Damen Shipyards Group has been selected by towage operator Svitzer to provide four ATD 2412 tugs as part of the latter’s ongoing fleet renewal programme.
All the four tugs are being built at Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam, and the first two are scheduled to be delivered next month.
Christened as Svitzer Maimon and Svitzer Beata, the two tugs will be deployed by Svitzer for port towage operations at its Dominican Republic joint venture with Remolcadores Dominicanos.
The building of the remaining two tugs is expected to be completed next year.
The vessels are based on Damen’s 24m Azimuth Tractor Drive (ATD) design.
The tugs are compact and feature a heavy-duty structure, which allows it to yield a tonne bollard pull of more than 65t. They are propelled by twin Caterpillar 3516C main engines and can achieve a speed of 12k.
The Damen-build tugs have a powerful aft winch and are suited for continued and effective harbour towage activities.
Damen had also partnered with Svitzer and MTU Friedrichshafen in developing the Reverse Stern Drive Compressed Natural Gas (RSD CNG) tug.
Claimed to be the first such product, the new RSD CNG tug prototype will be designed and developed to deliver reduced fuel costs and lower emissions, while making use of high power.
Earlier this week, Damen and Bibby Marine Services laid the keel of the first service operations vessel, Bibby WaveMaster 1, at Damen’s yard in Romania.
Image: Representatives of Svitzer and Damen during the agreement. Photo: courtesy of Damen Shipyards Group.
