L to R: Berkay Yilanci (Kotug. Site team) Ozgur Yakut (Kotug. Site team), Marcel van Meel (Kotug), Cem Seven (Sanmar Shipyards), Ali Gürün (Sanmar Shipyards), Ipek Gürün (Sanmar Shipyards), Zoë Kooren (Kotug), Ard-Jan Kooren (Kotug), Maciej Zielinski (Kotug.)
Turkey’s Sanmar Shipyard Altinova this week hosted a keel laying service for the two methanol dual fuel Robert Allan Ltd designed RAsalvor 4400-DFM escort tugs it is building for Kotug Canada Inc., a partnership between Kotug International B.V. and Horizon Maritime Inc.
Kotug Canada orders two powerful methanol-fueled escort tugs
The keel laying ceremony marked a major milestone for the project enabling it to proceed to the construction phase to meet the delivery schedule by mid-2025.
The methanol dual fuel tugs will service the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP), which extends the Trans Mountain Pipeline to the Pacific. The two tugs will escort vessels from the harbor limits of the Port of Vancouver to the open ocean through the commercial shipping lanes of the Salish Sea. To provide this service, Kotug Canada has partnered with Sc’ianew First Nation from Beecher Bay, which is strategically located along the shipping route.
Scheduled to enter service in 2025, the tugs will be named SD Aisemaht and SD Qwii-Aan’c Sarah, in honor of important members of Sc’ianew First Nation, and will be the most powerful escort tugs in Canada, capable of achieving a massive 120 tonnes of bollard pull.
Both vessels will be equipped with a mechanical cross link system between the azimuth thrusters to enable a single engine to drive both propellers. They will also be equipped with main engine driven shaft generators to meet the vessel’s normal electrical needs. These features will allow the crews to optimize engine loading and significantly reduce fuel consumption and running hours of the main engines and gensets. Combined, these features will reduce the tugs underwater radiated noise, mitigating the effects of shipping on the Salish Sea’s resident Killer Whales. Additionally, Kotug is having the hulls of both tugs coated with a GIT graphene paint to reduce biofouling and enhance hull-smoothness which also reduces underwater radiated noise and makes the vessels more fuel efficient.
KOTUG EXECS DO A SPOT OF WELDING
Kotug executives attending the keel laying of the methanol dual fuel escort tugs took part in the actual keel-laying process itself, with Kotug president & CEO Ard-Jan Kooren and corporate technical manager Marcel van Meel welding part of the keel. Also attending the ceremony was Zoë Kooren, Kotug PR & communications specialist.
Kotug president & CEO Ard-Jan Kooren gets ready to do some welding
Cem Seven, vice chairman of Sanmar and Hasan Çakmak, Sanmar’s Shipyard Technical Director, presented electrodes to Ard-Jan Kooren and Marcel van Meel and sanmar corporate strategy director, Ipek Gürün, also presented a gift to Zoë Kooren.
Cem Seven, vice chairman of Sanmar and Hasan Çakmak, Sanmar’s Shipyard Technical Director, presented electrodes to Ard-Jan Kooren and Marcel van Meel and sanmar corporate strategy director, Ipek Gürün, also presented a gift to Zoë Kooren.
“We are thrilled to collaborate on this groundbreaking project that not only transforms the maritime sector but also plays a crucial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainability in the shipping industry,” said Ard-Jan Kooren, president & CEO of Kotug International:
Ali Gürün, chairman of the board of Sanmar Shipyards said: “During the keel laying ceremony, we not only marked the beginning of the physical construction of the vessels but also the continuation of an ambitious project that pushes the boundaries of maritime technology and environmental consciousness.”
