First result of Damen – Mustang arrangement

This is the third boat in service on the Tyne built by the Pembrokeshire dockyard, the others being a specialist debris collection vessel for the Clean Tyne Project and a 16m pilot boat, all of which were won via competitive tender.

This is the first project for Mustang Marine working in conjunction with the Netherlands based multi-national vessel builder, Damen Shipyards. Using the experience of the in-house design team, the Damen 1506 Multicat design underwent specific customisation requirements for its role with the Port of Tyne. The close and flexible relationship between the two companies has allowed for this bespoke vessel to be built. The alliance has highlighted the potential for other future projects.

At 15.50m LOA, Sir Bobby Robson, is a new powered plough dredging barge whose primary duty be maintaining the depth of berths in the Port of Tyne. However, to ensure maximum usage it will also have many secondary roles such as buoy tendering, general berth maintenance, pushing, towing and dive support duties.

The Port of Tyne is one of the UK’s leading Trust Ports, with five business areas incorporating conventional and bulk cargo, car terminals, cruise and ferry logistics, and estates.

Key features of the Damen 1506 Multicat are a deck house with good all round visibility, a good stable platform which allows for heavy deck equipment as well as significant space free on the deck for working and to accommodate the equipment required to meet the various roles.

Sir Bobby Robson has a shallow draft, allowing it to access areas of the port where other vessels may be restricted. It also has superior manoeuvrability and can thus easily adapt to the various roles required and access tight spaces without endangering itself or other vessels nearby.

Mike Nicholson, Harbour Master for the Port of Tyne said, “This new addition to our fleet of vessels represents a significant investment of £1.1m and will improve our facilities to meet the commercial demands of a busy and growing port. It adds to our overall capacity to support the many businesses and other users of the Port of Tyne.”

The most visible outcome of the customisation is the height of the wheelhouse structure, which is half a deck higher to enable enhanced viewing of the plough operations and the other working areas. Below deck, the Port of Tyne especially wanted day accommodation for the boat’ s crew and it is provided for a total complement of twelve.

The wheelhouse itself is of a welded steel construction, and is fully insulated for comfort and warmth. There is also additional acoustic insulation around the engine room. Seven wheelhouse windows provide 360° visibility and all the forward windows are fitted with Pantograph wipers and demisters to ensure visibility at all times. The front and side windows are also fitted with Solarsolv screen covers to reduce glare from the sunlight on the water.

There is access to the wheelhouse from the aft deck, which also provides access to the accommodation area. There is direct access to the wheelhouse top via a robust steel ladder adjacent to the wheelhouse door, where the main mast, radio aerials and navigation lights are all fitted. The small wheelhouse has been specifically arranged to optimise the helmsman’s console and provide space for additional crew seating. There is easy access to all electronic equipment, the 24vDC and 240vAV switch panels as well as the fire detection system control panel and the alarm panel. Also clearly visible and easily accessible are the emergency stops and alarm systems for all the auxiliary engine and main engine instruments.

Mustang Marine selected Furuno for the navigation equipment onboard Sir Bobby Robson and the communication equipment was supplied by Thrane and Thrane for the VHF/DSC radio system and Icom for the smaller hand held VHF’s. The radar and plotter systems are Furuno, with all navigation information integrated on the NavNet 3D system and displayed on 8” and 12” multi-function displays. The navigation equipment comprises a DRS6A 4” NavNet3d 6Kw open scanner, SC30 GPS compass, FA-150 AIS, Furuno DFF1 Network echosounder and a GP330B NMEA 2000 Network GPS. In addition, a Lilley & Gillie Mk2002 overhead binnacle compass complete with periscope has been fitted for use by the helmsman. Thrane & Thrane Sailor RT6222 all-weather VHF’s are also included.

Although a workboat, Sir Bobby Robson has been designed for comfort as well as functionality, as it will be operating up to 12 hours a day. The bulkheads and the deckhead are finished with rigid and hard wearing aluminium composite sheeting. The furniture is made from laminated plywood, with seat cushions for added comfort.

The area below deck has been heavily modified from the standard Damen Multicat arrangement. The changes have provided a mess room with a small galley, toilet and workshop, with easy access to the vessel’s machinery and systems as per the request of the Port of Tyne.

Another benefit of the flexible relationship between Damen and Mustang Marine is that Mustang Marine can select their equipment suppliers rather than having to adopt the Damen standard. In the engine room are two Volvo 12D MH four stroke, six cylinder water cooled marine propulsion engines with a continuous output of 367 kW at 1,800 rpm. These work in conjunction with Twin Disc MG5114DC-E, 3.82:1 ratioreverse reduction gearboxes. BT Marine stern gear and propellers have been installed, and there are Beta Marine gensets which were chosen specifically by Mustang Marine.

Stern gear is a standard conventional twin screw arrangement with fixed pitch propellers in nozzles. Befitting a workboat, a rope guard has been fitted to each propeller shaft line.

EmpirBus NXT, which is installed to manage the electronics onboard, is unique in providing distribution, monitoring, control and communications for all onboard electrical systems. The EmpirBus, has a built in DC-DC converter, GSM functionality, integrated two-way remote control, an Ethernet connection and is iPhone compatible, allowing for the latest advancements in technology to be incorporated.

Fact Box:

Length overall: 15.5

Beam: 6.06m

Draught aft: 1.8m

Displacement: 136 tons

Power: Two Volvo 12D MH main engines rated 367 kW at 1,800 rpm

Speed: 8.5 knots