Kst News

The Coastal Sustainability Alliance (CSA), an industry collaborative effort led by Kuok Maritime Group (KMG), has announced the start of construction of its first fully electric PXO-series tug (e-tug) and supply boat (e-supply boat) by PaxOcean Group.The zero-emissions vessels are among the first and largest local electric harbour craft designed for operation in Singapore’s coastal waters. They are targeted for deployment in 2025, ahead of the nation’s goal for all new coastal…

Ship refuelling operations were temporarily halted at South Korea's Busan and Ulsan ports on Tuesday after typhoon Hinnamnor hit the country's southern region, trade sources said.The halt in operations also paused spot premiums for low-sulphur bunker fuel offered at these ports this week at about $60 per tonne over Singapore fuel oil quotes, bunker fuel traders at South Korean companies said.Operations are likely to resume gradually later in the week, though fresh slots for bunkering are likely to start only from next week onwards…

Dutch marine services firm Boskalis and its co-shareholder KS Investments Pte. Ltd. (Keppel) have completed the sale of their equity stakes in their harbor towage activities in Singapore and Malaysia - Keppel Smit Towage Pte Ltd and Maju Maritime Pte Ltd - to Rimorchiatori Mediterranei.Boskalis received EUR 92 million in cash for its 49% equity stake in the joint ventures resulting in a pre tax book gain of approximately EUR 50 million. Keppel Smit Towage (KST) was established in 1991 as a joint venture between Keppel and SMIT, a subsidiary of Boskalis. Over the past thirty years, Boskalis said, KST/Maju has developed into one of the largest and leading providers of harbor towage services in Southeast Asia.

Boskalis and its co-shareholder KS Investments Pte. Ltd. (Keppel) have received the approval from the regulatory agencies in Singapore for the sale of their harbor towage providers Keppel Smit Towage (KST) and Maju Maritime in Singapore and Malaysia to Rimorchiatori Mediterranei S.p.A. The intended sale with the regulatory approval as a condition precedent was announced late last year.Boskalis said it  will receive approximately EUR 80 million in cash for its 49% equity stake in the joint venture. The transaction is expected to close at the beginning of the third quarter 2022.

Canadian naval architecture and marine engineering services company Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) has been awarded design contracts of two vessel types for Seabulk Towing (a subsidiary of Seacor), to be built at Alabama-based Master Boat Builders, Inc.The newbuild program consists of 2 upgraded ART 90-98US tugs and 2 new RApport 3000 tugs, said the designer of commercial working vessels of all types.Two of the newbuilds will add to Seacor’s existing Rotortug fleet, with some feature updates to the Rotortug design, which has proven to be highly capable within the Company’s port system.The ART (Advanced Rotortug) designation applies to tugs featuring the unique triple drive configuration designed by Robert Allan Ltd.

Keppel Offshore & Marine’s shipbuilding arm Keppel Singmarine has delivered its second dual-fuel tug capable of running on liquefied natural gas (LNG). The new vessel, named named Maju Loyalty, was built for Maju Maritime (which is merged operationally with Keppel Smit Towage).Abu Bakar, managing director, gas and specialized vessels, of Keppel O&M, said, "Leveraging our newbuild experience and capabilities in LNG, we were able to ensure the smooth execution and timely delivery of this project. This is the second dual-fuel tug built by Keppel O&M, and furthers our track record in the design and construction of cost and energy efficient LNG-fueled vessels.

Singapore-based Keppel Corp said on Wednesday its offshore rig-building unit is on track to deliver in May what the shipbuilder said will be the first tugboat in southeast Asia that can run on liquefied natural gas (LNG). The vessel will be one of seven dual-fuel vessels the company is building, and will be able to run on LNG and diesel, a spokesman for Keppel said, without disclosing how much the ship cost to build. A second dual-fuel LNG tug is due to be delivered by June or July, he said. The introduction of the vessels comes as Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority pushes ahead with an LNG bunkering pilot programme, designed to support the building of LNG-fuelled vessels.

Marine News showcases the best of North America’s 2017 workboat deliveries. There is something for everyone. Notwithstanding the lingering offshore energy downturn, there were plenty of bright spots for North American shipyards in 2017. If a hull was delivered in 2017, we took a look at it, with several areas as a focus for inclusion into this edition. For starters, it is always exciting when a domestic yard delivers a vessel – or multiple vessels, for that matter – to foreign buyers. We can compete in a foreign arena; on price, quality and on-time delivery. This year was no different. No less important is the environmental footprint of a vessel, and there was plenty to report on from that angle in the past 12 months. The domestic waterfront is indeed getting greener and cleaner.

