Multraship Expands Tug Fleet

Multraship has bought two newbuilding Azimuth Stern Drive tugs for delivery October 2007 and April 2008. The two multi-purpose tugs will be rated around 70 tonne bollard pull and are currently under construction at the Vega Denizcilik Sanayi Ve Tic. Ltd. Sti shipyard in Turkey.

“Demand for reliable towage services in the North Sea is strong and we are pleased that we will be able to expand our fleet of modern tugs by buying these two new vessels for early delivery,” says Leendert Muller, managing director of Multraship. “We also have two Carrousel tugs building for us in Malaysia, set for 2008/9 delivery, which will together with these two new multi purpose vessels give our River Scheldt-based fleet a substantial boost to capacity. It is very important for us to be able to deploy good fire fighting, salvage and oil pollution combating capacity rapidly in the busy Scheldt area.”

Both tugs will be 35.7 m loa, 12 m beam and will have a multi-role capability for harbour, escort and sea towage and also full firefighting and salvage roles. They will have FF1 fire fighting, Escort towage and Oil recovery notations. The first vessel will have two Caterpillar Engines, the second two ABC engines, delivering around 70 tonnes bollard pull through Z drive CP propellers. The vessels will have a double winch aft and a single winch forward and a free running speed of around 13 knots.