Island Tug & Barge's second ATB push tug Island Regent entered service
Island Tug and Barge Ltd.’s second new ATB push tug Island Regent entered service at the end of June pushing the double hulled refined petroleum products barge, ITB Reliant, Robert Allan Ltd. reports. The vessel was christened June 20th at Island Tug’s facility in Burrard Inlet and is the second of two, twin Z-drive, ATB push tugs for service on the West Coast of North America. Constructed at Island Tug’s Annacis Island Shipyard in British Columbia and completed by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Washington State, the Island Regent is connected by an articulating pin system to the ITB Reliant which was retrofitted with pin ladders and stern extensions for connecting to the new tug.
Island Tug had a well-defined statement of requirements for the vessels and a clear vision of the desired layout and accordingly the design was developed in close collaboration with the owners Partway through construction, Island Tug was acquired by Vancouver, Washington based Tidewater Transportation and Terminals, with completion of the vessel falling under the direction of Tidewater’s engineering department. Robert Allan Ltd.’s engineering team, supported Island Tug / Tidewater throughout the design and construction with a detailed and comprehensive design, engineering, and support package.
Main particulars of the tug are as follows:
Length overall: 24.90 m
Length Registered: 23.90 m
Beam, moulded: 12.50 m
Depth, least moulded: 3.65 m
Draft: 3.30 m
GT (Measured under Transport Canada Regulations): 384
Tank Capacities at 98% are:
Fuel oil: 99.8 m³
Potable Water: 14.4 m³
Propulsion machinery consists of two Cummins KTA 38 main engines each delivering 634 kW (850 BHP) @ 1800 rpm connected by Centa hollow carbon fibre floating shafts to Rolls Royce US 105 P9 12FP Z-drives with 1.6 m propellers and with integral slipping clutches.
The ATB connection pins are Articouple model FRC 35S designed for 3 m significant wave height. The FRC pin system allows the tug to stay in the notch during all loading/offloading operations by allowing relative vertical movement of the tug and barge while still connected.
The fully air-conditioned, MLC compliant accommodations are outfitted to a very high standard for a crew of up to 8 persons with a spacious and bright mess/lounge area, large sized cabins with en-suite facilities, and a well-equipped fitness room. The relatively large wheelhouse has excellent visibility and features a state of the art Alphatron integrated bridge console. Noise levels are very low due to the comprehensive noise and vibration reduction treatments designed into the vessel and the careful application of the treatments by the construction team.
The tug is designed and constructed to Lloyd’s Register Class requirements and for Transport Canada compliance with the following notation:
LR ✠ 100 A1 Tug, MCH, IWS, UMS
With the twin Z-drives on the tug, and the remote operated 360-degree bow thruster on the barge, the combined ATB unit has exceptional manoeuvrability. The ATB pushing arrangement brings with it substantially higher fuel efficiency and significantly increased speeds over conventional towing.
The Island Regent / ITB Reliant and Island Raider / ITB Resolution ATB units set a new standard for crew comfort and significantly enhance the level of safety and efficiency of the transport of refined petroleum products on the coast of British Columbia.