Recently delivered to her owners Bay-Houston Towing Co. of Galveston, Texas, USA, is the latest Z-Tech 7500-class tug 'Tristan K'.
This powerful new ship-handling/escort tug began her maiden voyage on June 9, 2011 for the destination of the recently commissioned LNG terminal in Cameron, Louisiana, where it will be operated by G&H Towing on behalf of the owners.
'Tristan K' was designed by Robert Allan of Vancouver, Canada, with input from Mike Nigro, Vice President of Engineering at G&H Towing, and his team. It is the eighth of this class of tugs for the same owner.
The Z-Tech 7500 design builds on that of its smaller cousins, the Z-Tech 4500, Z-Tech 6000 and Z-Tech 6500 classes. Since their introduction to the world market only a few years ago there are now a total of 50 Z-Tech tugs operating throughout South-East Asia, Australia, the Middle-East, in the Panama Canal and at US Navy bases in Japan and the United States.
'Tristan K' and its recently delivered sister tug 'Hercules' are classed for both harbour and coastal towing and for tanker escort duty, and were built to ABS Class notation A1 Towing Service, AMS, Escort, Fi-Fi 1.
Compared to the previous six Z-Tech 7500 tugs for the same operator, 'Tristan K' and Hercules are equipped with a different propulsion system and hawser winch. Propulsion comprises a pair of MTU 16V4000-M70 diesel engines; each rated 2,240kW at 2,000RPM, driving a Rolls-Royce US 255 Z-drive with a 2,800mm diameter propeller through a hollow, in-line shafting system. This combination delivers a bollard pull of 73 tonnes ahead, and provides a free running speed in excess of 13 knots, thereby satisfying the owner's performance objectives.
The tug is outfitted for a crew of six persons. The unique docking skeg fitted forward of each z-drive unit will considerably reduce dry docking time and costs for the operator during the tug's service lifetime.