Tug and Salvage Vessel News Roundup | July 26 – Canadian and Polish newbuilds plus a future US Navy salvage ship

New tugs have been delivered to operators in Canada and Poland as the US Navy unveils the name of a future towing, salvage, and rescue vessel. Another Canadian operator meanwhile places orders for new dual-fuel tugs designed by a compatriot naval architecture firm.

Canada’s HaiSea Marine welcomes electric tug to fleet

Canadian towage company HaiSea Marine, a partnership of the Haisla Nation and shipping line Seaspan, has taken delivery of the first in a new series of hybrid electric tugs.

Designed by Robert Allan Ltd, HaiSea Wamis will be used to service LNG carriers that call at LNG Canada’s new export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia.

The tug measures 28.4 metres long and boasts a battery capacity of 6,102 kWh, which has shore charging capability and can deliver a bollard pull of 70 tonnes. The tug is designed to operate on battery power alone if needed.

New tugs to serve Poland’s Port of Gdansk

Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam has handed over two new harbour tugs to WUZ Port and Maritime Services, a marine services company operating out of the Port of Gdansk in Poland.

Both Mars and Ares measure approximately 28 metres long and are equipped for ship handling and firefighting, differing mainly in beam size and in bollard pull. Mars has a bollard pull of 60 tonnes while Ares is capable of delivering 82 tonnes.

Albwardy Damen in the UAE will deliver a third 28-metre tug to WUZ before the end of the year.

Kotug Canada orders methanol-fuelled tugs

Kotug Canada has awarded a Turkish shipyard a contract for the construction of two methanol-fuelled escort tugs in a series.

The dual-fuel capable tugs will be designed by Robert Allan Ltd. Each will have a length of 44 metres and a mechanical cross link system between the azimuth thrusters to enable a single engine to drive both propellers, thus reducing the fuel consumption and the running hours of the main engines and generators.

Following the tugs’ scheduled delivery in 2025, they will escort tankers from the harbour limits of the Port of Vancouver to the open Pacific Ocean through the commercial shipping lanes of the Salish Sea

Future US Navy salvage ship to honour environmental leader Billy Frank Jr.

US Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro has confirmed that a future Navajo-class towing, salvage, and rescue ship (T-ATS) will be named USNS Billy Frank Jr. in honour of a Native American environmental leader and treaty rights activist.

Frank, who died in 2014, was a member of the Nisqually tribe in Washington. He gained fame in the 1960s and the 1970s for his role in upholding the rights of Native Americans to fish in their traditional waters amid intense discrimination and for later becoming chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

The ocean-going tug, salvage, and rescue ships will be designed to support the navy’s fleet operations. Each T-ATS will have a multi-mission common hull platform capable of towing heavy ships.

The vessels will be capable of supporting a variety of missions including oil spill response, humanitarian assistance, search and rescue (SAR), and surveillance.

The future Billy Frank Jr and four other T-ATS will be built by Austal USA.