Canadian towage company HaiSea Marine, a joint venture business formed by the Haisla Nation of British Columbia and local shipping line Seaspan, has placed orders for two ASD escort tugs fitted with dual-fuel propulsion.
The tugs will be designed by Vancouver-based naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) as sisters of the 2024-built HaiSea Kermode (pictured) and HaiSea Warrior. Design work will be undertaken in compliance with American Bureau of Shipping class requirements.
HaiSea Marine will use the tugs primarily to escort gas carriers between the Pacific Ocean and British Columbia's coastal waters.
Upon completion, the tugs will each have a length of 40.2 metres, a moulded beam of 16 metres, a maximum draught of 7.1 metres, a moulded depth of six metres, a gross tonnage of 996, and a projected operational service life of 40 years.
The dual-fuel propulsion will deliver a bollard pull of more than 100 tonnes. The propulsion will also have the ability to generate indirect forces in escort of approximately 200 tonnes.
The tugs' engines will primarily run on LNG.
