Boluda France has taken delivery of two new ASD tugs, part of a programme of extension and fleet renewal which will see the number of tugs in its fleet reach the 250 mark.
The latest deliveries concern VB Typhon and VB Tempete, numbers three and four of a six vessel order with Piriou Shipyard. The first two, VB Ouragan and VB Cyclone were delivered in December 2015 with delivery of the final two in the series scheduled for April 2017. The first four will replace existing tonnage in St Nazaire and Dunkerque.
The series are being built at Piriou’s Vietnam shipyard and are standard designs from the builder with the inclusion of adaptations specified by Boluda France, a subsidiary company of Boluda Corporacion Maritima.
Main specification of the tugs, which are built with escort classification includes; length overall 30.3m, beam moulded 10.4m, depth at main deck 4.45m and maximum draught 5.3m. Two main engines each developing 1,945kW produce a bollard pull of 70t at 100% MCR and a speed of 12.5kn. Fuel capacity is 82m3 and fresh water capacity 23m3 with provision for a complement of six persons. They are equipped for emergency response including fire-fighting and marine pollution.
Harbour towage is the core business of Boluda France and as well as its operations in many major French ports it also has an African presence in: Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Cameroon with services further afield at Mayotte and Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Boluda also provide terminal towage services at oil and LNG terminals in France. The new additions will be capable of operating in the offshore and marine renewable energy markets and with France planning for a significant expansion of offshore wind activities around its shores this is another area where Boluda’s varied fleet of vessels will no doubt see increased involvement.
By Peter Barker
