Tug and Salvage Vessel News Roundup | December 27 – Deliveries to US and Russia, a newbuilding for Ireland and orders for Thames barge handling boats

Recent deliveries include a harbour tug for a Texas towing company and a multi-role vessel for Russia’s Marine Rescue Service. Construction continues on a new escort tug for an Irish port operator. Lastly, a UK-based waste management specialist places orders for additional inland workboats to support its River Thames operations.

Bay-Houston Towing receives tug from Alabama builder

Bay-Houston Towing Company of Texas has taken delivery of a new harbour tug from Coden, Alabama-based Master Boat Builders.

Designed by Robert Allan Ltd, the ABS-classed Hayden Grace is the first in a series to be built for the same owner. Its main area of operations is in Galveston.

The tug measures 85 by 38.5 feet (25.9 by 11.7 metres) and is powered by two Caterpillar 3512E engines driving Schottel Z-drive units. The propulsion delivers a bollard pull of 57 tons (52.5 tonnes) and a free running speed of 12.5 knots.

Russian Marine Rescue Service welcomes newbuild to towing and response fleet

Russia’s Akhtuba Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Plant has handed over a new tug to the country’s Marine Rescue Service.

The Project NE011 tug Nikolai Semenchenko will be used for a range of roles including towing, maintenance of aids to navigation, dredging and construction support, limited cargo transport, and firefighting in both inland and coastal waterways.

The ice-strengthened hull is capable of breaking through surface ice of up to 70 centimetres thick.

Turkish yard floats out escort tug for Irish Mainport Holdings

Turkish shipyard Med Marine has launched a new escort tug slated for Irish Mainport Holdings.

The Robert Allan Ltd-designed Celtic Treaty will measure 28 by 13 metres and will have accommodations for eight crewmembers. It will also have a bollard pull of 50 tonnes and a speed of 12.5 knots.

The tug’s delivery is scheduled for early 2023. It will replace the older Irish Mainport tug Celtic Rebel on the Shannon Foynes Estuary.

Celtic Treaty will be operated alongside Celtic Fergus, another Med Marine tug in the Irish Mainport fleet.

UK recycling company orders additional barge handling workboats

The Cory Group, a UK-based waste management and recycling company, has placed an order for two multi-purpose workboats to be built by the Damen Shipyards Group.

The vessels will be used to manoeuvre barges that will transport waste down the River Thames to Cory’s sorting facilities for either recycling or energy recovery.

The new vessels will join four earlier workboats from the same series that Cory bought ten years prior to undertake the same role. The newbuilds will look similar to their sisters but will feature upgrades such as IMO Tier III-compliant MAN dual-fuel engines with compact selective catalytic reduction systems and a fender arrangement that will provide all-round protection to the topsides.

A dedicated aft control station will give improved sightlines back to the stern. Other customisations include removing the passage between the engine room and the wheelhouse to free up space for the aft control station and reduce sound levels in the wheelhouse.