Ugie Runner creates interest at Seawork

The newly completed

Ugie Runner

, designed by Macduff Ship Design and built by Macduff Shipbuilders, was handed over to her owners the Peterhead Port Authority following trials in Scotland and then made the journey south to the show.

Ugie Runner is designed to operate in and around the port of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire and was named after the local river Ugie in a competition won by a local Sea Cadet. Its primary roles include assisting with vessel movements within the confines of the bay, general harbour duties, pilot boat work and plough dredging.

The tug is fitted out primarily for use as a ‘day boat’, suitable for operation in Category 3 waters (up to 20 miles from a safe haven) and built to meet the requirements of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Small Commercial Vessel and Pilot Vessel Code of Practice.

Ugie Runner has an overall length of 13.00m, a moulded breadth of 5.40m, depth moulded of 2.80m and a draft aft of 2.40m. The all steel hull has a raised foredeck and is sub-divided below decks into four main compartments, the fore peak/store, crew toilet/washing facilities and workshop, engine room and steering flat/aft peak. Two main tanks accommodate 4,540 litres of fuel oil and 127 litres of fresh water. A heavy ‘push knee’ is fitted in the bow and fendered, along with the forward quarters at deck level, with ‘D’ section moulded rubber. Vehicle tyres are used elsewhere and steel rubbing bars are carefully located in areas adjacent to the plough dredge and it’s towing wires.

The wheelhouse has good all round vision and features the control position and skipper’s chair to port and a small mess area to starboard. Basic communications and navigational equipment is provided to meet the needs of the vessel in its intended role. Rope guards are fitted port and starboard to protect the wheelhouse during mooring operations.

Two Scania DI12 59M 10-45J main engines are installed, each generating 350bhp (261kW) running at 1,800 rpm (heavy duty rating). The engines have electric start and are keel cooled. Power is transmitted via Polyflex couplings and Twin Disc type MGX 5114DC gearboxes to twin 1,300mm diameter, four blade fixed pitch propellers.

The gearboxes have a reduction ratio of 4.59:1 and incorporate a ‘QuickShift’ transmission system. Propellers and stern gear were supplied by Kort Propulsion, along with matching Optima fixed nozzles and a Vetus hydraulically driven bow thruster. Twin high performance aerofoil rudders, combined with the bow thruster (320kg of thrust), provides excellent manoeuvrability. On trials Ugie Runner achieved a static bollard pull of 9.5 tons pulling ahead and 5.4 tons astern, with a maximum free running speed of 9.4 knots.

Deck equipment includes the unique Mampaey DOT towing system, including the oval supporting ‘ring’ which encompasses the wheelhouse at shoulder height. The oval ring is built into the vessel’s structure and has a free running carriage carrying a Mampaey quick release disc type DCX 8/15 towing hook.

Also mounted on the carriage is the quick release mechanism for the hook which can be operated from the wheelhouse via a wireless link. Alternatively, the hook can be released manually from the deck. The hook and carriage are free to rotate 360° around the oval supporting ring but can be locked forward or aft during ‘non-towage’ duties by inserting a pin. The entire towing system has a safe working load of 15 tons and has been tested to 30 tons.

Other deck equipment includes a demountable ‘A’ frame for plough dredging, complete with a small hydraulic winch and a Guerra M60.90M2 deck crane capable of lifting 750kg at 6.8m. The deck crane is neatly mounted inside the DOT ring, aft of the wheelhouse.

Demonstrations of Ugie Runner and it’s Mampaey DOT system created considerable interest at Seawork. Out of the six demonstrations five were conducted using a local tug or workboat from Itchen Marine Ltd as a powered ‘tow’ and on one occasion the new Apex, a powerful escort tug from the Solent Towage fleet at Fawley. The DOT towing system offers a high degree of safety, controllability and, above all, flexibility to the performance of the tug, enabling it to rotate through 360° in a safe and controlled manner irrespective of the heading of the assisted vessel.

Full power can be used in any direction and the line pull available can be enhanced considerably using indirect towing methods. Several interested parties attended the demonstrations onboard Ugie Runner and expressed surprise at the feeling of security afforded by the towing system even when the tug was being towed bodily sideways.