Schottel agrees contract extension with Sanmar

Collaboration between the two companies dates to 2004, since when the “partnership and successful cooperation” has led to around 20 joint projects based on the Sirapinar ASD tug, mostly for European owners including SMS Towage of Hull and Portland Port  in the UK. The basic Sirapinar design is flexible in its nature and in its aim to “guarantee the equally high-level propulsion technology for any desired performance” and examples of the class will be equipped exclusively with Schottel RudderPropellers type SRP 340, SRP 360 FP or SRP 430 FP, offering bollard pulls of 40 to around 60 tonnes.

While Schottel is based in Germany, its activities are not confined to Europe and it has been selected to supply RudderPropeller thrusters for a tug under construction at Cheoy Lee Shipyards in Hong Kong for PSA Marine Peru, a wholly owned subsidiary of PSA Marine (Pte) Ltd. The installation will feature Schottel’s Sydrive M technology, reducing emissions from the vessel. Sydrive M connects the port and starboard azimuth thrusters, allowing them to be driven by only one of the main engines which leads to reduced operating hours and lower maintenance costs along with reduced fuel consumption and lower emissions. This arrangement would typically be used when the tug is running light, for example to and from the ship being assisted before engaging the second engine for actual towing activities. The system needs no additional electronic components, with three main operational modes: light operation or free sailing, full thrust operation and firefighting mode.

The vessel in question is a Robert Allan Ltd-designed RAmparts 2400W marque and type SRP 460 thrusters (2,240kW each) featuring fixed-pitch propellers of 2.6m diameter, chosen for the tug. The 24.4m long, 11.25m wide vessel will achieve 70tbp and is scheduled to enter service in 2023.

William Revilla, senior fleet manager at PSA Marine Peru, said: “In PSA Marine Peru, we are constantly on a lookout for sustainability-focused innovations. With reduced emissions, the forward-looking solution from Schottel allows us to operate our vessel more efficiently and sustainably. This also demonstrates our commitment to deliver only the best to our customers and stakeholders.”