Terminal towage contract for Østensjø

The contract, due to take effect in March 2017 is for ten years with five optional years. The arrangement includes provision of three newbuild escort tugs with bollard pulls of 100 tons and two smaller mooring launches with bollard pulls of five tons.

As mentioned elsewhere in the T&T column, development of hybrid and LNG powered tugs are currently receiving attention and this contract has specified that the tugs’ propulsion should be via a dual fuel system able to operate on LNG or marine gas oil. They are being designed in cooperation with Robert Allan Ltd, a company Østensjø has worked with for over 15 years.

Commenting on the awarding of the contract, Johan Rokstad CEO of Østensjø Rederi said: “Østensjø Rederi is very pleased with this award. We have provided tug services to Statoil for many years, and we are proud to still be a preferred partner for them in competition with national and international operators. Furthermore, it is particularly pleasing that we can supply vessels with a green profile.”

Østensjø is a private company established in 1973 and operating a diverse mix of modern vessels including 19 tugs and mooring vessels, eight offshore support vessels and one accommodation vessel with two further offshore support vessels under construction. A particularly strong area of operation for Østensjø is that of terminal towage, the company’s tugs operating at five terminals in Norway, England and Ireland. They were the first company to be awarded a contract to design and operate a dedicated escort tug, delivered in 1993 and serving two oil terminals in Norway. Their tug fleet is a mix of Voith tractors, ASD tugs and conventional tug/mooring vessels.

Statoil’s Melkøya terminal is described as an “industrial island” where natural gas from the Snøhvit gas field in the Norwegian Sea, 140km northwest of Hammerfest, is piped ashore for export in LNG tankers. The gas field is operated by Statoil on behalf of six gas companies which own the licences.

By Peter Barker