392 November 2006

Welsh Tugs: Versatile Specialists

There was a time when a tug was essentially a steel box with a huge engine. It was designed to push or pull straight ahead with good thrust but most often with little maneuverability. The earlier versions of these boats were single screw with big low-pitch propellers and huge barn-door style rudders. Recent decades have seen an evolution in tug design to more specialized vessels for ship docking, anchor handling, and ocean towing. As with all design considerations, what is gained in one area can result in loss in another.

At the North Wales based Holyhead Towing Ltd. the owners have worked on their own ideas, based on their own experience, with designers and builders to develop a series of particularly versatile tugs that are capable of offering near shore construction assistance from a stable work platform while maintaining strong deep sea towing abilities. The next such development providing this flexibility of purpose is a triple engine triple propeller configuration that allows for a total of 5100 horsepower with a minimum working draft of only 2.4 meters. A bow thruster adds to maneuverability of the 35-meter double-bottomed vessel to be named Afon Cadnant. The tug's 11.5-meter beam, gives it a nearly 3:1 length-to-beam ratio assuring a stable platform for activities such as anchor handling or other lifting with the vessel's hefty deck crane. For towing and anchor handling a double-drum waterfall winch is designed with flexible spooling gear to allow recovery of shackled wires, chain or heavy ropes. While every provision has been made for construction and salvage support work the vessel also has the ability to ballast down to a draft of 3.15 meters to get the props into solid water to take fullest advantage of the 54-ton bollard pull for heavy weather ocean towing.

Propulsion power will be provide by three Cummins KTA50 M2 main engines each developing 1700 hp at 1800 RPM. The engines will turn fixed pitch propellers in kort nozzles. Four Cummins auxiliary engines will provide for the tug's significant hydraulic and electrical requirements.

Delivery of the new tug from the Metaaldraaierij Sepers yard in the Netherlands  is scheduled for May 2007.

For a complete list of specifications and GA download GA and download specifications sheets. These are also available on request as a single 5.6 megabit PDF file.

For a complete listing of the Holyhead fleet and contact information go to http://holyheadtowing.com/

575-551
550-526, 525-501, 500-476, 475-451, 450-426, 425-401, 400-376
375-351, 375-351, 350-326, 325-301, 300-276, 275-251, 250-226, 225-201
200-176, 175-151, 150-126, 125-101, 100-76, 75-51, 50-26, 25-0