Arrival of world-first tugboat design to Australia delivers generational advancement in marine services.
The Port of Newcastle‘s maritime capabilities are set for a significant enhancement with the arrival of the state-of-the-art TRAnsverse tug Svitzer Barrington, which will join Svitzer Australia‘s fleet at the port, Svitzer said.
The 32-metre TRAnsverse tug represents a generational advancement in towage standards, innovation and performance Svitzer Australia’s Chief Operating Officer David Phillips said.
Behind the TRAnsverse tug’s impressive look and performance are unique design features, including a patented half-circle towing staple – able to support advanced towing manoeuvres – and a double-ended hull and propulsion layout that maximises the benefits of the staple design.
Svitzer Barrington has been deployed to the Port of Newcastle as it is one of the busiest ports in Australia and services a range of large vessel types in complex tidal and weather conditions. The Newcastle operations will serve as a proving ground for the TRAnsverse tug technology, validating its performance for broader global deployment across various towage applications.
The port sees more than 4,500 vessel visits a year – including large capesize vessels shipping export coal, bulk grain and agri vessels, container ships, breakbulk freight, cruise vessels and more.
As vessels become larger, weather conditions more extreme and ports more congested, the demand for tugs to assist vessels safely in and out of ports and terminals continues to increase. The logical extension is that tugs have gradually needed to become more powerful, as well as more fuel intensive. However, the TRAnsverse tug’s design and technical features have shifted that assumption, as demonstrated in a recent white paper demonstrating the superiority of its performance.
Svitzer Barrington will be joined by her sister tug Svitzer Nobbys in August.