Piggyback delivery for Malaysia tug newbuild

The 23.9m multi-purpose AHT

Jade-Service 1

and the 54.86m flat top cargo barge pontoon

JD 1

were ordered for local service by German maritime services and engineering firm Jade-Dienst in Wilhelmshaven.

Jade Dienst spokeswoman Petra Stumpf told MJ the tug was built at the Fong Syn Shipyard in Sibu, Sarawak and the pontoon at Swissco Offshore in Singapore. According to other German reports they were originally ordered by an Irish shipowner for charter service but the company went bankrupt and the German firm took over the order.

The BV classed tug is 8m wide and displaces about 280 tons. It has a working draft of 2.5m and a maximum of 2.8m at the stern and has a 21 ton bollard pull. Two 540kW engines provide a free running speed of 12.5 knots from two fixed pitch propellers in fixed nozzles. The tug also boasts a 118kW bow thruster and two 107kVA/92kW auxiliary generators. Deck machinery includes a 30 ton towing winch and a 5 ton SWL deck crane with 11.5m outreach

The 17.7m wide JD 1 pontoon is GL classed and of 1,900 dwt. Drawing 3.7m it has a deck load of 10 t/m2.

The vessels were going into service in Wilhelmshaven following their arrival from Singapore on the German owned multi-purpose cargo ship Ameland, which has also just been just handed over to a European owner by China’s Dalian Shipyard.

It is the latest in a long line of ships for Germany’s Reederei Briese to be completed in recent years at Chinese shipyards including Dalian, Xinhe, Xingang and Sanfu. Briese has a fleet of more than 80 ships of various types and is bringing in more ships from China this year.

By Tom Todd