Robert Allan Ltd. secured a contract to design an AmpRA 3600 battery-electric tug for Shandong Port Group – Rizhao Port Towing Company in China, according to the company's release.
The project involves the construction of two vessels at Rizhao Gangda Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., marking the fifth and sixth tugs designed by Robert Allan Ltd. for this client.
Building on prior battery-electric and hybrid tug designs deployed in Canada, Chile, Norway, The Netherlands, Türkiye, and the USA, the AmpRA 3600 features over 7 MW of battery capacity, making it the largest and most powerful of its kind to date.
Shandong Port Group, a key port operator in China, oversees one of the world’s largest ports by cargo volume, and this initiative represents a step toward decarbonizing China’s port infrastructure.
Robert Allan Ltd., a Vancouver-based naval architecture firm, specializes in designing innovative tugboats and other vessels, with a global portfolio spanning over 90 years.
Shandong Port Group, headquartered in Qingdao, manages multiple ports in Shandong Province, including Rizhao Port, and ranks among the top global port operators by cargo throughput.
Rizhao Gangda Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, a subsidiary of Shandong Port Group, focuses on constructing tugs and other maritime vessels to support regional port operations.