First of Fairplay’s new twins delivered

This latest addition to the company’s fleet, Fairplay IX is of similar design to a series of fourteen (conventionally powered) ‘Cerro´ class tractor tugs delivered to Panama Canal Authority in 2013/14. The new tug is currently working in Rotterdam and will be joined by a second vessel later this year.

Fairplay IX is built to DNV-GL rules with a length overall of 29.67m, breadth overall of 13.5m and maximum draught of 6.3m with a tonnage figure of 494gt. Gas oil bunker capacity is 123.28m3 delivering a cruising range of around 23 days.

Main engines comprise two MTU 164000M63L diesels producing a total of 4,480 kW and a single 16V4000M23F model delivering 1,460 kWe. Total power is quoted therefore as 2,240 kW x2 plus the hybrid drive of 2 x 600 kWe from PTI gearboxes and electric motors with performance figures of a respectable 90 tons bollard pull and speed of 12.5 knots. Auxiliary power is provided by two Volvo D9+D16 engines and propulsion is via two Schottel SRP 4000FP azimuth thrusters. Deck equipment includes an Ibercisa MR-E/1.25/2/250/80M towing winch.

Fairplay Towage has a long and famous history dating back to 1905 when it was established by Mr Richard Borchard. Within ten years they had a fleet of 13 tugs operating in Hamburg, ports on the river Elbe and along the entire German coastline. Mr Borchard’s wife and son took the company over in 1930 on his untimely passing and soon after became a founding member of the first Joint Tugboat Service in Hamburg.

In the late 1960s they entered the world of deepsea towage and salvage with commissioning of the tug Fairplay X, their harbour towage activities expanding over the years to include the opening of offices in Rotterdam, Antwerp, Rostock, Szczecin Świnoujście, and Gdynia. For a while they were shareholders in the Belgian towage provider URS Antwerp, a stake they later exchanged for shares in SMIT International NV. All their Smit shares were sold in 2008.

It is customary for Fairplay to name their new tugs after previous vessels carrying the same name and this latest Fairplay IX is the third company tug with the name. The first, a harbour tug built in 1910 was confiscated by the German Navy during world war one and again during the second world war before being scrapped in 1966 after 56 years of service. The second Fairplay IX, a 57tbp ocean-going tug with 90 day endurance was delivered in 1970 and served the company for 40 years before passing into Greek ownership as the Christos XXIV for whom it still works.

By Peter Barker