Two of the ten new tugboats being developed for the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) were launched at the Misr factory, located in Safaga, Egypt. These are the vessels AZM 3 and AZM 4, which join the already delivered AZM 1 and AZM 2 last April.
The two new vessels are 32 meters in length, 13.5 meters in beam, and 6 meters in draft. They reach a maximum speed of 12 knots and have a bollard pull capacity of 90 tons each.
The President and Chairman of the SCA, Ossama Rabiree, emphasized that the Misr tugboat factory is considered a new chapter in the localization of marine unit construction in Egypt to meet the demand for work in the Suez Canal and in Egyptian ports, in addition to opening new doors for regional competition and exports.
Furthermore, the canal chief noted that work is being done at the factory to achieve the target rates in a record time. This is because work is proceeding at full capacity on two of the largest projects in the history of marine unit construction simultaneously: the development and modernization of the SCA’s fleet of marine units through the construction of ten tugboats with a bollard pull capacity of 90 tons, in parallel with the development of the Egyptian fishing vessel fleet through the construction of 12 deep-sea fishing vessels, two of which will be launched by the end of this year.
Rabiee also noted that numerous export opportunities are now being considered as the Factory has received multiple foreign offers and contract requests that reflect the success of marketing efforts in promoting the localization of maritime industries under the slogan Made in Egypt, with world-class quality and competitive prices.
