Tug News Roundup | December 10 – Belgian and Japanese electric tugs, Russian inland pusher and more
Deliveries include harbour tugs for US, Maltese and Belgian operators and an inland pusher for a Russian state-owned company. A Japanese partnership meanwhile begins work to develop a new battery-powered tug that will serve two of Japan's busiest ports.
Suderman and Young welcomes new tug to fleet
Houston-based towage operator Suderman and Young has taken delivery of a new harbour tug from Master Boat Builders of Alabama.
Like earlier sister Eva, which was delivered in 2023, Artemis has an LOA of 85 feet (25.9 metres), a beam of 38.5 feet (11.7 metres), and two Caterpillar 3512E 2,213hp (1,650kW) engines driving Schottel propellers to deliver a bollard pull of over 57 tons (52 tonnes).
The tug was designed by Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd to comply with ABS class rules.
New tugs to serve Belgium's Port of Antwerp-Bruges
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium recently took delivery of six new 25-metre RSD harbour tugs. This number includes one of the first fully electric tugs to be operated in a European port.
The remaining five tugs are also capable of low-emission operations, thanks to the installation of NOx reduction systems that ensure compliance with IMO Tier III standards.
Russia's State Transport Leasing Company welcomes new pusher tug to fleet
Russia's State Transport Leasing Company (STLC) recently took delivery of a new inland pusher tug from Cherepovets Shipbuilding Plant (CSP), a shipyard located in the city of Nizhny Novgorod in western Russia.
Ingener Singer belongs to the Project TSK.395 series of tugs built by CSP for various local operators.
The all-steel tug has an LOA of 22.3 metres, a beam of 7.4 metres, a draught of 1.5 metres, a depth of 2.84 metres, a displacement of 100 tonnes, and space for eight crewmembers. Two diesel engines with a total rated output of 440 kW deliver a service speed of just over nine knots and a maximum endurance of 108 hours, allowing the tug to sail on near-uninterrupted point-to-point voyages when pushing or towing barges even under mild winter conditions.
MedTug's Malta subsidiary welcomes new harbour tug to fleet
Tug Malta, a subsidiary of towage specialist the MedTug Group, formally welcomed a new RSD tug to its fleet in a ceremony on Wednesday, December 4.
Med Aldebaran measures 25 metres long and can deliver a bollard pull of 80 tonnes. A selective catalytic reduction system ensures compliance with IMO Tier III NOx emissions standards.
K Line subsidiary to lead development of new electric tug
Japanese shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), through its consolidated subsidiary Daito Corporation, will lead the development of a new electric tug powered by a large-capacity lithium-ion battery.
Development of the new tug will be undertaken in collaboration with Japanese shipbuilders Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) and Daizo Corporation.
