SMS Towage has bolstered its ship handling capabilities in the UK with the purchase of two tugboats from a Turkish owner and shipbuilder
Sanmar Shipyards delivered two of its Sirapinar series tugs to family-run British tug owner SMS Towage after operating them in Turkey for more than a year.
Following their purchase, SMS renamed 2020-built Sirapinar XV as Trueman and 2021-built Sirapinar XVIII as Kingsman and is operating them in the Humber estuary, according to the vessels’ automatic identification systems.
Sanmar originally built the two tugs to Robert Allan Ltd’s RAmparts 2200 design, with an overall length of 22.4 m, a moulded beam of 10.8 m, least moulded depth of 4.4 m and approximate navigational draught of 4.9 m.
These sister tugs have twin Z-drives of Schottel Rudderpropeller type SRP 360 with fixed-pitch propellers in nozzles, powered by Caterpillar diesel Cat 3512 C main engines, each producing 1,500 kW of power at 1,600 rpm.
Kingsman and Trueman are designed for low manning operation and maximum efficiency in ship handling and transiting between towage jobs.
The vessels can achieve bollard pulls of 52 tonnes ahead and 49 tonnes astern and a free running speed of 11.5 knots. They have a fire-fighting system with a pump driven through clutched flexible coupling in front of each main engine, with a capacity of 1,200 m3/hr.
Their tanks can hold around 72 m3 of fuel oil, 10.8 m3 of fresh water and 2.4 m3 of foam for fire extinguishing.
Both tugs come with bridge systems and automation and are classified by Registro Italiano Navale (RINA) for unrestricted navigation, in-water survey and unmanned machinery spaces.
Delivery of these tugs brings the total number of tugboats Sanmar has sold to SMS Towage to 14. The first, Scotsman, was delivered in 2008.
SMS, the UK’s largest independent tug owner, has a fleet of tugs strategically positioned around the nation in the Humber, Bristol Channel, Belfast, Portsmouth, Teesside and the River Tyne.
Sanmar Shipyards commercial director Ruchan Civgin said the companies had a long-term mutually beneficial relationship.
He said addition of Kingsman and Trueman fitted successfully with SMS’s specific operational needs.
“Our popular RAmparts 2200 class tugs are compact, highly manoeuvrable workhorse tugs that get the job done time after time,” said Mr Civgin.
“Our relationship with SMS Towage goes back a long way, and it is always pleasing when they come back to us again and again when enhancing their tug fleet.”
