TOWLINES

The tug design selected is a Robert Allan Ltd RApport 2500, considered suitable for operation at Lyttelton the largest port in the South Island of New Zealand. The as yet unnamed tug will replace Lyttelton’s older tug Purau and will be equipped with two Schottel Ruddepropellers Type SRP460 FP with an input power of 2,240kW each.

Continuing the theme of thruster developments, Kawasaki Heavy Industries has announced its first order for the newly developed E-series Rexpeller azimuth thruster for a pair of shiphandling tugs.

Four of the new thrusters will be installed in two tugs under construction for Tianjin Lingang Tug Co Ltd and due to enter service for operation at the Chinese port of Tianjin later this year.

The E-series includes improvements offering energy savings through a high-performance propeller duct and optimisation of the lower gear case. Easier maintenance is a feature and high-quality fluororubber propeller shaft seals reduce the risk of pollution from oil leakages with a monitoring function of the propeller shaft and steering seal available as an option.

Two tugs from Finnish towage service provider Alfons Håkans have come to the aid of a Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier after it developed a leak while in international waters.

The 23,584gt Glory Hongkong had sailed from St Petersburg when it reported the leak to the Finnish Border Guard who thereafter coordinated the response. The leak was reported to have come from the bilge well, at one point reaching a depth of five metres in the engine room and spreading to other compartments. The vessel had 22 crew members on board.

Alfons Håkans’ tugs Atlas and Kanter were despatched to Glory Hongkong’s assistance west of Suursaari island in the western Gulf of Finland and after the water ingress had been brought under control the vessel was towed, in dark and icy conditions, to Tallinn, Estonia.

The cutting of the first steel plate for the third vessel in a series of 40tbp ASD tugs has taken place at MTG Dolphin Shipyard at Varna Bulgaria.

The tug is the third of a series being built under BV supervision for Navigation Maritime Bulgaria plc to sail under the Bulgarian flag with delivery due in Q3 2018.

MTG Dolphin was established in 1991 as the first private ship repair company in Bulgaria and has expanded steadily including the addition of a floating dock and a shipbuilding capacity for 17,500dwt ships.

By Peter Barker