Hydrogen-powered Tug Hydrotug 1 Arrives in Ostend

The word's first hydrogen-powered tugboat recently arrived in the port of Ostend where it will undergo further work before entering service in 2023.

Built at Armón Shipyards in Navia Spain, the Hydrotug 1 was launched in May, and in the following months remaining construction works on the vessel were completed.

The groundbreaking vessel is part of an integrated greening program for the Port of Antwerp-Bruges fleet and is being deployed by shipping and logistics group CMB (Compagnie Maritime Belge) as an important step in the transition to a climate-neutral port by 2050. 

The Hydrotug 1 consists of two BeHydro V12 dual fuel medium speed engines that can run on both hydrogen and traditional fuel. The Hydrotug 1 can store 415kg of compressed hydrogen in six stillages installed on deck and eliminates the emission's equivalent of 350 cars.

At the end of October, the tug arrived in the port of Ostend, where the hydrogen system will be further installed and tested. Ostend was chosen because the tug can use the hydrogen bunkering facilities of CMB.TECH's Hydrocat 48 there.

The goal is to have the Hydrotug 1 fully operational in Antwerp in the first quarter of 2023.