First of 6 tugs milestone reached for Med Marine

The six tugs are being built for the Office de la Marine Marchande et des Ports (OMMP), the public body that manages, operates and develops transport and port infrastructure in Tunisia.

The Robert Allan-designed vessels are RAmparts 2800s, measuring 28 metres in length, 11.5 metres wide and with a minimum bollard pull of 60 tonnes ahead.

Two medium-speed diesel engines power the vessels, which have open aft decks with enough space for two 10ft containers.

The six-vessel contract was signed in November 2023 between Med Marine and the OMMP, and in May 27th 2025, the first vessel was ceremoniously launched at Med Marine’s Ereğli shipyard.

The six tugs are likely to be part of a vessel replacement programme at the OMMP, which manages seven commercial ports that in total handle 98& of Tunisia’s foreign trade by volume.

Positioning itself as a trans-shipment hub should be good for Tunisia, says a World Bank report, which estimates it could deliver 11-14% of the country’s GDP. The report recommends a mix of infrastructure upgrades — such as new terminals, equipment modernization, and port access improvements — and institutional reforms, including revised port tariffs, digital systems modernization, and enhanced railway-port connectivity.