VESSEL REVIEW | Engage Maverick – Australia's Engage Marine places multi-role harbour tug into service
Western Australia-based towage operator Engage Marine recently welcomed a new ASD harbour tug to its fleet.
Engage Maverick will be operated primarily in Sydney Harbour, where she will be available for escort, ship assist, and emergency response duties in port as well as offshore waters.
Compact, agile platform for harbour waters
The new tug has a steel hull, an LOA of 27.59 metres (90.52 feet), a beam of 12.93 metres (42.42 feet), a draught of 3.8 metres (12 feet), a depth of 5.15 metres (16.9 feet), a gross tonnage of 388, and accommodation for 10 crewmembers.
Two Caterpillar 3512C TA HD/D IMO Tier III main diesel engines that each produce 1,902 kW (2,550 hp) drive Kongsberg Maritime US 255 fixed-pitch propellers to deliver a speed of 12.8 knots and bollard pulls of 81 tonnes and 74.5 tonnes ahead and astern, respectively.
Because of the ASD configuration, the tug is highly manoeuvrable, making her suitable for operation in busy port waters.
Full electronics and deck equipment suites
The electronics include a radar, an echosounder and a speedlog from Furuno, a MaxSea plotter, a Simrad autopilot, two Sailor VHF radios, Cassens and Plath and JRC compasses, a Gill Instruments anemometer, and an EPIRB and a SART from Jotron. These and the onboard systems draw power from two Caterpillar C4.4 TA 86kW diesel generator sets.
The wheelhouse has all-round visibility as well as upward-facing windows to aid the helm operator while assisting larger vessels.
The deck machinery includes a hydraulically driven, two-speed double drum forward winch and two anchors. The fendering consists of D type fenders at the sides, cylindrical fenders at the transom corners, as well as cylindrical and W type block fenders at the bow to provide all-round protection from impact damage during ship handling operations.
The tug is also fitted with two Fire Fighting Systems monitors, each capable of discharging up to 1,200 cubic metres (260,000 gallons) per hour.
Crew facilities ideal for sustained operations
Azcue supplied the tug’s two general service pumps, the oily-bilge water stripping pump, the clean lubrication oil pump and the fuel transfer pump while C.C. Jensen provided two fuel oil purifiers. Box and keel coolers are also installed.
The accommodation spaces are laid out in compliance with MLC 2006 standards and are fully insulated and air-conditioned. There are single cabins for the captain and the chief engineer and four double cabins for the remainder of the crew.
The other facilities include a galley, a mess/dayroom, a dry stores area, a ship’s office, and sanitary facilities.
Engage Maverick was built in compliance with Bureau Veritas class requirements including the escort tug, unrestricted navigation, COMF-NOISE 3, and COMF-VIB 3 notations.
