Svitzer has turned to shipyards in China and Turkey to construct nine new tugboats, reports Riviera.
Escort-class tugboats
Med Marine is building four escort-class tugboats at the Eregli Shipyard to support an offshore LNG terminal in Greece following the Svitzer order.
These azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugs will operate at Gastrade’s Alexandroupolis independent natural gas system and terminal for at least 15 years.
Duties will include towage, manoeuvring and docking LNG carriers and supporting the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) that will be linked to a pipeline system connected to the Greek national gas transmission system.
Svitzer purchased these new tugs after winning a 15-year contract to support the terminal. A Svitzer spokesperson confirmed to International Tug & Salvage these tugs will be built to Robert Allan’s RAStar 2800 design with 80-85 tonnes of bollard pull.
The AP Moller-Maersk subsidiary said it would provide four new ASD tugboats, fully manned by Greek crew, to assist the FSRU and the carriers delivering LNG and provide berthing, unberthing, navigation assistance and other terminal services including fire-fighting, pollution control and transferring pilots.
Svitzer will also provide support and station-keeping services to the FSRU during the initial installation, expected in 2024.
About the contract
In another fleet renewal, Svitzer has ordered four escort tugs from Cheoy Lee Shipyards and one from Med Marine to operate in one of the world’s largest iron ore export ports in Australia.
This follows Svitzer winning a contract from mining conglomerate BHP to provide five tugboats to escort dry bulk carriers at Port Hedland, Western Australia.
BHP will charter these five hybrid propulsion tugboats from the AP Moller-Maersk subsidiary for five years, with options to extend the hire for another five years.
Construction of these RAstar 2800 design tugboats is already well underway and the first is scheduled to be delivered mid-2024.
These 28-m tugboats will have 80 tonnes of bollard pull, FiFi1 fire-fighting systems, 4,700 kW of propulsion power, a top speed of 13 knots and Schottel’s SYDrive-M thrusters, which will enable the RAstar tugboats to run both thrusters on one engine, reducing carbon emissions as they are mobilised between jobs.
As these tugs are delivered, they will replace older vessels to enhance the capability of the existing fleet of 17 tugs at Port Hedland, which is the largest bulk port (by tonnage throughput) in Australia.
Riverside Marine subsidiary Rivtow manages 17 tugs for BHP in Port Hedland and three tugboats at the Hay Point Coal Terminal for BHP and Mitsubishi Alliance.
In a separate deal, Svitzer renewed its contract with APM Terminals Bahrain for the operation of two line boats that service vessels calling into Bahrain. The new contract runs until December 2027.
These boats serve coastal tankers and small vessels, including tugs and barges, providing connectivity and ensuring regional businesses continue to thrive.
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Source: Riviera
