About a half of Russia’s towing fleet has been renovated, recent years have seen considerable success, Gennady Yegorov, Director General of Marine Engineering Bureau, said at the 2nd International Conference “Advanced port fleet - the basis of safety” held by Media Group PortNews on 18 September 2017 in Saint-Petersburg.
According to him, most of new tugboats were built by Damen, Pella and Craneship shipyards. He also emphasized that tugboats are traditionally used for different purposes.
As Vladimir Skepko, Seniour Specialist of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, said at the Conference, average age of tugboats in Russia is 27 years. Among the shipyards building tugboats he also mentioned Yaroslavsky shipyard. The year of 2017 has seen the delivery of 22 RS class tugboats (including those for the military purposes).
Meanwhile, the situation with renovation of Russia’s bunkering fleet is worse, said Gennady Yegorov. Modernization of old takers or purchase of chemical carriers is among the key methods of this fleet renovation today. However, chemical carriers are not perfect for bunkering as they feature high superstructure and poor maneuverability at low speed.