TUGS & SALVAGE

Spanish Builders Show Their Wares

24 years ago

Among the new tugs displayed in Bilbao was the newly completed Zeus 1 due to be delivered to Svitzer Wijsmuller for LNG terminal operations at Point Fortin in Trinidad.

VB Siroco is a powerful Voith tractor for operation in Ceuta.

The new azimuthing stern drive vessel is sister to the Apollo, still under construction, and Hercules and Neptune already in service. Zeus is a product of the local Astilleros Zamakona shipyard some nine miles from the city centre.

The tug is a vessel of 30.83m in length, with a 9.50m beam, with a Niigata propulsion ‘package’ powered by two 6l26HLX main engines producing a total of 4000bhp at 750 rev/min. Power is transmitted to a pair of ZP 31 fully steerable propulsion units to give the tug a bollard pull of 50 tonnes. All four tugs in the series are fitted for fire fighting.

Zeus 1 will lose the ‘1’ suffix from the name once its delivery voyage is completed.

A new and impressive Voith tractor on show to ITS delegates was the V.B.Siroco, one of a series of similar tugs produced recently by Union Naval Valencia, part of the Boluda Group. Built for another member of the parent group, Sertosa, . .

Caterpillar 3606 DITA main engines running at 1000rev/min supply a total of 5516bhp to drive two Voith Schnieder 28GII/210 cycloidal propulsion units.

This arrangement gives the tug a bollard pull of 55 tonnes (100% percent MCR) and a maximum speed of 12.5 knots. The hydraulic towing winch fitted has a maximum brake load of 137.5 tonnes and carries a 150m of 80mm diameter SWR towline.

From Grupo Armon came the seagoing stern drive tug Dhoce, completed earlier this year for Spanish owners Remolques Unidos SA. This 30m vessel is fitted for fire fighting to FiFi 1 standards and is equipped for ship-handling and deep sea towing from its base at Santander.

Twin Schottel SRP 1212 FP azimuthing propulsion units are powered by two Caterpillar 3516B main engines each rated at 2000bhp (1472kW) at 1800rev/min. This power plant gives the vessel a healthy bollard pull of 50 tonnes.

When ship-handling the vessel tows from a combined single drum towing winch and anchor windlass on the foredeck.

For towing at sea Dhoce is equipped with a twin drum waterfall type winch manufactured by Itsas Guria. Both drums carry 45mm diameter SWR towlines, one of 700m and the other 500m.