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The first of these tugs will be built to comply with IMO Tier III emissions regulations.

MAERSK GROUP TOWAGE OPERATOR SVITZER has reached an agreement with naval architect firm Robert Allan Ltd. and Turkey’s Sanmar Shipyards to build a next-generation TRAnsverse Tug.

The first of these multipurpose tugs will be a 25.8-meter, 60-tonne bollard pull vessel built to comply with IMO Tier III emissions regulations.

The tug is designed with thrusters in line and an omni directional hull form. To make full use of its advanced capabilities the tug is equipped with a render recovery double drum escort winch and a set of 100 T SWL tow pins.

In addition to its innovative design emphasis have been put on ease of operation for the onboard crew implementing technologies, such as the Svitzer Catcher to allow for line handling from the bridge.

According to Svitzer, the TRAnsverse Tug is able to generate higher steering forces than most designs of similar dimensions and comes with an innovative stable design and an ability to push, pull and maneuver in all directions – all neatly wrapped in a smaller and nimbler tug boat. With omni direction hull form and propulsion, steering forces over the full range of speeds and maneuvers, and a unique towing arrangement, the compact and fuel-efficient TRAnsverse Tug design is scalable and suitable for all types of harbor and terminal towage operations.

Looking ahead, the TRAnsverse Tug will provide the base design for the recently announced carbon neutral methanol fuel cell tug that Svitzer and Maersk are developing together with Robert Allan Ltd.

Game Changer

“This tug is a game changer,” said Svitzer COO Ingrid Uppelschoten Snelderwaard. “Our customers expect us to deliver flexible and environmentally friendly towage services at a competitive price and it is our passion to think out of the box and deliver innovative solutions to meet these expectations.”

Together with a core Svitzer team, Thomas Bangslund, Svitzer’s head of technical innovation, has led the invention of the new tug design that after a series of successful tank tests and simulations is now ready to be built by Sanmar with Robert Allan as the designer.

The first Svitzer TRAnsverse tug will be built for Svitzer Europe harbor towage duties with expected delivery in third quarter 2023.

FINCANTIERI EXPANDS U.S. EAST COAST SHIP REPAIR OPS

In a move that is expected to bring hundreds of jobs to Jacksonville, Fla., Fincantieri Marine Systems North America is to expand its ship repair operations on the U.S. East Coast. Aimed at both commercial and government vessels, the focus of the effort will be Commodores Point, Jacksonville, where the company will bring in a large dry dock.

“We are investing millions of dollars in waterfront improvements, including bringing in a large dry dock, which will allow us to be a top-tier marine repair operation,” said Ryan Smith, Fincantieri Marine System’s president and CEO. “The dry dock will be U.S. Navy-certified, which will enable us to repair and maintain Navy vessels in addition to our work on commercial and Coast Guard vessels.”

In August, Fincantieri received approval from the Navy to participate in repair and maintenance delivery orders on the Freedomclass littoral combat ships currently homeported in nearby Mayport, Fla. In October, it received approval to compete for work on the remaining Mayport surface fleet.

With the company’s expansion in northeast Florida, Smith plans to employ more than 300 men and women over the next three years. These jobs include positions in pipefitting, shipfitting, welding, electrical, outfitting, preservation, and mechanical specializations.

Starting in early 2022, the company will be open to provide services to small to medium-sized commercial vessels at the Commodores Point facility. Although the large dry dock will not be operational until 2023, Fincantieri will be available for topside work on larger vessels pier side.

ARE SHIPS’ CREWS destined to follow department store elevator operators into the pages of history? Likely not any time soon, but the world’s first all-electric autonomous containership, Yara Birkeland, has just completed its maiden voyage in the Oslo Fjord. The 120 TEU vessel will be used by Norwegian fertilizer giant Yara to transport mineral fertilizer between Porsgrunn and Brevik, eliminating 1,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and replacing 40,000 trips by diesel-powered trucks a year.

The ship is the result of a collaborative project, with Kongsberg being responsible for the development and delivery of all its newly developed technology. Although designed for eventual fully autonomous operation, initially it will be operated from Kongsberg and Wilhelmsen joint venture Maasterlys’ monitoring and operation’s center in Horten.

The ship was built by Fincantieri’s Norwegian subsidy Vard, with support from Enova, a Norwegian government enterprise responsible for promotion of renewable energy.

Yara Birkeland will now begin a twoyear testing period of the technology that will finally see it certified as an autonomous, all-electric containership.

S IEMENS G A MESAR ENEWABLE ENERGY (SGRE) is to use an Otto Candies LLC Jones Act-compliant offshore IMR (inspection, maintenance and repair vessel), the Paul Candies, during the construction phase of the South Fork Wind project, offshore New York.

Brigitte Hagen-Peter, marine assets and operations manager for SGRE, revealed the plan yesterday at an ABS panel discussion on offshore wind held in New Orleans where much off the focus was on the high cost of building vessels such as SOVs (service operations vessels) in the U.S.

“We don’t have the project pipeline at this point” to support a newbuild project, said Hagen-Peter. Instead, she said, Siemens Gamesa reached out to U.S. operators, setting the challenge, “Here’s our operational requirements, show us what you can do.”

As yet, more details of what the Paul Candies will be doing, or how it will be modified, have yet to emerge, However, the 101.2-meter vessel, delivered in 2018 by Candies Shipbuilders, has some impressive capabilities.

“We are very excited about utilizing the Paul Candies,” Hagen-Peter says.