Damen Shipyards Group and Abu Dhabi Ports signed a contract for two Damen ASD Tugs 2411 at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Boat Show in October. Delivery of both vessels is due within three months of the contract date. The two 24m long tugs will join the twelve harbour tugs already in service with Safeen, the fleet operating subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Ports responsible for pilotage, mooring, vessel handing and towage at Abu Dhabi Ports, and will bring a new level of capability. In particular, they will be supporting vessel movements at Khalifa Port’s two container terminals managed by ADT/MSC and COSCO Shipping Port Limited (CSPL) as well as EGA’s berth for Bauxite shipped to its smelter in Al Taweelah.

Sanmar of Turkey has delivered the third version of its new Robert Allan Ltd. designed series, the Delicay Class Traktor-Z 2500SX. The new vessel, destined to be deployed on the River Thames, carries the name Svitzer Meridian and has a full FiFi 1 notation powered by a dedicated Cat C32 diesel engine. The 340gt/2018 built tug is the second vessel of the series, the first being the Svitzer Vale that went to New Zealand. The tractor tug was originally developed mainly for ship-handling due to its exceptional manoeuvrability and safety in operation and is preferred by many experienced operators. The main difference between the Tractor and ASD type of tug is the location of the propellers. This new series has forward mounted Z-Drives with a fixed skeg aft.

Smit Lamnalco took delivery of the final two Damen ASD Tugs 3212 from a four-vessel order in October. The 80t bollard pull vessels were ordered in November 2017 and, with stock vessels available, the first two were delivered in June. The 450gt/2018 built SL Thunggun and SL Irrong arrived at Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory and then headed east to the Weipa bauxite mine on the Cape York Peninsular, Queensland. Owned and operated by mining giant Rio Tinto, the mining complex exports around 30 million tonnes of bauxite each year via its own port. Rotterdam-based Smit Lamnalco is a long-standing client of Damen, with nearly 60 Damen vessels in its fleet. Damen also has a long history of providing tugs supporting other Rio Tinto terminals in Australia, including a number of ASD Tugs 3111 in Dampier, WA, plus a Stan Tug 2207 at Cape Cuvier, WA, and three additional ASD Tugs 3111 at Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal, Queensland.

Tasmanic Heavylift Schiffahrts 15,549gt/2012 built Tasmanic Winter arrived at Rotterdam from the Damen shipyards of Changde and Yichang in China on 28th October via the Arctic Route. She was carrying 24 Damen built stock vessels to the Netherlands where most of them will be ready for sale to customers seeking the shortest possible delivery times, including customisation when required (above). In a first for Damen, the Tasmanic Winter took the Northern Sea route along Russia’s north coast, which can reduce the journey time by up to eight days compared with the traditional southern route. On board was a selection of Damen’s most popular tugs, including ASD Tugs 2411, ASD Tugs 2009, ASD Tugs 3010 ICE, Stan Tugs 1606 and Stan Pontoons 4512. As well as a number of other, smaller, tug models, the consignment also has two Stan Launches 804 and the ever-versatile Multi Cat 1506. This is Damen’s second batch-shipment in 2018. In April, the 15,199gt/2011 built SAL heavy lift vessel Lone arrived in Rotterdam from Shanghai with 11 Damen Pontoons on board ranging in size from 41 to 72 metres in length.