VESSEL REVIEW | BT Mazdoor – Heavy-duty buoy tender to serve Pakistan’s Port Qasim

Turkish builder Med Marine has handed over a new buoy handling vessel ordered by the Port Qasim Authority (PQA), which operates out of Pakistan’s Arabian Sea coast.

BT Mazdoor was built in fulfilment of a contract awarded to Med Marine in 2022. The vessel has a length of 45 metres (150 feet), a beam of 11.8 metres (38.7 feet), a draught of 3.7 metres (12 feet), a depth of five metres (16 feet), and space for 16 crewmembers. The propulsion will deliver a service speed of 12 knots.

Built to withstand challenging offshore conditions

The PQA selected the buoy tender for the critical task of managing navigational buoys and conducting essential conservancy operations within the 45-kilometre (28-mile) stretch of the Port Qasim harbour and channel. This vessel possesses the durability necessary for operating in the challenging sea and weather conditions of the Arabian Sea.

The vessel will help PQA personnel retrieve buoys from the open sea, clean them, perform necessary maintenance, and redeploy them into the water. The frequency of these operations was established as weekly and monthly, rather than daily.

“The client’s primary requirement was the handling and maintenance of open water buoys in Pakistan,” Melis Ucuncu, Director of Business Development at Med Marine, told Baird Maritime. “To meet their needs, manoeuvrability and stability were identified as critical factors. Accordingly, we developed a detailed design and production plan tailored to their specifications, and we successfully delivered the vessel under optimal conditions.”

Ucuncu added that the PQA sought to renew its fleet as the vessel previously used for buoy maintenance had become outdated and was no longer capable of performing its functions safely. With the completion of BT Mazdoor, the owner successfully upgraded its fleet and retired the old boat.

Project insights to be applied to future vessel designs

The vessel features a complex arrangement and advanced equipment, which presented a challenge, but Med Marine’s engineering team ensured the project's seamless execution.

“The primary challenge was achieving stability, as the vessel’s most critical feature was its massive crane,” said Ucuncu. “Maintaining stability was therefore our top priority throughout the design and construction process.”

Ucuncu added that the most critical insight acquired over the course of the project was understanding the impact of buoy vessels’ operational profiles on stability and the intricacies of detailed vessel design.

“This expertise will play a pivotal role in the construction of similar ships we plan to undertake in the future,” she told Baird Maritime. “Moreover, the project allowed us to broaden our experience while enhancing both our design capabilities and supplier network. With these advancements, Med Marine is positioned to produce not only buoy vessels, but also other specialised ships tailored for similar applications in the future.”

BT Mazdoor was built at Med Marine's Eregli Shipyard.