Macduff ship Design has seen a number of ASD tug deliveries over recent months and some interesting development work completed on future tug technology.
The most recent completion has been that of the 25m ASD harbour tug ‘PNT Bholu’. The vessel was built by Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works in partnership with Tor Group who provided a comprehensive design, material and supervisory support package. Following successful trials, the vessel has now been delivered to the Pakistan Navy where it has started service. The vessel is a 48 T bollard pull harbour tug and is powered by twin Cummins QSK50-M1 marine engines delivering 1529 Kw @1800 rpm. These each drive a Schottel SRP 360 FP azimuth thruster fitted with a 2200mm fixed pitch propeller. The vessel is fitted with a forward towing winches supplied by DMT and an aft towing bollard fitted with tow hook, and is fully FiFi equipped.
Further to this we have also seen over the past month the completion of the 30m ASD harbour tug ‘Abdul 11’. The vessel was built by Tor Group and following successful trials has now been delivered to the owner The Urban Region of the Future, in Saudi Arabia. The vessel is a 65 T bollard pull harbour and anchor handling tug and is powered by twin Cat 3516 marine engines delivering 2000 Kw @1600 rpm. These each drive a Kongsberg 205S azimuth thruster fitted with 2500mm fixed pitch propellers. The vessel is fitted with forward and aft towing winches supplied by DMT marine equipment who also supplied the small winches, capstans and chain stopper. The vessel is also designed to complete anchor handling duties with a stern roller and shark jaws, and is fully FiFi equipped.
The third recent delivery is a landmark design for Macduff Ship Design being the first vessel designed for an Indian owner and built by an Indian shipyard. The 21m ASD tug /service vessel, ‘River Pearl 10’, has been handed over to its owners Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Limited by Synergy Shipbuilders from their yard in Goa, following successful trials where the vessel exceeded the contract requirements of 10 knots speed and 10 T bollard pull. ‘River Pearl 10’ is designed as a multirole tug / service vessel with large open working deck aft, forward focsle and wheelhouse. The main propulsion is provided by twin Cummins KTA19 M3 engines delivering 500 Hp @ 1800 rpm through twin Hydromaster Z drive ASD units all supplied by Parikh Power. On deck there is a main aft towing bollard fitted with tow hook.
Late Summer also saw the delivery of a 30m ASD Harbour tug to its new owners PD Industries. The vessel was built by Tor Group international for their own operations in 2022 and has now been renamed as ’Dalton Hunter’ and delivered to its new owners on the East coast of Canada. The vessel is a 45 T Bollard pull harbour tug with forward winch and aft tow hook, and is fully FiFi equipped.
Further to these new vessel deliveries we have spent the past 6 months working closely within a consortium of companies including Harland and Wolff, Kongsberg and Echandia to develop the concept for a 25.5m 65 T bollard pull ASD battery electric harbour tug. The aim of the concept is to develop a vessel that will meet the needs of most in harbour tug operations within the UK in full electric mode. The vessel will be supplemented by two HVO driven generators for unusual operations including longer coastal voyages and tows to ensure a fully green solution to the requirements of this sector. It is hoped that this concept can be developed into a working demonstrator and onto a product that Harland and Wolff can market to the shipping industry. Beyond this exciting project we hope to be able to further develop the concept to apply to smaller and larger tugs and onto other vessel types.
