Tugnology ties up in Amsterdam next week

That pioneering conference was itself organised at the request of delegates attending the ITS Convention in Rotterdam the previous year. They asked for a two day ‘no frills’ conference dealing solely with tugs, to take place during the intervening years of the ITS Convention. The ABR Company, publishers of International Tug & Salvage magazine, were happy to oblige.

Everyone who attended Tugnology ’07 agreed that the concept was perfect, offering delegates from a broad spectrum of tug related companies the opportunity to network, do business and hear an excellent selection of papers. This year’s event is already promising to deliver an equally good, if not better, opportunity to focus on tugs.

The era has long gone when the operator sketched his ideas on the back of an envelope and gave it to the local construction yard. Tug building and equipping is now a truly international experience as reflected in the pages of International Tug & Salvage. Naval architects, specialising in tug design, provide innovative solutions for shipyards and operators on a global basis, whilst the manufacturers of equipment, such as engines, thrusters, deck machinery, ropes and navigational aids, invest heavily in ongoing R&D programmes. It is beyond doubt an exciting time to be in the tug industry but it is becoming increasingly imperative that all involved, including operators, builders, designers, test facilities, regulatory authorities and equipment manufacturers are fully up to speed with the latest technological developments.

The best way of achieving this is to be at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel in the Netherlands on 19 and 20 May.

The organisers have planned an excellent programme of papers. During the conference sessions the emphasis is very much on discussion and to this end pre-prints of the majority of papers are made available via the event website to registered delegates two weeks prior to the start of the Conference so they can prepare questions. Delegates can then print out hard copies of the papers of most interest to them.

Alternate sessions of the Conference will be chaired by Mike Allen, ITS Convention Chairman, and Andy Smith, Managing Editor of International Tug & Salvage. The conference will be officially opened by Captain Jaap Lems, Chairman of the European Harbour Masters’ Committee, Chief Harbour Master of the Port of Rotterdam and State Harbour Master of the Rotterdam Rijnmond area, the Netherlands, who will also present the inaugural paper.

MJ’s Tugs & Towage correspondent Jack Gaston will be in attendance and will deliver a full report in a forthcoming issue of the magazine.