The first U.S.-built Rotortug, ART Trident, has undergone trials and is now in service. Designed by Robert Allan Ltd., and designated as an ART 80-98US, she was built by Master Boat Builders in Bayou La Batre, Ala., and is the first in a series of three being constructed for Seabulk Towing of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The ART (Advanced Rotortug) designation applies to Robert Allan Ltd. designed tugs featuring the triple Z-drive configuration, originally conceived and developed by Rotortug (KST) B.V. of the Netherlands.

As a part of its tug fleet upgrade program, Tianjin Port of China retained Robert Allan Ltd. in early 2012 to develop several new tug designs to suit its operational requirements. The program involved five tugs of three distinct designs. The recent delivery of the RAstar 3500 class tugs Jin Gang Lun 28 and Jin Gang Lun 29 marked the conclusion of this program. The two latest vessels were constructed by a local shipyard, CCCC Bomesc Marine Industry Co. Ltd. in Tianjin city. Compared to the earlier tugs Jin Gang Lun 26 and Jin Gang Lun 27 which are of the RAmparts series…

The ASD tugs KST Passion and KST Pride were were delivered to their owner, Keppel-Smit Towage Pte. Ltd of Singapore in October 2014. The two vessels are the first in the new RAmparts 3300AV series of tug designs by Robert Allan Ltd., and were constructed at the AVIC Zhenjiang Shipyard Marine Pte Ltd., Singapore at its facilities in China. On trials, both vessels met or exceeded all performance expectations, with KST Pride producing an average ahead bollard pull of 71.5 tons and achieving a maximum speed of 14.03 knots.

The focus of this year’s product and performance presentation by Vulkan Couplings at the Sea Japan are the specially integrated marine drive solutions for offshore ships. Vulkan Couplings has become known for its drive solutions for drill ships. The latest project was the equipment of six drill ships, built by the Estaleiro Enseada do Paraguacu shipyard for the Brazilian Charterer PETROBAS. Vulkan Couplings supplied the highly flexible couplings for the Caterpillar MaK 16CM32 gensets and the electric motors CAT 3516 B…

The focus of this year's product and performance presentation by VULKAN Couplings at the Sea Japan in Tokyo are the specially integrated marine drive solutions for offshore ships. The coupling manufacturer based in Herne, Germany, has been supplying in particular the growing Asian and South-American market with drive line components for many years. VULKAN Couplings have become internationally known for their drive solutions for drill ships. The latest, successful project was the equipment of six drill ships…

The first of a new series of the RAmparts 3500 Class ASD tug design was delivered to its Owners Tianjin Port, a port in the northern part of China. The vessel was constructed at Shanghai Harbor Fuxing Shipping Service Company, and was named Jin Gang Lun 26.A sister vessel is under construction at the same shipyard. The hull of the new 35 meter design has been developed from the very successful 32 meter Ramparts design series, of which more than 100 tugs have been built in the past decade.

Aspin Kemp & Associates (AKA) announced a collaboration with KOTUG International for the newbuild construction of two hybrid Advanced Rotortugs. Following AKA and KOTUG’s hybrid retrofit of the RT Adriaan in early 2012, the team are partnering once again to provide the next generation of hybrid Rotortugs for KOTUG’s fleet on behalf of Elisabeth Ltd. based in Malta. AKA’s XeroPoint hybrid marine propulsion system will be installed onboard Rotor tug’s new and innovative tugboat design, the Advanced Rotor tug, ART 80-32 at Damen Shipyards.

Two new ART 80-32class Rotor tugs, the first vessels designed for KST B.V. under the recent agreement naming Robert Allan Ltd. as the exclusive designer of Rotor tugs, are to be built by the Damen Shipyards group for owners Elizabeth Ltd. This is the first time that the Damen Group will build a design from Robert Allan Ltd. Kotug has provided significant input into the requirements for this design, and Robert Allan Ltd., has developed a unique, customized design optimized for their operations.

