New harbour tugs have been delivered to operators in Japan and California. Orders have meanwhile been placed for the construction of new tugs for a Chinese port operator, a Dutch offshore services company, and the French Navy.
A ceremony was recently held to mark the laying of the keels of four new offshore terminal support tugs ordered by Smit Lamnalco.
The diesel-electric tugs will support ExxonMobil's terminal operations in Guyana under contract to Smit Lamnalco. The tugs were designed by Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd, which said the first examples are scheduled for delivery in November 2027.
When the contract was announced in September 2025, the lead vessel was expected in early 2028, with the other three to follow in subsequent quarters.
Each tug will have an LOA of 60 metres, a beam of 16.4 metres, and a total installed power of 9,680 kW. The design provides 135 tonnes of bollard pull ahead, 120 tonnes astern, and a maximum speed of 14.5 knots.
France's defence procurement agency, the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA), has awarded Piriou a contract for 16 tugs for the French Navy.
The contract, announced on October 29, covers four firm vessels, options for 12 more and in-service support. The firm vessels will be built at Concarneau in Brittany, with the first tugs to reach naval bases from 2028.
The DGA said the design is taken from Piriou's civilian tug range and adapted for manoeuvring nuclear submarines, an approach it said allows series production and shorter delivery times.
The tugs will serve port-support services at naval bases in mainland France and the overseas territories.
Japan’s Tsuneishi Miho Shipbuilding delivered the 5,000hp (3,700kW) tug Tenjin Maru to local operator Kambara Tug Marine Service on Thursday, October 22.
The steel tug will tow floating cranes, assist large vessels during berthing and unberthing, and support mooring operations.
During trials, she achieved a bollard pull of 65.8 tonnes and a maximum speed of 14.13 knots. The builder said this towing performance is sufficient for floating-crane towage.
Tenjin Maru has an LOA of 37.4 metres excluding fenders, a moulded beam of 10.5 metres, a moulded depth of 4.5 metres, and a gross tonnage of 288.
US operator Crowley has taken delivery of a new chartered tug, which will assist ships and provide escorts in the California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The company announced on October 13 that the 82-foot (25-metre) Venture was built by Diversified Marine on the Columbia River. The US-built tug is Jones Act compliant.
Venture is powered by twin Caterpillar 3516 EPA Tier IV-compliant engines with a combined output of more than 6,000 hp (4,474 kW), driving azimuth stern drive (ASD) thrusters. Crowley said the tug can achieve a bollard pull of up to 95 tons.
The vessel will support the transit, docking and undocking of cargo ships in the San Pedro Bay port complex, where Crowley's ship assist fleet operates.
Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) has been awarded a contract to design a new ship handling and firefighting tug for Ningbo Port in China, the company said on Wednesday, October 14.
The vessel will be built by Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard. She will have a length of approximately 38 metres and an estimated bollard pull of 87.5 tonnes.
The tug will have a FiFi2 firefighting setup as well as a dry chemical powder firefighting system.
"This combination will enable the tug to provide effective marine firefighting support while maintaining exceptional ship-handling performance in and around Ningbo Port," said RAL.