Wilson Sons new harbour tug WS Dorado was built to an RSD 2511 design (source: Wilson Sons)
Wilson Sons’ towage division has introduced newbuild harbour tug WS Dorado as part of its campaign to build a fleet of vessels to handle large ships with low emissions
The Brazilian owner has built five high-power, low-emissions 25-m tugs of the initial six it plans to complete. These reverse stern drive (RSD) tugboats were built at Wilson Sons’ shipyards in Guarujá, São Paulo state to Damen Shipyards RSD 2513 design, with propulsion exceeding IMO Tier III regulations to minimise NOx and particulate emissions.
They operate fore and aft with the same efficiency, perform port manoeuvres and ocean towage, and have a bollard pull of more than 90 tonnes, a beam of 13 m and a FiFi1 fire-fighting system, which delivers a flow rate of 2,400 m3 of water per hour.
WS Dorado was completed in March 2024 and its first work was to assist the undocking of CMM Offshore’s fast crew supplier (FCS) Aqua Helix at a Wilson Sons’ shipyard in Guarujá.
This 2021-built, FCS 7011 Damen design vessel underwent scheduled maintenance in Brazil for the first time. Another of these RSD tugs, 2023-built WS Castor, also manoeuvred Aqua Helix out of the dock.
These new harbour tugs were built for ship escort, towage, handling and docking in Brazilian ports and yards.The other three already operating are WS Centaurus, WS Orion and WS Rosalvo, with the final one due to be completed later this year.
WS Centaurus and WS Orion operate in the port of São Luís, Maranhão, conducting berthing and undocking manoeuvres at the Ponta da Madeira, Itaqui and Alumar terminals.
WS Rosalvo operates in the Port of Açu in São João da Barra, in the north of the State of Rio de Janeiro, assisting ships in the mining and offshore energy industry.
Wilson Sons said the innovative hull design of WS Dorado and the other similar RSD tugs “leads to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and an estimated decrease of 14% in the consumption of fossil fuels, supporting the improvement of air quality in the ports where they operate.”
Between 2022 and 2023, the number of docking operations at the Guarujá shipyards increased by 33%.
Wilson Sons, the only company with a drydock in the Port of Santos, said this growth rate is expected to be maintained in 2024. Its two shipyard facilities in Guarujá, totalling 39,000 m², provide ship building, conversion, maintenance and repair.
