Uzmar delivers powerful tug to Italian owner

Bearing the name Tiger the vessel, based on RAL’s RAstar 3200W ASD tug, provides a bollard pull of 80t and is equipped for a number of duties including ship rescue, vessel escorting, port operations, towing, pushing and standby services. An ‘advanced’ firefighting system meets fifi1 notation, and the vessel also has an oil recovery capability.

Power is provided by two Caterpillar 3516E main engines rated 2,350bkW at 1,800rpm powering Kongsberg US255 Z-drives with 2.8m diameter fixed-pitch propellers. The installation meets IMO Tier III standards via an exhaust after-treatment system, and tank capacities include 199m³ fuel oil and ^40m3 of fresh water.

Towing over both bow and stern is achieved via an Ibercisa split-drum escort winch forward and a towing winch aft with a Data tow pin arrangement supporting escort and towing operations.

Family affair

Ocean Team’s managing director Michela Cattaruzza, along with RAL’s CEO Mike Fitzpatrick, were among the guests who attended the christening at Uzmar’s shipyard, carried out by Anton Bulai, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Istanbul.

“The first question we are asked is: ‘Can you do it?’ If the project is challenging, our response is always clear: ‘We will get it done.’ If it seems impossible, we say, ‘It may take a little longer’.” The comment, from Uzmar president and CEO Ahmet Noyan Altuğ, along with similar expressions of appreciation from Tiger’s owner and its designer, illustrates the special relationship that can be engendered between successful family-owned companies with challenging projects.

“Today, we are not just celebrating the success of the Uzmar family or the Altuğ family—we are celebrating the shared achievement of every individual who has contributed to this outstanding project,” Altuğ said.

Wishing Tiger a ‘safe and prosperous service life’, he reminded those present that while coming from different countries and cultures with different languages, all are united by one powerful force – the sea, “bringing us seafarers together and making us all part of a single, shared understanding.”

“It is a truly emotional and honourable moment for me to be here today,” said Cattaruzza. “I have been working in this industry for 28 years, yet this is the first time I am speaking at the christening ceremony of a tug.

“Normally, it is my father or my brother who takes the stage for such occasions and my brother deeply regrets that he could not be here today, but he sends his heartfelt gratitude to everyone who contributed to the design and construction of our tug.”

Owner and builder

Ocean Team was originally engaged in cabotage services between ports in the Adriatic Sea post WW2, later establishing towing, ship bunkering and barge chartering activities.

A notable stage in its development was with the expansion of the global offshore oil and gas industries and the founding of OSA (50% Ocean and 50% Bremen’s Offshore Supply Association), and later a joint-service with Hamburg’s Hapag Lloyd to transport offshore units by flat-top barge and heavy lift vessels.

Uzmar also has a long and proud family history, established by Captain Altay Altuğ in the early 1950s. Following a sea-going career, including where he saved the lives of seafarers following a cargo fire on a ship, his activities mainly involved pilotage, retiring in 1979 as chief pilot in Izmir Port.

Uzmar’s shipbuilding division, established in 1993, is just one part of its activities with around 200 deliveries to clients in 25 countries globally to its credit.