• 2024 April 23 16:54

    Vancouver welcomes its first resident battery electric tugs

    Ceremonies and celebrations were recently held in Vancouver harbour for a pair of ElectRA 2300-SX battery electric tugs designed by Robert Allan Ltd. and built by Türkiye’s Sanmar Shipyards. Both tugs are owned and operated by SAAM Towage Canada and represent major milestones in the Port of Vancouver’s goal of becoming the world’s most sustainable, as well as SAAM Towage’s leadership in the drive to the decarbonization of harbour operations, according to Robert Allan's release.

    The close collaboration between Robert Allan Ltd, Sanmar Shipyards, and SAAM Towage was key to yielding a tug pair. With compact 23 metre lengths and outstanding manoeuvrability, they are suited for operations between the tight “finger piers” where many ships are docked in Vancouver. They are also ideal for ship-berthing and unberthing work at Neptune terminals in Vancouver where their environmental credentials were instrumental in winning them a contract to provide towage services.

    After surveying SAAM’s local Tug Masters, Robert Allan Ltd. embarked on a series of live trials to quantify handling characteristics that these captains identified as most favourable.

    Predictions of the performance of the new tugs were made using a proprietary CFD-based manoeuvring tool which was validated using the earlier trials. Using this tool, it was possible to establish that the new design, for which underwater features were customized to suit the desired performance, should indeed deliver the specific manoeuvring characteristics that SAAM’s crews had identified as being optimal. The tool was also used to check that directional stability would be on par with expectations. Part of the magic of these tugs is in how this is achieved while also yielding their tremendous manoeuvrability. Hull design is critical to the goal, and one of the other keys is a relatively minimalistic and strategically shaped single skeg that has low drag in all directions, and the benefit of reduced energy consumption in transit.

    Sea trials proved that the efforts were a major success. Handling, performance, and manoeuvring characteristics were exactly what had been hoped for, and SAAM was delighted with the results. There is perhaps no greater endorsement of the how these tugs perform than SAAM’s decision very shortly thereafter to order a new ElectRA 2500-SX design (also from Sanmar Shipyards) to operate in Chile. The only caveat was that the existing 25 metre design be updated to have a geometrically similar underwater hull and appendages to the 23 metre tugs that they like so much! That work is underway, with delivery of the ElectRA 2500-SX expected in 2025.

    The electrical system is powered by a battery installation. Featuring 3,616 kWh of lithium-ion batteries, these tugs pack significant onboard energy storage. That capacity translates into the ability for these relatively high-usage harbour tugs to perform their missions on battery power alone. With charging from the local hydroelectric power grid in as little as one to two hours, these tugs can quickly get out to the next job and accommodate a busy schedule.

    Each of these tugs are expected to reduce emissions by over 1,200 tonnes of CO2 per year from tank-to-wake (and even more from well-to-wake) compared to diesel counterparts. Emissions of NOX, SOX, CO, and particulate matter will all be zero as well when operating on their generous battery banks. The reductions for the tug pair are on par with removing over 600 cars off the road.

    Sanmar Shipyards is already nearing completion of a third tug for their own towing fleet. Featuring an FFV1 (2,400 m3/hour) off-ship fire-fighting system, yet another custom skeg for escort, and a battery capacity tuned to their individual needs, Dinamo 2023 as it is named, is only the next iteration in what stands to be a popular series of compact battery electric tugs.




2024 November 4

17:27 Hapag-Lloyd christens the “Hamburg Express” in the Port of Hamburg
15:52 Paradip Port to be fully mechanised by 2030
14:13 Autonomous vessel to sail 1,500 km from Mumbai to Tuticorin
13:48 DPA Kandla in a plan for new container terminal and multipurpose berth with ₹27,000 crore investment
12:18 China's 41st Antarctic expedition begins
10:34 10 years old Meyer Turku aims for carbon-neutral shipbuilding
09:41 Port of Vancouver vessel traffic management system enhances marine safety and trade efficiency throughout Burrard Inlet

2024 November 3

15:57 Babcock completes deep maintenance of Lambeth River Station
14:09 Fincantieri and BQ Solutions sign MoU to advance naval education and training in Qatar 31 October 2024
12:51 Rolls-Royce develops new mtu energy and automation solutions for future submarines
10:19 Cepsa changes its name to Moeve
09:46 Singapore says no oil sightings arising from oil-related incidents

