Tugs News

Maritime services company Boluda Towage on Wednesday announced it has acquired France-based Les Abeilles International.Les Abeilles provides maritime rescue response services, with coverage along the French and Northern European coasts. Boluda Towage said the acquisition will enhance its capacity to act in case of offshore spills, with highly qualified equipment and state-of-the-art technology. Boluda Towage will also emerge as a new player in the wind energy markets, supporting the construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms.Through the acquisition…

Caterpillar Marine announced plans to deploy its first set of field demonstrator methanol dual-fuel 3500E marine engines in 2026.Cat 3500E marine engines will utilize innovative dual-fuel technology that leverages proven diesel fuel systems and supports vessels’ low-pressure – below 10 bar – fuel systems. The methanol dual-fuel Cat 3500E engine targets the same performance and durability as the current 3500E diesel engine while meeting emission standards and delivering 100% power.Following significant advances in the development of this technology…

Boluda Towage announced it has reached a deal to acquire British company SMS Towage Ltd.The acquisition involves taking over the harbor and offshore towage services and marine operations, together with the management, office staff, crew, and fleet, based in the United Kingdom. SMS is presently operating in the U.K. ports/regions of, Tyne, Tees, Humber, Portsmouth, South Wales and Belfast with a fleet of 20 tugs. According to family-owned Boluda Towage, the addition of SMS will strengthen its position in the U.K.…

CMB.TECH and Damen have signed collaboration agreement for four hydrogen-powered tugs.Built by Damen, the vessels will use CMB.TECH's dual fuel hydrogen technology that will significantly reduce emissions.The agreement was signed on May 23, 2024, the same day the classification society Lloyd’s Register presented CMB.TECH and Damen with an approval in principle (AiP) for the hydrogen solution that will be installed in the tugs.The dual fuel hydrogen ASD Tugs 2812 FF-H2, with 80-tonnes bollard pull…

Members of the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry trade group the American Waterways Operators elected a new slate of leaders last week during the association's Spring Convention and Annual Membership Meeting.Kelly Teichman, Executive Chairman, T&T Marine, was elected Chairman, succeeding outgoing Chairman Rick Iuliucci, Vice President, the Vane Brothers Company.In addition, Patrick Sutton, Chief Operating Officer, American Commercial Barge Line, was elected Vice Chair; and Brian Hughes, Vice President Operations & Sales, Hughes Bros., Inc., was re-elected Treasurer.

Damen Shipyards and SAFEEN Group, part of AD Ports Group, have signed an agreement for the lease and purchase of an all-electric Damen RSD-E Tug 2513.The RSD-E Tug 2513 will be the first fully electric tug to operate in the Middle East, according to Damen.The tug, which is 25 metres in length with bollard pull of 70 tonnes, is capable of manoeuvring even the largest vessels and can undertake two or more assignments before being recharged, which takes two hours.Following the successful launch of the class in August 2022 in the Port of Auckland…

Turkish shipbuilder Med Marine announced it has delivered the MED-A2565 class Robert Allan Ramparts 2500-W design tugboat for Arrendadora Continental, S.A.The newly built tugboat, named Monterrico by its owner, has been delivered to Guatemala and started her duty in supporting Arrendadora Continental’s marine operations. The vessel will support Arrendadora Continental in their horbour operations, working off a forward winch for ship handling, towing, pushing, mooring, firefighting…

The Netherlands based marine towage provider KOTUG announced it has successfully piloted its innovative Tug Drone technology, performing a line transfer using an aerial drone.KOTUG said it worked with another Dutch company, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) experts SKEYE, to perform a line transfer over 400 meters from a tugboat to the helideck of Heerema’s crane vessel Thialf.For serveral years, KOTUG has been exploring the use of aerial drones to improve safety and efficiency, and…

A new feeder fleet of two tugs and two barges dedicated to serving a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) from Maersk Supply Service (MSS) has been ordered by Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) to ABS class.The innovative system is designed to deliver components to the construction site, allowing the WTIV to remain on location, promising faster wind farm installations. The WTIV will also be ABS-classed.Designed to serve the U.S. offshore wind market, the novel articulated tug/barge…

Tianjin Port has held a naming ceremony for its two latest RAmparts 3500 ASD tugs, Jingang Lun 36 and Jingang Lun 37, designed by Robert Allan Ltd.During a six-day extensive sea trial, Jingang Lun 36 and Jingang Lun 37 completed comprehensive self-control auto navigation tests which included automatic searching, approaching, and accompanying a target vessel at sea.The tugs were designed and constructed to comply with all applicable rules and regulations of CCS. This is reportedly…

China's Tianjin Port last month held a naming ceremony for its two latest "intelligent" tugs, Jingang Lun 36 and Jingang Lun 37.The new RAmparts 3500 ASD tugs were designed by Robert Allan Ltd. and built by Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard, and their delivery makr sthe culmination of a project initiated between the designer and the port technical department back in 2022.The 34.6-meter-long (LOA) vessels are the second generation of intelligent tugs for the port as part of the ambitious plan to create an intelligent port.

