Over the past three years, MARIN, together with 30 leading industry partners and class societies, has developed an international standard for the execution of bollard pull trials. Through model tests, CFD and full scale trials, the factors affecting tug performance during a bollard pull have been thoroughly investigated. The results have been used to develop a proven methodology that will deliver reliable, repeatable and transparent BP performance values for tugs. The paper gives a summary of the trial standard developed in the Bollard Pull Joint Industry Project.

Digital evolution is currently taking place in the maritime industry to tackle the challenges of new regulations and energy efficient operations. This drives the industry to explore different energy efficiency measures such as hybrid propulsion, alternative fuels, remote operations and autonomy. This transformation also affects the tugboat industry where digitalisation of information has spurred the automation of existing processes and functions and has created a significant impact on operations. Vessels are becoming sophisticated sensor hubs to monitor different parameters. With advanced communication systems, ship connectivity is now improved to allow telemetry of an extensive volume of data. Big Data platforms will have an incredible effect on how vessels manage information and use real-time analytics for performance monitoring. A large amount of real-time data is generated from smart sensor networks and manual data from various sources, such as sea-trials. This paper demonstrates how data has been integrated and synchronised from multiple sources to monitor vessel performance.

A co-operative research programme between Rosetti Marino shipyard and the Marine Technology Department of Genoa University has led to a new tug design, which embeds side damage survivability and low-to-high escort capabilities, as well as a simulation tool for evaluating the manoeuvrability of ASD tugs at high speed (escort) and low speed (harbour assistance) in a MATLAB-Simulink environment. The tool can simulate tug performance using different skeg sizes, propulsor sizes, engine powers and winch maximum tensions. The research programme involved the use of large towing tank tests, CFD simulations, the identification of manoeuvring and propulsion models, and full scale validation trials

Building on discussions at past Tugnology conferences, this paper examines dynamic scenarios possible during escort tug operations, including loss of towline, loss of thrust and transitional manoeuvres, and how they relate to present Class stability criteria based on zero-speed residual righting energy. This study demonstrates that 6 degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) manoeuvring simulation can be used to model such dynamic scenarios and proposes it as a tool to inform future work addressing Class criteria. The 6-DOF simulation tool readily predicts the coupled yaw/heel motion of a tug during escort, as well as wave-induced motions and the effectiveness of an active escort winch in reducing tension and tug motions. Finally, a collaborative path is proposed toward improving criteria for escort tug design and operations that account for ’real-world’ dynamics.

The time has come for the shipping industry to undergo its own digital transformation. Tugs - considering their function, operational profile and cost base - are well suited to take the next step. However, as much as digitalisation is a great opportunity to improve safety, reliability and to reduce costs, the industry will have to face up to the associated cyber risks. This paper will explain how these risks can be identified, analysed and assessed, and how appropriate mitigation measures can be defined to ensure safe onboard implementation of the new technologies.

The maritime industry is relatively advanced when it comes to technological progress. Automation is well-established, and vessels, platforms, ports and terminals are filled with sensors. However, the industry still lags behind in accepting new forms of digital technology. As the Internet of Things (IoT) increasingly weaves itself into our lives, nothing is stopping us from moving forward. We have all the opportunities we need to truly analyse how to use big data intelligently, and apply it to tug, towage, salvage and OSV business models and supply chains. We are ready to embark on this journey of digitalisation. This paper presents a case study on how to use big data to optimise terminal towage operations by Kotug Seabulk Maritime - a joint venture between Kotug International, Seabulk Towing and Buckeye Partners - at the Buckeye Bahamas hub in the Caribbean region and onboard.

Staying at the forefront of the digital era, the use of remote monitoring to obtain and collect large amounts of data from real-life tug operations is ever more essential. Big data analysis helps understand equipment performance, allowing for operational fine-tuning and design improvement. This paper highlights promising areas of big data research at Damen, and the way in which these techniques are implemented to improve operational understanding and support, as well as vessel design. Multi-dimensional regression techniques are used to explore the correlation between, for example, fuel consumption and various operational parameters. These techniques constitute the cornerstone of benchmarking. Through connectivity and digitisation, we can become better acquainted with the operational side of our vessels: continuous monitoring of the vessel’s location and speed translates into a time-speed histogram; clustering and classification techniques use data from multiple sensors to automatically identify operational modes. A preliminary approach for condition based maintenance has been investigated by means of the analysis of measured vibrations, while machine learning techniques have enabled the identification of the key traits of a monitored system. The aforementioned topics are only a few examples of the multiple digital technologies that Damen is currently exploring, and that will positively impact the vessels of the future.

