TOWLINES

Dutch tugowner Muller of Dordrecht has purchased the 32.5m ASD tug Claus from J Johannsen & Sohn of Lubeck. Claus was built by Lindenau at Kiel in 2006 and fitted with ABC main engines generating a total of 4,960 bhp to drive a pair of Schottel SRP 1515 propulsion units, giving the tug a bollard pull of approximately 70 tonnes. The tug was drydocked at the Maaskant shipyard in Stellendam and entered service bearing the name En Avant 20. It is the second ASD tug to be acquired by the company during the past year.

Østensjø Rederi AS of Haugesund, Norway is to sell the tractor tugs Dux and Pax to Stadt Sjøtransport of Floro. Built in1985 by Skaaluren Skipsbyggeri AS, the tugs have served the Statoil terminal at Kårstø throughout their entire working lives. When first delivered, the 42 tonnes bollard pull vessels were state of the art’ fire fighting tractors powered by Bergen KRMB 6 diesels of 3,000 bhp (total) and Liaanen Compass propulsion units. Measuring 29.7m in length overall, with a beam of 9m, they are still in remarkably good condition.

On 13 June KOTUG International formally christened the new ‘RotorTug’ RT Ambition during their traditional ‘Herring Party’ in Bremerhaven. The 84 tonnes bollard pull vessel is the 11th Rotor Tug to be completed by the ASL Shipyard in Singapore and one of a series of 14 sister vessels. The remainder were constructed by Niigata Shipyards in Japan. The company now operates a fleet of 9 Rotor Tugs in Bremerhaven where the triple azimuthing unit propulsion system has proved to be a real advantage in the narrow locks and bridge passages in the German port. RT Sensation, another Rotor Tug due to join Kotug’s worldwide fleet, was completed by ASL in Singapore the same month.