Med Marine is building six azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugboats for the Office of the Merchant Marine and Ports (OMMP) at Eregli Shipyard to Robert Allan Ltd’s RAstar 2800 design.
It chose Kongsberg Maritime to provide a pair of its US205 azimuth thrusters with fixed pitch propellers for these 28-m vessels, which are expected to have a bollard pull of 60 tonnes.
OMMP is the public port authority of Tunisia and manages marine services and operations at a variety of terminals, handling a range of maritime traffic including general cargo, container ships, tankers, roro and cruise ships.
Due to the larger ships calling at the expanded terminals, the authority needs a new fleet of more powerful escort and harbour tugs.
Med Marine director of group procurement and technical requirements Ertugrul Cetin said the Kongsberg Maritime US thrusters were selected for their performance, reliability and efficiency.
“This innovative thruster system will significantly improve operational efficiency in Tunisian ports by providing our tugs with higher performance, better manoeuvrability, and lower fuel consumption,” Mr Cetin said.
“This project is an important step in improving the safety and efficiency of Tunisian ports, and with Kongsberg’s US thruster, our tugs operating in Tunisian ports will be able to perform well even in the most challenging sea conditions.”
These thrusters, with a propeller of 2.8 m diameter, will be powered by a main diesel engine and will azimuth 360°.
“Our US range of azimuth thrusters offer an efficient and effective propulsion solution, with responsive manoeuvrability,” said Kongsberg Maritime senior vice president for naval and workboats Espen Liset. “We have a long, collaborative relationship with Med Marine, and we look forward to working with them as they deliver these powerful tugs to OMMP.”
