Boskalis towage joint venture Keppel Smit Towage names first LNG powered harbor tug in South East Asia
Royal Boskalis Westminster (Boskalis) joint venture Keppel Smit Towage has today named its first innovative LNG dual-fuel harbor tug. The tug will shortly enter service and marks a breakthrough to realizing clean environmentally friendly harbor towage services in the port of Singapore, the company said in its press release.
The vessel was named KST Liberty at a ceremony held at the Keppel Singmarine yard, with Mr Loh Ngai Seng, Permanent Secretary at Singapore's Ministry of Transport as the Guest of Honour. The 65-tonne bollard pull LNG dual-fuel Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) tug was built by Keppel Singmarine and the design won the Outstanding Maritime R&D and Technology Award at the 2015 Singapore International Maritime Awards.
Mr Romi Kaushal, Managing Director of Keppel Smit Towage stated, "This is a state-of-the-art tug with environmentally-friendly features that exceed the requirements of the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) global cap of 0.5% on the sulphur content of marine fuel that comes into force on 1 January 2020. It will substantially reduce CO2 emissions relative to traditional tugs and is a much welcomed green initiative. KST Liberty will also increase our capabilities as the fitted LNG tanks will allow for extended harbor operations without the need for refueling, enhancing operational efficiency. It is also more compact, compared to tugs of same bollard pull, providing enhanced maneuverability. We have built a strong partnership with Keppel over the years who have demonstrated their ability to design and deliver quality vessels that meet our needs."
Smart designs were incorporated to enhance the tug's safety and comfort. The LNG fuel is carried in containerized, type-C ISO-certified tanks on the main deck, and re-fueling can be done by truck to ship operations or replacing the empty tanks with replenished ones. It is equipped with an innovative and patented LNG vaporizer which is compact and cost-effective.
Shell will be supplying the LNG fuel to KST Liberty while FueLNG, a joint venture between Keppel O&M and Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd., will be providing the LNG bunkering services at Jurong Port.
Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. is a leading global services provider operating in the dredging, maritime infrastructure and maritime services sectors. The company provides creative and innovative all-round solutions to infrastructural challenges in the maritime, coastal and delta regions of the world with services including the construction and maintenance of ports and waterways, land reclamation, coastal defense and riverbank protection. In addition, Boskalis offers a wide variety of marine services and contracting for the oil and gas sector and offshore wind industry as well as salvage solutions (SMIT Salvage). Furthermore, Boskalis has a number of strategic partnerships in harbor towage and terminal services (KOTUG SMIT Towage, Keppel Smit Towage, Saam Smit Towage and Smit Lamnalco). With a versatile fleet of more than 900 vessels and floating equipment and 11,700 employees, including associated companies, Boskalis operates in 90 countries across six continents.