2024 November 2

18:06 Singapore’s first fully electric cargo vessel wins Green Ship Award at SRS Forum
17:20 VTTI looks to buy into LNG terminals in Asia
16:48 Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding signs contracts for 12 large container ships in the past 10 days
16:32 CHIMBUSCO secures its first LNG refueling service in Europe
15:46 SLB OneSubsea awarded subsea boosting contract for bp’s Kaskida project in Gulf of Mexico
15:24 Wilson Sons to start construction of three new eco-friendly tugboats in 2025
14:57 Rem Offshore holds keel laying ceremony for REM Pioneer
12:30 World's first conversion of large container ship to run on methanol successfully completed
11:52 New offshore platform taps into potential of heavy-oil reserves in China
11:24 HRDD completes desulphurization tower system conversion for a PCTC
09:48 TOWT launches its first cargo sailing ship in Le Havre

2024 November 1

18:00 Marlink to deploy Sealink NextGen hybrid solution on 26 tankers for Transpetro
17:38 Austal Australia delivers 8th Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boat to Royal Australian Navy
17:23 Acteon and Applied Fiber enter MoU to collaborate on mooring solutions
16:54 KOTUG International and Maritalia S.A. secure major marine services contract for bp’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project
16:24 BW LPG takes delivery of vessel BW Chinook from Avance Gas
15:44 HD Hyundai may nearly double shipbuilding capacity in Vietnam
15:24 Samsung Heavy Industries secures $390 mln contract for four Suezmax tankers
14:36 EU imposes duties on unfairly subsidised electric vehicles from China
14:23 Port of Montreal workers at two terminals start new strike
13:41 Chinese ports container volume rises 7.7 % from January to September of 2024
13:22 MOL, COSCO Co-host 6th Shanghai International LNG Shipping Forum
12:43 Global schedule reliability drops to 51.4% in September 2024
12:22 GTT secures technical services contract with Maran Tankers for eight LNG Dual-Fuel Suezmax vessels
11:45 MSC inks up $2.1bn container ship at the reborn shipyard Rongsheng Heavy Industries
11:28 China's first 'smart factory' for offshore oil, gas equipment fully operational
10:43 Yanmar completes land-based demonstration testing of a hydrogen engine for power generation in coastal vessels
10:23 Samsung Heavy wins W358 bln LNG ship order in Asia
09:58 EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by over 8% in 2023

2024 October 31

18:00 MAN receives multiple orders for MAN B&W G95ME-LGIM Mk 10.5 methanol engines to power a series of VLCV
17:23 The Marechal Duque de Caxias platform ship starts producing in the pre-salt layer
17:06 IWS Seawalker CSOV makes it 1000 ship designs from Kongsberg Maritime
16:45 “K” Line Wind Service and Japan Marine United sign agreement for Phase 2 of NEDO’s Green Innovation Fund Project
16:04 Wärtsilä introduces its innovative NextDF feature for the Wärtsilä 25DF dual-fuel engine
15:45 MOL plans to change charter contract for vessels related to Russia business
15:44 MABUX: Bunker price trends in the world's four largest hubs, Oct 8 - Nov 1, 2024
15:23 HHLA raises expectations for fiscal year 2024
14:59 Major fire extinguished at UK nuclear submarine yard
14:16 AD Ports Group and Somali Ministry of Fisheries & Blue Economy sign MoU for maritime sector development
13:44 Maersk reports Q3 results
12:43 UECC orders four advanced multi-fuel battery hybrid pure car and truck carriers from China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Nanjing
11:39 Japanese сonsortium produces design concept for eco-friendly VLCC
11:12 TMC Compressors bags contract to supply four LNG carriers
10:46 Panama Canal operating costs down 5% in FY2024
09:29 HIF Global and Antarctica21 promote sustainable tourism with e-Fuels

2024 October 30

18:00 East Java Multipurpose Terminal partners with Sinarmas LDA Usaha Pelabuhan
17:22 Container traffic at Iranian ports up 5% in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year
17:06 CIMC SOE delivers second 7,600 cbm LNG bunkering vessel to Seaspan Energy
16:42 Klaveness Combination Carriers makes first move into wind with bound4blue eSAIL system on CABU III newbuild
16:23 Transport workers' strike in Argentina to affect port operations
15:59 South Korea's seaport container cargo up 3.5 pct in Q3
15:46 Stena Line marks significant milestones in build of NewMax ships, Stena Futura and Stena Connecta
14:55 DNV and LR grant AiP to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for ammonia duel-fuel large container vessel
14:45 Jiaxing Port adds a new sea-river intermodal operation area
13:32 Maersk signs long-term methanol sourcing deal
13:08 MOL and Pyxis sign Collaboration Agreement for development and market expansion of electric vessels in Singapore and Japan
12:40 AD Ports Group and the General Department of Vietnam Customs sign MoU
12:21 TE H2, CIP, and A.P. Møller Capital Partner for a large-scale project in the Kingdom of Morocco