The question and answer session for: Paper 6 : Moving Safely into the Digital Age Paper 7 : Innovate Your Business Model by Using the True Power of Big Data Analytics Paper 8 : Data Analytics in the Tug Industry: Operational Mode Identification of a Tug Based on Monitored Onboard Data

Modern winch systems, such as render and recovery winches, have developed into overly complex pieces of machinery. The net result of this development is a fundamental disconnect between the winch design engineer’s construction goals, the end-user’s expectations, and stakeholder management. The modular caliper winch concept aims to simplify winch design and construction, while emulating advanced render and recovery functions, by using an advanced drive and brake control system and ’brute force’ principle functions. The innovative design will be an improvement for the industry with regard to its small footprint, reduced power consumption, improved control, easy maintenance, redundancy of key features, lack of gearbox, lower weight and safe emergency quick release option. This paper focuses on the modular winch concept, which breaks down the principal drive and brake systems into multiple redundant sub-systems, including an advanced dynamic control system to emulate high-end winch performance at similar or lower cost level. This technological development is a co-operative effort between Kotug International, Tugpins and Rotortug.

Over the years, the importance of reducing installation costs for tugboats has grown in a market where competition between builders and operators is continuously increasing. Engines, propulsion and controls still represent a major part of the equipment cost of a vessel, and exist in a variety of configurations, all with their individual benefits. During the last few years, Caterpillar has introduced a series of integrated high speed engine and propulsion packages, with the goal of providing a simpler, more efficient solution to builders, designers and operators. This paper discusses the benefits of an integrated package, and how this can provide value to today’s competitive tug building industry.

For several years, Jensen has been working with Rolls-Royce on a mechanical-electric hybrid propulsion system for ASD tugs to boost available power to the thrusters. Currently under construction is a 100ft (30.5m) tug for Baydelta that utilises lower HP EPA Tier 3 main engines and an electric motor on each drive to maintain the same bollard pull rating as its sister ships. The propulsion system is designed so that the vessel will be able to transit and maintain station keeping using small auxiliary diesel generators and electric motors without the main engines running, reducing emissions as well as maintenance and operating costs.

New environmental and invasive species regulations are compelling ship owners to adopt different systems and operational regimes to control the build-up of bio-fouling on the inside and outside of their vessels. In this paper, NRG Marine uses its experience from recent installations and the latest field research to look into the future of this fundamental part of tug operation, in advance of expected legislative changes towards negating the use of biocides.

This paper presents a timely review of towing line connections between main lines and pennants. Typically, towing rope configurations consist of various rope types, with different physical and mechanical characteristics. Understanding their strengths and weaknesses is important in ensuring safe and reliable connections, especially when connections need to be made quickly under challenging conditions during towing. In addition to examining in detail the different types of towline connections, the paper will consider the implications of new rope and connection developments. Throughout the review, the focus will be on reducing the cost of ownership without jeopardising safety.

Across the globe, an increasing demand for fuel efficiency and reduced emissions can be recognised, especially for operations close to urban or environmentally protected areas. To meet this demand, tug operators can use hybrid or diesel-electric-powered vessels, with either batteries or combustion engines with exhaust gas treatment systems. However, only around 2 per cent of azimuth-thruster-powered tugs delivered between 2009 and 2019 use hybrid or full diesel-electric propulsion systems. One reason for this is the higher capital expenditure (Capex) and complexity of these systems. This paper will introduce a mechanical propulsion system that enables the operator to drive two thrusters with one combustion engine. The system is less complex and requires less capital expenditure, while also offering nearly the same major benefits as a hybrid system - namely, reduced fuel consumption, emissions reduction, increased mean time between outages of the main engines, and FiFi without using a separate FiFi pump engine or controllable pitch propellers.

Emissions requirements in harbour areas have recently been getting stricter. Batteries and LNG have been proposed as a means of solving this problem, but such technology requires much more investment than that involved in a conventional tugboat. In this paper, Kawasaki will propose a patent-pending new concept to resolve this issue. This scheme also addresses the issue of collaboration between the shore and vessels using electric power, as well as the labour shortage that is currently being faced in Japan.