Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard launched an ASD tug for Ningbo Oil Handling & Tug (source: Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard)
Chinese shipyards were busy with tug launches and deliveries in the past few months as demand remains high for new vessels in domestic ports and for exports to Australasia
Cheoy Lee Shipyards delivered another 32-m Rotortug for fleet operations in Brunei on 29 March. Maryam was built to a Robert Allan advanced Rotortug (ART) 80-32 design to support tankers and gas carriers on the northern Borneo coast, where it arrived in early April.
This 485-gt tractor tug is a sister vessel to ARTs Sofea and May Rosa, which are already in Brunei having been built in 2023.
Cheoy Lee Shipyards said they would be operated by SPHI Marine, which supports gas carriers at the Brunei LNG terminal.Kotug International has a long-term technical partnership agreement with SPHI Marine to support marine services at the terminal. This included delivering three newbuild ARTs to replace existing Rotortugs working at the terminal.
Cheoy Lee Shipyards is also building escort tugs for Svitzer for operations with BHP at Port Hedland, Western Australia. The first of these, Iron Quail, was delivered in early March and was to be followed by Iron Wren and Iron Robin in April.
Also in China, Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyards launched an azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugboat, Yong Gang Xiao Tuo 37 Hao, with 4,120 kW of installed power and a FiFi1 off-ship fire-fighting system, for Ningbo Oil Handling & Tug (Barge) Co as part of a multi-vessel construction drive.
Zhejiang Shipyards in Jiangsu province delivered ASD tugboat Ling Hang Tuo 11 to Dongying. This 39-m vessel has 3,676 kW of installed power, a depth of 5 m, a bollard pull ahead of 63 tonnes and a speed of 14 knots.
It also delivered Tian Mu 03, a 37-m ASD tugboat with 4,020 kW to Nantong Tianmu Shipping Co. This vessel has a beam of around 11 m, a depth of 5 m, a bollard pull ahead of 70 tonnes and a speed of 13 knots.
Xiamen Port Shipping Co and Quanzhou Xiagang Tug Ship Co acquired ASD tugs from Jiangsu Zhejiang Shipyards following their completion in March and April. These 37-m tugs each have 3,824 kW of power, a beam of 11 m, a depth of 5 m, a bollard pull ahead of 62 tonnes and a speed of 13 knots.
On 26 April, the shipyard cut steel on a new 2,942 kW ASD tugboat it is building for Zhejiang Jiagang Tugboat Co and on 11 April, it laid the keel for an ASD tugboat with 3,236 kW of power for Taicang Port.
Also in April, Lianyungang Hongyun Co ordered propulsion for a tug it is building with hybrid-electric propulsion for Guangzhou Port Group.
