After a quiet period at the beginning of this year, there has been an acceleration of newbuilding tug orders at Indonesian and Chinese shipyards for domestic requirements. Upgrades to southeast Asian ports has led to a surge in newbuild tugboat contracts with the region’s shipyards. In Indonesia owners are ordering tugs for cabotage business and employing local crews. Shipyards have a quick turnaround, with some of the newbuilding contracts having prompt Q4 2020 deliveries scheduled, while others are for 2021 completion.

Pertamina Trans Kontinental was busy contracting new tugs during H1 2020, ordering a 472-gt tug from PT Daya Radar Utama shipyard for delivery in February 2021. Transko Dara will have an overall length of 33.4 m, breadth of 10.5 m, and bollard pull of 30 tonnes. It will be powered by two Yanmar engines each producing 1,350 kW at 900 rpm.

Another Indonesian shipyard, PT Dumas Tanjung Perak, is building two 472-gt harbour tugs for Pertamina Trans Kontinental for delivery in Q1 and Q2 2021.

Batam-based shipyard PT Cahaya Samudra is completing two harbour tugs for an Indonesian owner with delivery before the end of this year. These 213-gt tugs will be powered by two Yanmar 6AYM-WET main engines, developing 829 kW of power at 1,900 rpm.

Batamec shipyard is constructing two harbour tugs for delivery in Q1 2021. These 472-gt tugs will also have overall length of 33.4 m, breadth of 10.5 m and hull depth of 5.2 m. They will have two Yanmar 6EY22AW engines, each producing 1,350 kW at 900 rpm. Combined, these engines will provide each tug with 38 tonnes of bollard pull.

PT Orela Shipyard is constructing two harbour tugs for an undisclosed owner for delivery in Q4 2020 and Q1 2021. These will each have two medium-speed Niigata 6L25HX diesel engines and breadth of 10.5 m.

Export orders

Indonesian shipyards are also building tugboats for export in southeast Asia. PT Habco Primatama shipyard has contracts to build three tugs for Malaysia-headquartered Forward Marine, for delivery before the end of this year.

These 250-gt tugs will have an overall length of 30 m, breadth of 8.6 m and will be equipped with two Mitsubishi diesel engines that will deliver 1,520 kW of power combined. It also secured an order from Malaysia’s Tai Tung Hing for a 285-gt tug, according to BRL.

This tug will have a similar hullform, propulsion and performance to the two under construction for Forward Marine and is due for delivery in October 2020.

PaxOcean’s PT Graha Trisaka Industri shipyard in Batam, Indonesia, is building two new escort tugs to a Robert Allan design for China Petroleum Corp to support the LNG import terminal in Shenao, Taiwan. The two 31.8-m tugs are to be named Shen Ao VII and Shen Ao VIII and will be delivered in Q2 2021.

Built to a Robert Allan TRAktor V-3200 design and using Voith propulsion, they will comply with the Chinese Classification Society requirements, with the notation CR100+E Tug, Fire-Fighting Ship 1 and Coastal Service CMS+.

They are designed for harbour and offshore terminal, tanker escort duties, berthing LNG carriers and standby emergency operations. PaxOcean has previously built dual-fuel tugboats for Pertamina and it is thought these newbuildings will be of a similar standard.

Malaysian builder Berjaya Dockyard is building a new harbour tug for an unnamed domestic owner. This 30-m, 238-gt harbour tug will have a breadth of 8.6 m and draught of 3.5 m to use shallow and smaller ports in Malaysia. Powered by two Caterpillar-supplied diesel main engines, it is due to be delivered in Q1 2021.

In China, Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard group has been busy constructing azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugs for domestic port owners. In July, it passed milestones on seven tugboat construction projects. On 23 July it started steel cutting for two ASD tugs for an unnamed Chinese shipowner. These will have 3,824 kW of power and FiFi1 fire-fighting systems.

This followed keel laying on an ASD tug for Zhenjiang Port Group Co on 15 July. Zhen Gang Tuo 4006 will have power of 2,942 kW when delivered in 2021. On 10 July, Zhenjiang Shipyard lift launched two ASD tugboats it is building for Fuzhou Port, to be named Fu Gang Tuo 6 and 7. At the beginning of July, this shipyard commenced block assembly in July on two ASD tugs for Zhoushangang Haitong Tugboat Co. These will have total power of 2,942 kW and FiFi1 fire-fighting capabilities. They are to be named Zhougang Tou-37 and 38 when completed.

Construction started on five other tugs at Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard in June. At the end of June, the shipyard started block assembly on an ASD tug for Zhoushan Gangxing Tug Co. This is expected to be named Gangxing 235 and will have a FiFi1 system. Block assembly on a sister tugboat, Gangxing 236, commenced on 16 June.

This followed steel cutting on three ASD tugboats, to be built for Ningbo Yonggang Tugboat Co on 11 June. Zhenjiang Shipyard launched an ASD tugboat with FiFi1 and 2,648 kW of power on 28 June. This is being completed for Nanjing Port (Group) Co during Q3 2020.