And 14 Damen ASDs for Kuwait

The contract was won after an extensive process of yard pre-qualification and tender evaluation. Two tug designs are required, nine ASD 3212 of 80 tonnes bollard pull and five of the popular ASD 2810 of 50 tonnes bollard pull. Although based on existing Damen designs, these tugs have been extensively tailored to meet KOC’s exacting requirements on layout, systems and performance.

As part of KOC’s long term strategy for increasing the country’s export capacity, substantial investments are being made to expand the marine facilities in coming years. The new tugs will be assisting tankers at nearshore loading terminals and at the new single point moorings further offshore, for which they will also be equipped with a powerful fire fighting system.

Cooperation between KOC and Damen goes back to late 1980’s, when Damen delivered steel crew/pilot tenders and the large fire fighting/terminal tug Sabahi to the company. In the early nineties, after liberation from the Iraqi invasion, Damen delivered a complete fleet of new tugs, crew tenders, work boats and mooring vessels. Damen has supported KOC throughout all these years with provision of technical services, spare parts, and maintenance/renovation assistance.

A major departure from the ‘standard’ Damen ASD tugs built to the same designs is the customer’s choice of Wärtsilä propulsion systems. Wärtsilä was awarded the contract in August 2012 to supply the engines and complete propulsion systems for both vessel types. The order includes a total of 28 engines for the14 vessels being built for KOC, and represents a major order for Wärtsilä from a Middle East based marine sector customer.

“This is a momentous contract for Wärtsilä,” noted Aaron Bresnahan, vice president, Wärtsilä Ship Power, Sales, in announcing the deal. “It is one of our largest orders from the Middle East. More importantly, it is further evidence of our ability to provide competitive, integrated propulsion systems that meet the highest quality, efficiency, and reliability demands of today’s marine sector customers.”

In addition to the engines and propulsion systems, the contract includes Wärtsilä’s Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) systems for each of the 14 vessels. CBM provides remote condition monitoring of the engines, and enables accurate and cost effective predictive maintenance. By utilising the latest communications technology, the equipment operation parameters can be fine tuned remotely, taking into account the operating profile, ambient conditions, type of fuel, and other factors that affect lifecycle performance.

Of the 28 engines ordered to power these vessels, eighteen Wärtsilä 26 units will be installed in the ASD Tug 3212 tugs and ten Wärtsilä 20 engines are required for the ASD Tug 2810’s.

Damen’s naval architects and designers in the Netherlands have already started working on the development of thisunique series of tugs. Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania will construct all 14 vessels, with deliveries scheduled from 2014 onwards.