Meridian arrived in July, while Svitzer Vale departed for vessel owning group’s Scandinavia and Germany cluster. Both tugs are of the Delicay-class and built to Traktor-Z 2500SX designs. They have bollard pulls of around 70 tonnes and maximum speeds of 12.5 knots.

 

Pullman particulars

Owner: SMS Towage

Operates: Humber, England

Builder: Sanmar

Designer: Robert Allan

Design: Sirapinar

Built: 2018

Length, oa: 22.4 m

Breadth, moulded: 10.8 m

Draught: 4.5 m

Bollard pull: 45 tonnes

Engines: 2 x Caterpillar 3512C

Propulsion: 2 x Schottel SRP 1012

Accommodation: six people

 

Craigleith particulars

Owner: Forth Estuary Towage

Operates: Forth, Scotland

Builder: Sanmar

Designer: Robert Allan

Design: RAstar 2800

Built: 2018

Length, oa: 28.2 m

Breadth, moulded: 12.6 m

Bollard pull: 45 tonnes

Top speed: 12.5 knots

Engines: 2 x MTU (2,000 kW)

Propulsion: 2 x Schottel SRP

 

UK tug deliveries 2018

UK tugboat owners have taken delivery of seven tugs in 2018:

• Forth Ports: Craigleith.
• Kotug Smit: Buffalo.
• SMS Towage: Pullman.
• SMS Towage: Nobleman.
• Svitzer Europe: Svitzer Vale.
• Svitzer Europe: Svitzer Meridian.
• Targe Towing: Kittiwake.