Suez Canal expands tug fleet by 10 vessels

The order, reported by RAL, is for 10 RAstar 3200-W ASD tugs and once delivered the SCA will own and operate more than 20 RAL-designed vessels, complementing the existing RAL tugs currently working in Egypt for commercial operators.

The 190km long Suez Canal can accommodate all but the largest ships afloat (240,000dwt maximum), with a maximum vessel draught capacity up to 20.1m. More than 22,000 ships transited the canal in 2022, around 60 vessels a day, obeying the rules of a one-way convoy system because unregulated two-way traffic is not allowed.

Transiting the canal, particularly for the largest vessels, calls for precise navigation skills, particularly in strong winds. The potential risks became reality in 2021 when the laden container vessel Ever Given ran aground while northbound in the canal. It took six days to free the vessel, and traffic was stopped in both directions throughout, causing huge disruption to global supply chains, particularly those relying on ‘just in time’ deliveries.

SCA’s tugs assist in the day-to-day operation of the canal and are also on hand when ships encounter problems. One factor of the Ever Given grounding with the canal completely blocked was sourcing tugs to assist on the southern side of the grounding site. Before and since this event, SCA has gradually increased its towage provision, adding to the not insignificant fleet it already operates.

Tug fleet

When tracing the composition of its tug fleet list, including those in operation, on order and laid up, it becomes obvious the authority will have gained wide experience of owning and/or operating more than 30 tugs of varying designs from different shipbuilders, including locally and in China.

Among SCA-owned and affiliated companies are Port Said Shipyard, Port-Tawfik Shipyard, Maritime Salvage & Underwater Works, Timsah Shipyard and Suez Shipyard. Port Said Shipyard’s own yard list shows 21 tugs completed or under construction for SCA, not to mention smaller related craft and marine plant.

SCA’s tug fleet is diverse, and three with European connections of interest are the Fahd and Nimr built in the Netherlands as Brielsebank and Breedbank respectively in 1976 for operation in Rotterdam. Fahd was lost earlier in 2023 following a collision in the canal, where sadly one of the tug’s crew was lost.

Another tug worthy of mention is the Antari, now in its 70^th year of service, built as Edgar Bonnet by L. Smit & Zoon’s Scheeps & Werktuigbouw NV, Kinderdijk, the Netherlands in 1953.

Looking at the fleet’s profile up to the present day, the provision of modern ASD shiphandling tonnage was already under way at the time of the Ever Given grounding. In November 2019 Svitzer signed a 10-year agreement with SCA to provide towage services at the Suez Canal Container Terminal in Port Said with two newbuild RAL-designed RAstar 2800CL tugs, Svitzer Port Said 1 and 2, built by Cheoy Lee Shipyards, Hong Kong.

In 2021, Svitzer’s contract with SCA was extended with two further 70+tbp tugs bearing the names Svitzer Suez 1 and 2 built by Cheoy Lee and operating from Port Suez. In January 2022 another piece of the Svitzer/SCA jigsaw fell into place with the ordering of yet another pair to boost services at Port Said and Port Suez. The current make-up of this element of SCA’s towage provision therefore stands at Svitzer Suez 1, 2 and 3 operating from the southern end of the canal and Svitzer Port Said 1, 2 and 3 at the northern end, providing coverage from both directions.

Final details of this latest order for ten RAstar 3200-W vessels for the authority itself are yet to be confirmed but RAL’s generic information about the class, described as an escort/offshore terminal tug featuring a “unique” sponsonsed hull form developed exclusively for RAL, lists it as LOA 32m on a beam of 13.2m and maximum draught of 6.5m, providing a bollard pull of 85t. It is also reported that the main engines for the series will be provided by ABC of Belgium.