The Port of Aarhus has just invested in a new tugboat worth approx. 45 million Danish kroner. The new tugboat is far more eco-friendly and highly efficient than the tugboat it will be replacing.
Towing is very much about strength and precision, and when the Port of Aarhus now chooses to invest in a new tugboat, these parameters have also been the focus. But sustainability has also played a significant role in making the decision to replace the tugboat.
Chief Commercial Officer Nicolai Krøyer says that after an EU tender, the tugboat was purchased by the Turkish shipyard Uzmar Shipbuilding because they offered the best complete solution.
“The yard lived up to all our minimum requirements, and at the same time they can deliver a tugboat that can sail on one engine as we sail back and forth to the ship to be towed, while we can use both of the ship’s engines during the actual towing,” says Nicolai Krøyer, who points out that it will lead to a nice reduction of CO2 emission.
The new tugboat, which will be delivered to the Port of Aarhus, in the summer of 2021, is also significantly stronger than the 40-year-old tugboat, Hermes, which will be sold. The new boat can pull 65 tonnes of pile, which is 20 tonnes more than Hermes.
“But not only does it have great strength, it also has significantly better manoeuvrability and thus efficiency and precision in the work it will undertake. It can assist the very large vessels arriving at Aarhus with pronounced precision, as it is delivered with a so-called ASD system (Azimuth Stern Drive),” says Nicolai Krøyer.
In the future, the Port of Aarhus will also be able to assist East Jutland’s Fire Department from the water side with the new tugboat, as it will be delivered with a fire spray system.
Aarhus Port’s second tugboat, Aros, continues to work in the port, and will be used with the new tugboat in cases where two tugboats are needed when entering and leaving the port.