Marine towage provider Svitzer announced it has taken delivery of the final tug in a series of six built for its operations in Brazil.Built by Brazilian shipyard Rio Maguari, the new vessel Svitzer Babitonga is an Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) tugboat from the 2300 Rampart Series, designed by Robert Allan Ltd. These sister vessels boast a top speed of 13 knots, an overall length of 23.2 meters, and a bollard pull of 70 tonnes. Svitzer Babitonga is also equipped with Fifi-1 firefighting…

New Orleans-based marine towage provider Crescent Towing announced it has taken delivery of its newest tugboat, Angus R. Cooper II.The new escort tug was constructed at Blakeley BoatWorks in Mobile, Ala., to be added to Crescent's ship assist operations in the Port of Savannah, Georgia. It is powered by twin Caterpillar 3516E EPA Tier 4 engines, each producing 3,004HP to power Kongsberg 255 fixed pitch azimuthing drives (z-drives).This vessel is named in recognition of The Cooper Group’s longtime Chairman and CEO.

Damen Shipyards has launched the second of its fully electric RSD-E Tugs 2513 at Damen Song Cam Shipyard.The tug is being built for the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, together with five conventional RSD Tugs 2513.When delivered later this year, it will be the first fully electric tug to operate in European waters.The port was one of the first to operate a conventional RSD Tug 2513 following Damen’s release of the vessel onto the market in 2018.The Port of Antwerp-Bruges, one of the busiest in Europe…

McAllister Towing recently ordered a Markey Machine winch and capstan for the fourth ASD tug of a class-build series being constructed at Washburn & Doughty Associates.Markey is providing a DEPCF-52-75 Class II bow hawser winch, which includes the Markey Render/RecoverⓇ system, a line-display screen and a stainless-steel brake drum. A two-speed CEW-60 electric capstan is also included.“Markey is consistently reliable, a great vendor to work with, and steady. We really wanted electric winches with infinitely-variable speed…

The U.S. Coast Guard said it is seeking to fill 18 vacancies on the National Towing Safety Advisory Committee, which advises the Secretary of Homeland Security, via the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard on matters relating to shallow-draft inland navigation, coastal waterway navigation, and towing safety.The Coast Guard said it will consider applications for the following 18 vacancies:Seven members to represent the barge and towing industry, reflecting a regional geographic balance.One…

SCHOTTEL said it will equip four new 1810-series ASD stock tugs from the Dutch Damen Group with the SCHOTTEL RudderPropeller type SRP 270. The new multipurpose tugs will have a bollard pull of 30 tonnes each and ensure excellent maneuverability with a compact size of just 18.25 meters in length and a beam of 10.23 meters.The power rating of the SRP 270 amounts to 1,000 kilowatts per unit, with a propeller diameter of 1.9 meters. Each tug will be equipped with two units. SCHOTTEL DuroVario LS slipping clutches will allow for smooth acceleration and improved handling of the thrusters.

Uzmar Shipyard in Istanbul, Turkey has launched a first-of-its-kind tractor tug for Turkish operator BOTAS.The vessel, named the Sultanhani, was launched on February 27 as the world’s first Voith propelled tractor tug with liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual fuel propulsion. It is the first of two hulls being built for BOTAS to Robert Allan Ltd.’s TRAktor V3900-DF design.The TRAktor V3900-DF builds on Robert Allan Ltd.’s experience designing both Voith tractor tugs and LNG dual fuel tugs.

If nothing else, building vessels in the U.S. is a complicated business.In a session on the domestic shipbuilding marketplace, at Marine Money’s late-November 2023 conference held in New Orleans, Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards (with more than a dozen facilities, in Mississippi and Louisiana), described his company’s architecture as a “three-legged stool approach: commercial newbuilds, government newbuilds and repair/conversion capabilities”.On the same panel…

Jennifer Carpenter joined The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association representing the inland and coastal tugboat, towboat and barge industry, in August 1990 and became its president and CEO in January 2020. She highlights some of the greatest focus areas for the 80-year-old trade group—simultaneously looking at both the present day and the road ahead.The towboat, tug and barge industry is in a period of rapid evolution. How is AWO—now in its 80th year…

Marine towage provider Svitzer Europe announced it has appointed Sara Gerdner Kalle as its new Chief Commercial Officer, effective April 1, 2024. With a background spanning nearly 25 years in the logistics and supply chain industry, Gerdner Kalle will lead the Commercial function for Svitzer Europe, focusing on nurturing long-term stakeholder relationships, spearheading commercial development, and driving growth initiatives. The company said she will be pivotal in harnessing Svitzer’s commitment to digitalization to help the business and its customers to move forwards to deliver safe…

Turkish tugboat builder and operator Sanmar announced it has launched a new vessel in its exclusive Kocaçay Series of high-powered escort tugs, scheduled to be delivered to Italian customer Rimorchiatori Laziali in May.Kocaçay lX is based on the RAstar 3200SX design developed especially for Sanmar by Canadian naval architects Robert Allan Ltd.The tug’s design is primarily intended for escort operations in exposed areas where exceptional seakeeping capabilities are essential. Following its launch…

Crowley Maritime Corporation has owned and operated a lot of vessels since its founding in 1892. But the latest vessel to join its fleet is unlike any other that has come before it.Crowley’s new harbor tug, eWolf, is unique in that it runs 100% powered by batteries, not diesel engines, meaning it produces zero emissions and nearly no noise. Not only is the vessel the first fully electric tug in the Crowley fleet, but it is also the first of its kind in the United States.Faced with stricter regulations and commercial pressure to prioritize environmental…