Low-Emission Tugs For Iskes Towage & Salvage
Offshore Ship Designers (OSD) has been contracted to develop the design of a low-emission diesel-electric harbour tug for IJmuiden-based Iskes Towage & Salvage. The 32-m loa tug, a further development of their low-emission Azistern series, will have a bollard pull of 70 t and will be powered by three diesel gensets driving electric motors mounted over azimuthing propellers aft and a Voith in-line thruster forward.
The low-emission tug, designated the Azistern 3270, is expected to reduce emissions by 30% compared to conventional, similar-sized harbour tugs now in service.
Key points of the design brief are a relatively large deck crane to enable the tug to do maintenance work for wind farms at sea, electrical winches, low resistance and low-wash hull form and accommodation for seven crew.
Successful Work
Michiel Wijsmuller, managing director of OSD, says: “The design and demand for this low-emission tug stems from our successful work developing the zero-emission Green Tug design. Iskes was one of the key partners in that project. We can see the market is not yet ready for fuel cell power for harbor tugs, but we can take from the development work other aspects of the design which minimise emissions. This vessel will have a very refined and efficient hull form and a sophisticated power management system which will ensure that the gensets work always at their best efficiency.”
First Time
According to a statement issued by Damen Shipyards Group, they will build two tugs for Iskes Towage & Salvage to the aforementioned design of OSD, which according to the yard’s managing director Jos van Woerkom, “is the first time Damen is building a vessel that it has not designed in-house”. Both tugs will be built at Damen’s Hardinxveld yard in the Netherlands and will be delivered mid-2013. This November, Iskes started operating their first ever Damen tug – the ASD 2810 Argus.