Damen adds two new vessels to the ‘Stan Tug’ family

The work has been carried out to meet the demands of clients and to fit the craft for use in the current working environment. Among the smaller vessels that have already received the attention of the Tugs & Workboats project team are the Damen Stan Tugs ST 2608, 2208, ST 1907, ST 1606, and the newly introduced ST 1205.

The first Stan Tug 1205 was introduced to the towage and marine services industries at the Seawork event in June of last year and was sold during the show (MJ – August 2010). This new design replaced the well known ‘PushyCat’ and the Stan Tug 1405. Both have now been discontinued.

In recent months this ‘family’ of what Damen refer to as their ‘Compact Stan Tug’ series has been completed with two new additions, the Stan Launch 804 and Stan Tug 1004. In keeping with the other tugs in the series, they are rugged, easy to handle craft based on Damen’s long experience in standard tug/workboat designs for economic series production. Examples of both new designs are now available and will replace the earlier Mini Cat.

The Stan Launch 804 and Stan Tug 1004 are, unlike the larger vessels in the series, single screw vessels designed for safe operation by a one or two man crew. They are ideally suited for towing, pushing, mooring, line handling, passenger transport, surveying and pilotage.

Both vessels have benefited from design work carried out with larger vessels in the series and share many common features.

During the design process considerable attention was paid to creating the optimum hull design. Damen’s own Research Department made many valuable recommendations and gave advice based on full scale tests, detailed calculations of structural strength, fatigue and wave frequencies and profiles. As a result, the new tugs have emerged as small, compact and very powerful workboats with sleek, clean lines, which fit in very well with the larger vessels in Damen’s product range.

Decks fore and aft are kept as clear of obstructions as possible to enhance safe working conditions and the bulwarks throughout the range have a minimum height of 1m. The flexibly mounted wheelhouses have much in common with their larger sisters and considerable attention has been given to access doors, hatches, mooring bits, ventilation equipment and exhaust pipe outlets to facilitate ease of use, safety, and ease of maintenance. These smaller vessels in the series have also been equipped with ‘D’ section rubber fendering throughout. Both of these smaller vessels are fitted with a substantial push knee, a towing post and, when required, overhead protection for use when line handling.

The little Stan Launch 804 measures just 8.44m in length overall, with a beam of 3.52m, a draft aft of 1.30m and weighs in with a displacement of 14 tons. A Volvo D5 TA/1 diesel rated at 121 bhp (89 bkW) provides the power to drive a single Kaplan, fixed pitch, open propeller of 770mm diameter, via a Twin-Disc MG 5050 3.0:1 gearbox. The turbocharged engine has full electronic control, giving a good turn of speed and acceleration. A single ‘double plate’ high performance rudder is operated by powered hydraulic steering gear, giving rudders angles of 50 degrees on either side of the centreline. The performance on trials was excellent, with a bollard pull of 0.8 ton with a free running speed of 6.8 knots.

The Damen Stan Tug 1004 follows exactly the same design philosophy and measures 10.67m in length, 4.52m beam and a draft aft of approximately 1.7m. A more powerful Volvo D9 MH diesel delivers 221 bhp (294 bkW) to power the single fixed pitch propeller via a similar Twin-Disc MG 5091 – 1:4.5 gearbox. The 1050 Kaplan style propeller rotates in a Van der Geissen ‘Optima’ nozzle and twin double plate high performance rudders offer excellent manoeuvrability. A bollard pull of 4.1 tons can be attained and a maximum speed of 8.3 knots. Damen’s well-proven keel cooling system is installed on both vessels.

In common with other vessels in the Stan Tug range, the Stan Launch 804 and Stan Tug 1004 can be delivered from stock. The ability to introduce optional extras such as a deck crane, flying bridge, radar and extra accommodation can be carried out quickly because these are all held in stock as standard components. If required a Damen Standard workboat can be delivered within four weeks.