2023 will see a raft of new ‘green’ technology enter the tugboat sector, with the first hydrogen-fuelled towage vessel and more all-electric tugs being prepared to enter service.

In Belgium, Hydrotug 1 will undergo sea trials and fuel testing over the rest of Q4 2022 before starting operations in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in January 2023. It arrived in the Port of Ostend, Belgium, on 27 October following its transit from Armón Shipyards in Navia, Spain where the vessel was built.

This 4,100 kW, 496-gt tug was developed by CMB.Tech to store 415 kg of compressed hydrogen in six tanks installed on deck. Its propulsion configuration consists of two BeHydro V12 dual-fuel, medium-speed engines that can run on both hydrogen and diesel fuel.

In Japan, the first electric-powered tug, Tokyo Kisen’s Taiga, is about to enter service, providing zero-emissions towage in Tokyo Bay after its construction by Kanagawa Dockyard.

Its hybrid-electric propulsion system includes high-capacity lithium-ion batteries, generators, direct-current (DC) switchboard and grid and Z-Peller azimuth thrusters. IHI Power Systems was system integrator and supplied the azimuth thrusters and diesel generators.

OSD-IMT designed the hull of Taiga, e5Lab Inc, a Japanese consortium assigned to develop fully electric vessels, was the consultant for this project.

It is equipped with ABB’s Onboard DC Grid and energy storage systems, incorporating large-capacity lithium-ion batteries developed by e5Lab.

These 2.5-MWh battery systems will power the thrusters during daily operations and act as spinning reserve back-up power to prevent prolonged outages. ABB’s PEMS power and energy management system will control the overall power distribution, increase fault tolerance and provide a high degree of reliability.

“In Japan, the electric-powered Taiga is about to enter service, providing zero-emissions towage in Tokyo Bay”

In Turkey, Navtek Naval Technologies is commissioning its second all-electric harbour tugboat, Gisas Power II, ready for operations in January 2023. It was built at Gisas & Navtek Shipyard to a ZeeTug30 design, with around 30 tonnes of bollard pull and a speed of 10 knots.

Gisas Power II has an overall length of 18.7 m, beam of 6.7 m, depth of 4.7 m and a draught of 3.5 m. Corvus batteries drive two propulsion motors connected to azimuth thrusters. Navtek collaborated with Turkish power systems integrator BMA Technology and drive and converter supplier ABB on these fully electric tugs.

For safety, Gisas Power II has two redundant battery rooms, one fore and one aft, that are maintained at a constant temperature by a cooling system. It can be charged in less than an hour through a quayside charging station.

Damen Shipyards and Sanmar Shipyards are anticipating deliveries or their all-electric tugboats in 2023. Up to five fully electric tugs and two LNG-fuelled escort vessels have been ordered from Sanmar by HaiSea Marine and SAAM Towage to operate in British Columbia, Canada, all scheduled for delivery by end-2023.

In the case of HaiSea Marine, a joint venture between Haisla Nation and Seaspan, two dual-fuel LNG-powered escort tugs and three ElectRA tugs, will provide ship assistance and towing services at the new LNG export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia, from the start of 2024.

SAAM Towage Canada ordered two ElectRA tugs from Sanmar during the 26^th ITS Convention, held in Istanbul in September, for delivery in Q4 2023. These will have Corvus Energy batteries with a combined 3,616 kWh power capacity and bollard pull of around 70 tonnes. Sanmar is also building an ElectRA tug for Norwegian owner Buksér og Berging, to operate in the Port of Oslo from November 2023.

Damen plans to build more electric-powered tugboats at its shipyards following the success of the first one, Sparky, in New Zealand. This includes another RSD-E 2513 design ready for harbour towage in Q3 2023 and electric-powered versions of the ASD 2111 design. Damen could also build a methanol-fuelled tugboat in 2023.