Out Association offers an appropriate framework for exchange of information and ideas among members and to create an enabling environment whereby member can interface with one another in the port, transport and trade spaces. Read More about “About”…
Port Management Association of
Eastern & Southern Africa
Eastern & Southern Africa
Sanmar to Build 5 Tugs to Serve LNG Canada
May 25, 2021
Sanmar Shipyards has signed a contract with HaiSea Marine for the build and delivery of two (2) LNG Fuelled Escort Tugs and three (3) Electric Battery Powered Harbour Tugs which will provide ship-assist and escort towing services to LNG carriers calling at LNG Canada’s export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada.
Following an initial tender process which began in 2018, HaiSea Marine has awarded the contract for all five (5) tugs to Sanmar plus an option for a 6th. The LNG tugs will be built in Sanmar Shipyards Altinova while the Electric Tugs will be built in Sanmar Shipyards Tuzla.
The tugs have been designed by Vancouver-based Robert Allan Ltd. (RAL). The larger RAstar 4000 DF vessels will be the most powerful Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) escort tugs on Canada’s west coast, and will rank among the world’s highest-performing escort tugs.
At 40 metres in length and with over 100 tonnes of bollard pull, they will generate indirect escort forces of approximately 200 tonnes. ASD tugs are equipped with two stern engines capable of generating a 360°, all-directional propulsion force.
The RAstar 4000 DF escort tugs will perform the majority of their missions using natural gas as their primary fuel. This allows major emissions reductions compared to conventional diesel tugs of the same power, in compliance with the most stringent emissions standards in the international marine industry. In addition to these environmental benchmarks, the escort tugs will be capable of pollution response/oil spill recovery, fire fighting of marine terminal fires, person overboard response, and emergency towage of vessels.
At 28 metres in length, with approximately 70 tonnes bollard pull and 6000 kWh of battery capacity each, the first-of-class ElectRA 2800 battery-electric harbour tugs will perform all of their ship-berthing and unberthing missions on battery power alone. Bollard pull is primarily used for measuring the strength of tugboats, with the largest commercial harbour tugs having around 60 to 65 tonnes-force.
With ample clean hydroelectric power available in Kitimat, the harbour tugs will be able to recharge from dedicated shore charging facilities at their berths between jobs, effectively resulting in zero emissions.
Sanmar Shipyards, an Associate Member of PMAESA, has been producing tugboats and providing services for numerous countries around the world for four decades. The company celebrated its 40th year anniversary in 2016. Sanmar builds vessels at its two custom-built, state-of-the-art yards located in Turkey’s shipbuilding heartland.