Singaporean harbour tug owner/operator PSA Marine has taken delivery of two Robert Allan Ltd-designed RAmparts 3200-class tugs.
Named 'Rubicon' and 'Righteous', the vessels were built by Hong Kong shipbuilder Cheoy Lee Shipyards and a Guangzhou-based Chinese shipyard, respectively.
The Canadian naval architect worked closely with the shipbuilders in the design and development phases of the two tugs, which are specialised for ship-assist service and coastal towing.
Although carrying the same RAmparts 3200 designation, the 'Rubicon' was uniquely designed for Cheoy Lee Shipyards to suit its production facilities and client base. The most notable feature of the design is a shallower draught than standard, a frequent requirement in Asia.
Meanwhile the 'Righteous' is a RAmparts 3200W design with slightly different characteristics.
The principal particulars of the two vessels include overall lengths of 32 metres, beams of 12 metres, depths of 5.4 metres and a maximum navigational draught of over five metres.
The vessels have been built and classed by Lloyd's Register of Shipping. The propulsion machinery of the two vessels are identical, consisting of a pair of Niigata 6L28HX main engines, each producing 1,654kW and driving Niigata ZP31 Z-Pellers.
On trials, both the 'Rubicon' and 'Righteous' exceeded all performance expectations with bollard pulls greater than 65 tonnes and a speed of 12.8 knots.