Robert Allan Ltd of Vancouver, B.C., and Rotortug (KST) B.V. of Rotterdam, Netherlands are very pleased to announce the initiation today of a new strategic alliance for the future development of the Rotor Tug concept. Under this Agreement Robert Allan Ltd will now act as the exclusive designer for all Rotor Tugs. The Agreement covers the continuous technical development for all existing and future Rotor ® Tug designs. The Rotor® Tug line will be added to Robert Allan Ltd.’s design…

Hilco Industrial, LLC, and partners Myron Bowling Auctioneers, Maynards Industries, and PPL Group, will conduct a public auction sale of the assets of Keet Seel Tankships, LLC, and First Mesa Tankships, LLC on February 15, 16, and 17, 2011 The auction will feature the components necessary to construct two 49,000-dwt Jones Act Tankers. As recently as 2009, these components were valued at over $200,000,000, making this a truly unprecedented auction event. Many of the components have never been used or installed and are still in their original vendor shipping crates. In 2007, AHL Shipping committed to build three tankers in conjunction with Shell Trading Company…

Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd (Keppel Singmarine), the shipbuilding arm of Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel O&M), has demonstrated its commitment to meet the needs of customers with the timely and safe deliveries of five ships. These five vessels, including a Multi-Purpose Supply and Support Vessel (MPSSV), an Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) vessel and three tugboats, have all exceeded their contractual bollard pull and speed during the sea trials. Greatship Mohini, a MPSSV was delivered to Greatship Global Offshore Services Pte.

Keppel Smit Towage Private Limited (KST), has recently signed a contract with Keppel Singmarine Dockyard Pte Ltd (Keppel Singmarine) to build two 3,600 bhp harbor tugs for a contract value of about $5.5 million, with an option for a further two tugs. These two tractor tugs will have a bollard pull of 47 tonnes. As with all the other tugs in KST's fleet, they will include fire-fighting capability. With these specifications, the tugs will be able to assist all types of vessels including VLCCs berthing at deep water berths. With the delivery of these two newbuildings at the end of the year, KST will have a combined fleet of 26 tugs ranging between 3,000 to 4,000 bhp.

Keppel Singmarine, a member of Keppel Offshore and Marine, has completed four tugs for Keppel Smit Towage (KST). Two tugs, KST Sculptor and KST Scorpius were delivered earlier and the remaining two, KST Spica and KST Sirius were delivered on September 19. Upon delivery, these tugs will boost KST’s fleet strength from 24 to 28 tugs. The vessels, with bollard pull of 48 tons, meet the requirements of assisting the berthing and unberthing of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) at two fixed jetties located at the Sinki Fairway, off the western sector of Singapore. Sister vessels, KST Sculptor and KST Scorpius, have a gross tonnage of 246 GT, while KST Spica and KST Sirus are 257 GT. All four tugs are equipped with fire-fighting systems, with a pumping capacity of 1,200 cubic meters per hour.

Guido Perla and Associates (GPA), announced the delivery of the M/V Hector, the fourth of ten GPA 670 Platform Support Vessels (PSV) designed by the company for Bourbon Offshore of Marseille, France, a division of Bourbon. The M/V HECTOR marks the last of four vessels originally ordered by Bourbon Offshore, who has expanded the GPA 670 building program to a total of 10 vessels, which will be built at Zhejiang Shipbuilding in Ningbo, China. The GPA 670 PSVs are 240-ft diesel-electric vessels, which are equipped with two stern-mounted Kawazaki KST-200 360 degree azimuthing Z-drive, fixed pitch, 1,200 rpm powered, full range variable speed motors. A further enhancement to the diesel-electric drives is the dynamic positioning system and the vessel management.

Unveiling the sculpture, Soaring with the Can Do spirit, to commemorate the inauguration of Keppel Nantong Shipyard are Mr Luo Yi Min, Party Secretary of Communist Party of China (CPC) Nantong Committee and Mr Lim Chee Onn, Executive Chairman of Keppel Corporation. Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel O&M) has officially opened its new wholly-owned subsidiary, Keppel Nantong Shipyard Co. Ltd (Keppel Nantong), in Nantong, Jiangsu province, China. Min, Party Secretary of Communist Party of China (CPC) Nantong Committee, graced the occasion as the Guest-of-Honour, joined by more than 300 guests. The ceremony was landmarked by the sale of two 45-tonne Azimuth Stern Drive tugboats to Kuwaiti owner, Arabian Gulf Mechanical Services & Contracting (AGMS).