Tug Technology News

Damen Shipyards Group has unveiled the latest vessel in its Compact Tugs product platform called the ASD Tug 2111.Siebe Cieraad, Damen Product Portfolio manager says: "As sea-going ships continue to increase in size, new challenges are arising in ports. Tugs are required to operate – safely – with less space, at the same time needing increased power to perform. This 21-metre harbour tug with 50 ton bollard pull is therefore a very exciting addition to our portfolio.”According to Damen Shipyards…

The high-powered tug Spartan joined the Seabulk fleet, featuring a fully integrated hybrid propulsion plant from Berg Propulsion. The tug is already operational at Port Arthur following delivery by Master Boat Builders, and the Robert Allan-designed RApport 3000 vessel is the first of two 90-ton bollard pull tugs using the Berg package, with the second due in service in Q3 2022.In addition to Berg MTA 628 azimuthing thrusters, Berg VS3 variable frequency drives with motors, and its own hybrid control system…

When markets expand niches are created, goes the logic. For builders of tugs, that market is “floating gas” and the expanding use of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, as a fuel. In support of LNG, there’ll be more oceangoing tug duty — the new floating storage and regasification units, or FSRUs, mean busier LNG carriers, and LNG cargo owners have an interest in tug escorts that share their “carbon footprint”. Still, new emissions rules offer ways to keep using refinery products, and the work of master tug designers suggests the new breeds of tugs are about more than fuel.

Iskes Towage & Salvage took delivery of the Bernardus, the first Damen ASD 2810 Hybrid, Damen announced in a press release today, stating the delivery represents a turning point for the tug industry as operators and port authorities demand innovative solutions to rising fuel costs and stricter emissions regulations. Based in IJmuiden near Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Iskes has been operating a conventional Damen ASD Tug 2810 since November 2011. “We already had a very good experience with our existing Damen ASD 2810…

American maritime holding companies Foss Marine Holdings announced that effective immediately it will merge all of its operations and resources under a single name: Foss Maritime Company. Today, Foss Marine Holdings' wholly owned subsidiaries - Foss Maritime, AMNAV, Young Brothers, Hawaiian Tug & Barge and Cook Inlet Tug & Barge - operate what they say is the country's largest coastal tug and barge fleet. Effective immediately, Foss Marine Holdings will merge with Foss Maritime, whose lines of business include two shipyards, harbor services, ocean towing, marine engineering and others.

“We believe there is strong demand for a hybrid technology to improve fuel efficiency and to help customers comply with increasingly stringent emissions regulations. By combining our core expertise, GE and the C-MAR Group can effectively meet customer needs with this new hybrid technology,” Manison added. GE and the C-MAR Group unveiled its alliance today during the International Tug & Salvage Convention, an industry trade show being held in Singapore. According to Ron Murray…

When heavy ships are maneuvered in rough waters with a small crew, or oil tankers are escorted through narrow confined channels, the strength and reliability of a tug boat's towline is paramount to safety and efficiency. Tugboats require ship-assist ropes that are extraordinarily strong, yet light enough for a crew of only a few to handle. Tugboat operators around the world have found a solution: Plasma ropes manufactured from Honeywell's Spectra fiber. Made by the Puget Sound Rope Corp. with a unique, patented 12 x 12 braided construction, these are some of the world's strongest synthetic ropes for their weight and are so light, they float. "Puget Sound's 12 x 12 construction method has proved to be a remarkable innovation," said Joel Altus, Foss Maritime's supervisor of vessel rigging.

Port Everglades Towing in January celebrated its 43rd year of service to Port Everglades and Broward County. The company is a division of Hvide Marine, Inc., which was recently renamed Seabulk International, Inc. Founded on Jan. 23, 1958 by the late Hans Hvide and three partners, Port Everglades Towing began its franchised operation with two tugs. At the time, there were fewer than a thousand ship calls a year (fewer than three a day) at Port Everglades, and the port's annual revenues had just topped $1 million. Today, by comparison, Port Everglades receives nearly 6,000 ship calls a year (about 16 a day); has annual revenues of more than $75 million, and services nearly three million cruise passengers annually.

Markey Machinery Co., Inc. of Seattle,Washington has supplied equipment onboard Crowley's tug Response. The bow of the tug is fitted with a WYW-20-48 hydraulic combination winch/windlass with a 1-1/4" anchor wildcat, and soft-line storage drum. Adjacent to the main hawser winch is a type DEPC-42 electric deck-winch for 350 ft. of soft-line, used for tie-up and basic barge-work (thus protecting the main line from general-purpose wear and tear) The DESS-52 250 HP Electric Hawser Winch represents a major leap forward in Escort Tug technology, providing the Captain with the ability to devote his attention to utilizing all of the tug's potential, and leaving the Hawser Winch to handle the line.

Eight new Z-Tech tugboats are in store for the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) to bolster Canal capacity and provide enhanced towing power. As the number of Panamax size vessel transits increase, the new, more powerful tugboats will provide 82 percent more towing power to navigate these larger vessels. The new tugboats will replace eight of the Canal's current fleet of 24. Three of the new tugboats are scheduled to be delivered in December 2006 and five in January 2008. Commissioned by PSA Marine, the new tugboats were designed by Robert Allan Limited. Representing a breakthrough in tug technology, the Z-Tech, as the new design has been named, combines both the handling of a tractor-style tug and an Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) tug. Each Z-Tech tug measures 89 ft. in length overall and 37 ft.